Driving to Perfection

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The Driveability Factor

Your second consideration should be driveability. The drive must provide safe, easy access for a motor vehicle from the road to the house (and back) in all weather. You'll want space for two vehicles to pass each other at the entry, at the house end, and on blind curves (at least). Zoning regulations will stipulate the width of your drive and its grade for a minimum distance beyond the curb cut. A typical one-vehicle drive is eight to 10 feet wide (12 feet is better) with a grade of no more than two percent at the entry — that is, rising no more than two feet in 100 feet of length — and a grade of no more than eight percent thereafter (and five percent is better). Unless you want to burn out your clutch, a maximum grade is 15 percent. Curves should be gradual — arcs of a circle with a radius of at least 24 feet. A 48-foot turning radius is better (and essential if you want a moving van or UPS truck to get in and out).

The Ins and Outs of It

Third comes "returnability." A two-car drive between two curb cuts gives the best in-and-out access, if topography and finances permit. Lacking that possibility, the longer the drive, the more you will need ample parking and turn-around space for your car, for the pickup, and for party guests ...but most important, for an ambulance or fire truck. Consider a turning circle, a rectangular parking area, or parking-turnaround "T" at the drive's end. Turnaround posed very few problems with our own drive. The carriage yard behind the house provided ample space and needed only a length of perforated pipe to drain it and a good layer of solid fill to raise and firm it.

The Beauty of Curves

Last comes beauty. Most old-time country drives take the shortest route from road to barn — usually a straight line at a flat 90° to the road. Curves and angled approaches tender more of a welcome, however. If carefully planned and planted, a curved drive will shield your home from public view, even if buildings are close to the road. If you have the space, build in a gentle curve or two even if the terrain doesn't necessarily demand it.

If carefully planned, a curved drive
will shield your home from public
view, even if buildings are close
to the road.

The Layout and Stake-Out

Get a 100-foot length of stout cord and reels of fluorescent, gummed tape in two colors. Mark the cord with a tape flag every 10 feet. At 24 and 48-foot points (to gauge turning radius) flag with another color. Cut a six-foot stake and tape it at one-foot intervals, alternating contrasting colors. Finally, cut a supply of two-foot stakes and tape the tops of them for easy visibility in thick cover or grass. You'll need a line level as well.

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