My driveway here in southern Vermont is 800' downhill with three big turns. For two years I battled washouts every time it rained really hard. I finally dug drain trenches, lined them with trap rock, and built a crown in the driveway so the water would run off into the ditches, and so far (fingers crossed) it's working.

Great video. Those geocells definitely help keep material in place. The trenching that gives the water somewhere to go will keep your drive in top shape. Y'all did an awesome job both building the drive and educating people on it. 👍

Thanks for the updates on the geo grid. The dirt work, tractor time and snow removal updates are my favorite part of your channel. Hope you got to bring that John Deere excavator home from VT (0:29). Thanks for all the videos!

Thank you, I've enjoyed learning from your experience. Much appreciated.

Hi Amy and Bryan, Nice keeping us up to date on the driveway. Was wondering how the geocell was going to hold up. I think if you ditch along the right side of the driveway down to the culvert and fill with 3/4" clean stone, that will keep the water from flowing across the driveway. The moose at the beginning was an extra treat. You both stay safe.

Beautiful property!... thanks for the record of your geo road!... I live next to a river an have been researching ways to keep my driveway intact when flooding happens its been quite the experience living on a river...

Have exact situation as you guys and 40 degree slope. Graveled and paving initially but helots of raining @ 5,000 feet turns driveway into a raging stream. So I went to the top of driveway and about 20’ further and used my tractor-loader-backhoe to do a flow diversion sideways into a ditch and built up a rocky berm and it fixed it

I had no idea Geocell existed. Thanks for this video. We may look into this as an idea to keep gravel in place. We have sloped driveway. Love seeing the Moose as well.

The Moose were exciting and something so familiar about that....6;30 am. I had wondered how that geocell was going to hold up and it's done really well! LOVE the t-shirt :D Thanks for sharing.

With that view it’s hard to even look down at your driveway. It’s so beautiful.

WOW!!! seeing the moose was very exciting!!

Thank you for providing the update. Watched the clip where you were putting the gravel down so it's good to see an aftermath video. Really appreciate you pointing out what you missed, on the same boat here

If you used a bond beam as a border for short sections of problem areas that might solve your problem. A bond beam is when standard 8x8x16 concrete blocks are layed in a line (dug in so the top is level to where the gravel surface wants to be), then two cuts are made with a diamond blade in a circular saw. Knock out the top of the webbing, place rebar in the channel and fill the cores with concrete. It's a technique originally used to create beams in block buildings over windows and door openings. I used it when building our koi pond to create a perfectly level perimeter around the pond. Rebar driven down into the ground anchors the bond beam so it can't shift.

i like these feed back videos to learn from

Appreciate update.. in Australia we call this gravel Road Base I was considering using 20 mm sized gravel (for better drainage)or Road Base which compacts better. Good advice with fines all washing away.

The geocell is working just fine. It's keeping the aggregate in its place within the cells, and maintaining the aggregate interlocking to help absorb shear forces through the pavement structure. That's the purpose and function of your geocell layer. In flat straight sections the loads are mostly vertical, so the structure will suffer minor degradation, but in curved and sloped sections, lateral forces due to inertial components and due to vehicle traction and breaking become relevant. If your mix does not have a cohessive mateix, it will get scrapped off the surface, exposing the edge of the geocell. Those areas need more maintenance or a superficial stabilizer. Water running along the intern of the curve will at some point , depending on the velocity and volume, tend to continue flowing straight and runoff will overtop the pavement, contributing to the degradation. You should consider insert some energy atenuators (rocks or stakes) along the ditch, and move it away from the edge of the pavement.

Yup, keeping the water OFF the drive is key, so ditches beside the roadway is a must. Plus now is the time to add more of that select mix to the drive to build it higher and bury that geocell. Just dragging the wash down back up is maintenance but the very fine binders have gone so fresh mix especially over the geocell is needed. The joys of gravel drives! Never ending work. Once it is fully stable, you could pave it and make it more maintenance free but no point until then. You might want to aim for a slight crown from the center of the drive to the edges and ditches. Water running straight down a drive gains speed and power for erosion. The key is get it off the drive in the shortest route so it never gets that power to begin with. This is the biggest failure of gravel drives when you do not maintain them and get tire ruts that channel the water straight down the driving paths. Good luck this winter.

Loved the Moose footage. Awesome!

Central Vermont here, looks like it's holding up good. My son and I do driveway work. Rent a mini excavator and do some uphill side ditching, on long runs you might have to put in a plastic culvert pipe in to divert the water to the downhill side. Add some material to the drive to crown it up a bit. Rent a small dual drum vibratory roller and compact the new material. I know this can add up$$, but in the long run you will save on future maintenance!

Give bagel a treat, he was trying so hard to do his job!!

After watching the video, I realized how geocells can last longer for less money compared to other traditional methods of construction. However, finding the right geocell provider can be a challenge. But thanks to this video, I came across Backyard Bases, a geocell provider that offers quality products at affordable prices. I'm planning to give them a try for my driveway stabilization project. It's amazing to see how much money I can save by using geocells.

Wow, thank you, for such a great , honest and accurate explanation of what issues to watch for etc.. and what helps/works and what doesnt!!

Thank you for sharing this info

I guess I don't have as steep of a driveway! Loved seeing the moose family

Looks like the area around Walden. Many beasts and so awesome.

Thanks for the video, and good to see locals on KZfaq, I live in summit county Co, Was wondering if milled asphalt could work better, obviously still using that apparently good staff ( geo cell system ) , any experience on milled or recycled asphalt out there . Thanks very much.

Good review. I would agree about needing a culvert or something similar to keep the water from going onto or crossing over the driveway. What was in the select mix? Also how deep is the subbase?

Thanks for educational video

It is always great to see nature as long as you can do it from your viewpoint. I am not sure any closer would be something that my heart could take. Would installing a couple of "French drains" help with the erosion problems?

Considering that you are using crush and run and have a very fine distribution of rock it is holding up really well. I think you need some bigger rock along the edges and areas where you are having some erosion. I would put at least some 1.5 inch rock along the edges and maybe some 1" in the middle where you are having some problems. Where you get channeling add bigger size rock till it stops the erosion. I don't think you have a grid problem but rock that is mainly powder that is going to move when it rains.

Great video, very helpful. What made you choose this system over others? I've read some reviews where these systems, perhaps the ones that were hard plastic, start buckling when the sun shines on it and the grid starts to rise up a little and once that happens there's no way to get it back down.

Love the moose !

Grew up in Panama, and practically lived at the riding stables. We had 6 months of rain every day nearly all day long, to stop flooding of the stables stalls I spent hours and hours digging trenches leading into ditches leading into the 3rd Cut. All that trenching by shovel and machete as a kid gave me a strong back. lol All to say drainage is vital in heavy downpours.

I agree with Don D about larger rock on the edge but 2.5 to4 in. they will catch and slow the water and where the water crosses the road add a Water Bar, a raised area across the road 2.5 inches high and 4 ft wide will turn water and not rut road. easy to drive over

Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m getting grid today and it’s very expensive so I want to do it right to hold up to a school bus using our driveway! What if you used “Clean” gravel Vs gravel with fines, especially if you put the border fabric material underneath? I don’t like the dust and mud in there anyway! Would it work with clean??

over 100 likes and zero down! love to see it.

Great video and nice to see the driveway is holding up well. Amazing moose! Do you know what depth of sub base the contractor used and what material?Thanks!

Nice update

Well done, looking great! What kind of weather do you have during winter? How would this kind of driveway behave during rainy, snowy, icy winter that goes in a circle with +3°C during the day with rain and -3°C during the night, probably it could be difficult, close to impossible to manage a snow cleaning on that kind of surface? Thank you!

Side ditches definitely helps. However, using a smaller pocket size for the geocell would have helped to minimize the issue too.

I'm glad I came across your video. We just moved to Bailey, Co. and have a driveway challenge that seems similar with a steep driveway issue and runoff problems. We didn't know if we wanted to blacktop or what to do about the incline (snow/Ice) and what was going to be the most cost-effective solution. Thanks, and very informative.

I bet some concrete there on the hill where it's exposed would look nice in that geocell. Made a beautiful pattern.

In the areas that wash out poor bags of dry concrete and wet the area several times. Wait a couple days and it’ll help keep things compacted.

So funny..it was the male moose stalking the female that set Vigo off. My GSD is the same way, it can be a cat stalking a grasshopper and he goes into sheriff mode..hahaha.

Might want to add a small culvert where the water wants to cross the driveway as well when you add the drainage ditching. It should reduce the water wanting to cross the driveway due to the slope of the land.

You come off like you work in the newsroom :D its fun

Kind of wild how green your trees are. Our aspens are probably 3 days from loosing all the leaves. I’d say we peaked today here in the FairPlay area. Most of the leaves on Hoosier pass an placer valley are pretty much fallen. Kenosha was a shit show on 285 yesterday from leave peepers

QUESTION: Would sprinkling a layer of dry concrete mix only these problem areas, then watering it to push it into the rocks so that it keeps them in place be a workable solution?

Viggo is interrupting that bull’s favorite day of the year!🤣

How thick are your geocells? Also, what size gravel did you use? Can you state the manufacturer of your Geocells? We are going to try Standartpark 4" on our steep slopes. On flat surfaces such as gate entrances we used Truegrid Pro 1.8 inches with 3/8 inch crushed, worked very well, little to no loss from a 3 inch rain. Enjoy your updates, they are very helpful.

I came for the Geocell but I stayed for the moose

I feel for ya. Luckily for me, mini excavators are pretty cheap to rent in my area, (though delivery fees can mount up). Anyhow, I think that sometimes it takes a year or so for earth to settle after the bulk of the work has been done. To my way of thinking, I find that some sort of first year follow-up to correct deficiencies should be considered more, or less, normal. After the remedial work has been done, you can then probably start getting a feel for whether or not you've got a permanent solution, or if you can develop a reasonable ongoing maintenance strategy that you can tolerate. My accountant doesn't like the way I think, because she thinks that I should have done things right the first time and doesn't like it when the remedial work I'm intending to do, means that there'll be a piece of equipment parked in her yard for a week or so. It doesn't seem to matter to her, that while I've got a mini-ex at my disposal, she'll get a couple of trees relocated, or that she'll get some gardens cleaned up, or a debris pile flattened out, etc. Thanks for sharing the moose... I've noticed that I don't have any moose in my yard and squirrels just don't seem to cut it. My accountant doesn't like it when I leave seeds out for the birds, but the squirrels move in and make a nest in the heater fan of her Jeep. I don't suppose that moose could fit inside the heater fan of your vehicle, so you might find moose to be somewhat less annoying. All the best to you....

Hello Amy , very interresting using geocell on you gravel-road, nice you also show after one year of use,. I have two questions : How often is your road used a day,. and what is the price of the Geocell fabric.. regards Tony (from Portugal)

For those who may need to fix localized areas (steep slopes, at grade undrained farm driveways, curves), that sustain progressive erosion and instability, and don't want to spend on geocell products, the same can be done with used car tires, that can be collected from car service shops, disposal facilities, or ordered at a very cheap price. All its needed is to remove the shoulders and lay them on the graded road surface, next to each other, like geocells. Then they are filled with gravel base. I recommen that the layer on top of the tire cells (the wearing course), has a finer matrix, so it is more cohessive and can endure the effect of traffic. If clean crushed gravel is used, it will rut and erode. The best material for that purpose is known as Dense Grade Aggregate or DGA. There are lots of videos showibg how used tires can be used to stabilize low volume roads.

The cost of an education. It all can be remidyed, The forest service has a book on fire road construction. It has principles to follow,

As a professional engineer who designs roads I can tell you there are three important conditions that must be addressed. They are in priority 1) Drainage , 2) Drainage, 3) Drainage. 90% of road failures and increased maintenance is caused by non existent or door drainage. There are two consequences of poor drainage: a) erosion and b) settlement. You should always have a ditch or sloped ground away from the roadway. If you ditch leading to a low spot, provide a cross drain some way. Water bars the send the runoff from an upstream point to a downstream point across the road should be spaced every 100 to 200 feet depending upon the road's slope. Water bars control smaller flows of runoff thereby lowering the potential damage that might occur . They actually spread the waters effect. If a cross culvert is needed to direct water under the road, remember the pipe's crown should be at least 12inches below the surface and soil compacted very tightly surrounding the pipe ( 95% compaction) .For flexible pipe, PVC, CMP, HDPE, etc. compact under and just around the bottom 25 % is VERY important to support the ring stress placed on the pipe. Continue compact all the way to the pipes crown ( top) and then to the surface. The easiest material to obtain compaction is pea gravel. If it is in a contained area ( stabile trench sides ) 95% compaction can be obtained simply by poring the gravel into the trench push material under the pipes haunches' and continue filling pushing the area to fill voids with a shovel.

Hey. Great vid. The most informative I've seen yet. Has this system eliminated or reduced potholes? Going by it's price on Amazon it would cost about $75,000 to do half a mile of road before your even buy stone so it's definitely an extreme option.

should just add a swale or swales to divert the water . simple and cheap and would prevent alot of erosion by slowing the water and holding onto it and allows the culvert to keep up. can cut them into J's facing away from the driveway or cut them to lead to a hole before it reaches the culvert. swales are great for holding water so you dont have to water as much either

I commented on your other video, before I found this one. Any updates since this video?

Could I use something like this as a base to pour asphalt, later.

I would have to say it has done well considering what it has been exposed to.

Hi there, thanks for sharing. I had a similar driveway. I'm not sure if you're interested, but a few things i learnt were 1. Trenches or drainage need to be on the high side of the driveway, especially where you have a lot of runoff (at the top of your driveway) 2. The exception is water always travels to the lowest point, so there is no point digging a trench on the high side the whole length of the driveway when the water crosses over halfway to reach a lower point on the other side. Looks like you might need a pipe under the road at this crossover point. I have learnt the hard way to work with where the water wants to go, and not where I want it to go. The trench might continue along the low side for the second half, as there is not as much surface area to cause high runoff at the lower half of the driveway. 3. Once effective drainage is in place (it currently looks like the road is acting like a big big funnel), you might get a better result from spreading dry mortar mix before spreading gravel in trouble spots. Hope that helps.

Do you use geotextile below the geocell?

Hello from Sedalia, co. I watch your channel allot, I'm looking at a koiti dk5310 from hitchin post for many of the same tasks you have. Reccomend them? We have been walking around sinking up to ankles in sections of our driveway. We have a new yt channel as well.

Moose are HUGE holy crap!

While your wildlife is cool and nice, you should probably make a separate video of that. I'm trying to get a solution for my driveway and spent 4 min just to get to it. A lot of people won't, they'll move to the next video. Thank you for your video.

Looks like a little more gravel is needed, to layer it up & cover the geo-cell.... Good Luck

Can you do a 2 year or going on 3 year update? I’m looking to do it I have a steep mountain driveway that I’m wanting to do this to are you still happy with it I think it will definitely be worth it not losing so much stone every year.

Looks to me that if your subgrade is graded properly and drainage is put in at the beginning your roadway material should pretty much stay in place. Always gonna have some maintaining no matter what you use unless you use concrete or something like it that has same type of density.

Might I suggest you using milling as a posed to gravel

You need drainage ditches on either side of the driveway. Use your rear blade, not the box blade and canter it to the 30 degree mark. drag out the material and use 4 inch leach field PVC pipe (one with the holes) put that in the bottom of the ditch and cover it with the biggest gravel you can get in your area. It's just a variant of a French drain. Over that if you have room, put some geocell and more of your road gravel. Should last for many years without needing any attention.

Wow that women didn't any flinch when the wolf went by 5:10

I was hoping for an quick update on your geocell driveway. I am about to put in a stone driveway in with geocell and as you know long term residential info is almost non existent. I am on east side of lake Ontario and will be snow blowing "feets and feets" of snow off my driveway. I am happy it's is only about 1500 SqFT. Thanks you for just a few words of an update would be great.

did you ever put in drainage on the sides of the driveway

How did it hold up through the winter?

If you had put down a layer of Geotextile first, to keep the gravel from mixing with the subsoil, it wouldn't tend to migrate so much. Also you need to have slope or crown to the road that leads to "planned drainage" or you'll end up with washout. The nice thing about an engineered base roadway with permeable surfacing, is that you can do the slope/crown more aggressively under the road surface. You'd start by doing the rough drainage grading of your road, then mixing/rototilling in a bentonite and lime mix on the top surface, wetting it down and compacting it with a vibratory roller into the finished drainage grade. On top of that you'd do a geotextile to keep the next layer of coarse (#4) stone at least a 6" thick at its thinnest edge, with the top of that graded to a gentler road grade. Over the top of that a geotextile to keep the aggregate sizes separate and geogrid/geocell, then fill with decomposed granite and pack with a vibratory roller. Using this method, you end up with a stiffer water impermeable surface at the bottom of your drainage grade, then a reinforcement fabric to spread out the rock load on that surface keeping it from cracking/opening-up, and to prevent scour from moving water. From there the larger rock allows water free movement along your pre-defined drainage profile to where you want water to be (the edges of the road). To top filter fabric keeps your drainage from filling up with debris, and the geogrid/geocel layer with crushed/decomposed granite gives your surface a harder face for load distribution. The big thing is understanding where the water is running off from in your watershed, and then giving the water somewhere to go that you planned for, or it'll figure it out on its own. Then you need to size it for the worst case plus margin up to your cost pain point. If you've come that far, you might as well try to find a way to put that water to use. Create a bioswale at the outfall to reclaim any washed down silt and put that water to use before it leaves your property. Too many site designs focus on getting rid of water as if it isn't a desperately needed resource. In fire country, after the bioswale, you can divert your lower flows to underground Aquablox type storage units. With that water you can irrigate your trees to get the relative moisture content of your property up, and have the reserve storage to help with firefighting. Less well water needed that way.

I wonder if had u used recycled asphalt it would’ve hold up better over the year.

A drainage trench on the side of the road might help with the water erosion.

Sorry I thought this was a video about geogrid. You should rename it the Colorado living.

Why do people not use 3/4 inch angular, clean gravel? That should pack down with compactors, yet not wash away, so easy as a smaller and find particles?

You are 100% correct, you should have cut drainage ditches at the beginning of your process. Preparation of the drive is probably the most important step in the process. That being said it held up much better than I would have expected. Well done!

IS this 2" or 4" geocell? wondering the thickness.... TIA!

Apart from water diversion you will have you keep picking up gravel on a regular basis as gravity dictates that , part of the price of living on a mountain

Driveways need diching both sides and needs to be crowned to keep water off of the driveway no diching and water will was out the driveway every time driveway needs to be high and dry.

Just found this video and noticed the gravel should be larger more like a 57 stone it may help.

Driving over exposed Geocell, How well does the Geocell hold up to constant driving over? Does it hurt the integrity of the Geocell?

You need to dig 6 inches deep and use specified soil and gravel the drive also needs wooden edging u cant compact existig drive durt wont hold up. Im puting in a drive today.. in New Zealand

For the love of all that is good, why are you up so early? :)

driveway building is science and can take some trial and error.

This may be good but a whole minute before anything happens! I'm gone after 60 seconds.

Still holding up??? I am just about to purchase this product

Do you see elk any where around you? I would think there would be more elk than moose...

Content starts at 4:18.

Taking the cheapest possible route almost always ends in dissatisfaction.

that moose had morning wood

Skip over to 4:18 to get the gravel and geocell update......

I’m not quite sure, but it looks like to me this erosion starts to happen right where the car/trucks make the turn. More like the tires are spinning and thought the gravel away. I would add some stones in that turn to guarantee the gravel stay inside the path. Also, like or not spread the gravel back in place - soon or later it will get more compact. Also, I would make sure to not speed much in that turn.

I tried Geo cell years ago. in the 1980s It was a great concept. Did not work for me

Sandra Bullock's sister

Bonjour et oui l'eau détruit tout toujours recommencer 🤗😘🤭🇨🇵🇨🇵🇨🇵 de papy Gilbert de France bisous bisous