Extending the Driveway

Extending the Driveway

Soon after I moved into my house I extended the driveway and moved the carport. Now I'm moving it just a bit farther.

I had considered extending the driveway and moving the carport, so that cars could double park, and it also helps with a K turn when leaving my driveway

What finally propelled me to do this was that by pushing the carport back 12'-0", I would have more clearance for my gokart track. It's the simple things.

I measured everything first just to make sure I could still fit a storage building between the car port and trees if I so chose in the future.

Purchase List:

• 32 CMU block $48
• 10 tons of gravel $200
• (4) .5"x10' rebar $13

Total Cost: $260

Tool List:

• rake
• shovel
• level
• string 
• grinder
• sledgehammer  
• prybar
• pipe
• wheelbarrow

Introduction
Roughly twelve years ago, I pulled out the stakes holding down my carport and used pieces of galvanized pipe to roll it to the new location. Then I put down crush and run gravel a wheel barrow full at a time under the carport. Since the new area sloped, I used a few 8x8x16 cmu block  at the rear and a short distance on each side to hold the gravel.

I didn't go the route of clearing the soil, compacting the soil, putting down filter fabric to block vegetation, then putting #57 stone for drainage, compacting that, and then putting down crush and run on top of that and compacting again. That's the above and beyond way to do it.
I cleared the soil, and put down crush and run. I did that twelve years ago and I have no complaints, though the crush and run has compacted where the tires of the vehicle track but not by a lot. I could rake it out to level it, but it hasn't bothered me.

Placing the Perimeter Block
I'm extending the driveway 12'-0".  That's 9 block back each side. This area of the yard has heavy shade, so I didn't have much vegetation to clear. I used a rake to remove the leaves and the little vegetation.

I placed the blocks as straight and as level as I could, using a level to make sure each block was level and in plane. On one side, I used dirt to keep each one level with the previous block placed. The other side was already flat.

It's best to use a 4' level so you can level as many block as possible at a time. It's also a good idea to use string to strike a straight line and make sure the extension is square. String a line from each corner back 12' and use a block or a stick for the corner, then measure side to side. Do the same thing on the other side. The width of the extension should match the existing width of the driveway. If it's shorter or longer, make adjustments. You can use the 3-4-5 method to ensure corners are indeed square. One leg of your triangle is 3 feet, the other 4 feet, and connecting them should be 5'. If you get more ore less than 5 feet, it isn't square.
I did NOT do this, and had to go back to straighten each side. I ended up with a 4" gap, and I just used a cmu paver to fill the gap.

Once the block were in place, I placed rebar in every other block along the back and every third block along the sides. Have it against the inside face. The rebar will keep the block from moving/tilting against the weight of the gravel. I cut the rebar into ~36" pieces with a grinder. Once you cut half way through, the cut should snap with a bit of force, saving you the time of cutting all the way through.

I drove in the rebar with a sledgehammer. Make sure it stays tight against the inside face of the block.

I took some of the dirt from where I was going to fill with gravel to fill a few holes in my yard. It's a perfect time to steal some fill dirt if you don't have a good source.

Car Port Moving
I used a hydraulic jack to pry up the stakes holding the carport down. Over a few years they get really stuck. In some spots I dug a hole to fit the jack under the carport. Try to jack as near the vertical posts as possible.

If I couldn't get the stakes to pry up, I would jack the carport, put blocks under it and jack it higher.

Once the stakes were pried out, I then used the prybar/jack to insert galvanized pipe under the rails of the carport to help roll it into the new location.
The rollers definitely help, but I could only move it a foot at a time before it rolled or slid off a roller. I would then pry or jack the car port up to insert the pipes again. I had five pieces of pipe for each side.

Crush and Run Gravel

There are 18 cubic feet of gravel in a ton. I needed roughly 8 tons, but got a bit more. Luckily I know someone with a dump truck, otherwise I would have had to pay a delivery fee for the gravel.

This is 5 tons of gravel.

The rails sit on top of the CMU block. I actually moved it farther back than needed. I did this so that the dump truck could back as close to where the gravel was going as possible. This reduces the work of getting the gravel into the right spot when it's dumped exactly where it needs to go. I used a rake and shovel to spread it out. I filled in the CMU block with gravel and made the entire extension taller than needed as it will level out over time. I also leveled other parts of the driveway. It's best to get extra to make sure you have enough and some for other spots.

 After the first 5 ton load I shoveled the gravel to the corners in preparation for the next load.

Finishing Up
Once the gravel was in place, I used a vehicle to drive over as much as I could, just pulling forward over it, backing up and doing it again across the width. This helps compact the gravel.

 

 

Then I moved the carport back in place. I used a level to make sure the car port was level front to back and the columns were plumb. The carport isn't exactly level side to side, but I leveled it off the driveway so it would look right. To get the car port level front to back, I let the front rails sit on the CMU, then lifted the back to get it level. I used brick to get it level. I used landscape block under the rails just to prevent gravel from spilling over the edge.
While the new block I put down was level, the last few block that the front of the car port sits on were already there and weren't level which is why I need to level the rear with bricks.

Then I hammered the stakes in place and the car port was done.