# Mansions with...gravel driveways?



## matthewscheuerman

ok...I've always wondered this. I grew up on a farm, and my mother demanded that we have a gravel driveway to keep the mud at bay during the spring and fall. This was just a requirement fueled by function. All the wealthiest people in our town paid to have their driveways paved in cement/brick/asphalt. 

Even driving very slowly, rocks would kick-up and eventually chip paint. 

So it came as quite a surprise when I met some very wealthy people and saw some million dollar homes in a few cities. I also noticed that in films, when a location scout picks a mansion, most often the driveway is pebble/gravel. The home of Mr. White at the end of Casino Royale is a perfect example. 

Why would anyone pick gravel/pebble over something like cobblestone?


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## Mediocre

Most I have seen were poured concrete


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## Toothbras

even rich people have to scrimp on something... how else are they going to afford more caviar??


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## justbecauseIcan

There will not be much more than the hollywood image of aristocratic old England mansion driveways behind this.

Pave that thing.


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## Nokie

Sounds like an oxymoron to me.....


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## Lit

I have a small-sized-gravel driveway, and I'm not going to change it to cement/brick/asphalt for the following reasons:

1. Asphalt looks like ...., c'mon, your house isn't an airport. Also unnatural.
2. Cement looks cheap. Also unnatural.
3. Brick or cobblestone look really nice, but if your guests or family (my brother in my case) it's prone to ¿skid? while in hurry, you will have some ugly and difficult to remove black marks in your driveway.
4. Since mine is small sized, I've never had problems with it chipping paint.
5. It may look cheaper, but It is not. You will need a big amount of gravel, and replace it (it breaks small until dust, more if it's small) every 4-8 years (in my case), and someone who spreads it evenly every time. And some way to prevent plants from growing or someone who remove them. It isn't fire and forget like the others.
6. It drains water, so no ¿puddles?. Where I live usually doesn't rain, but when it does, it does.

If any, I would change it for cobblestone, but water drainage it's a big factor in my case since it's a large space.

My 2 cents and sorry for english grammar.


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## little big feather

What you call "Gravel" would more than likely be a substance referred to in the trade as "Rotten Granite"
very expensive,very fine after years of natural particle breakdown....In the "South" you will find crushed oyster shell, again very expensive....:-!


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## slcbbrown

Lit said:


> I have a small-sized-gravel driveway, and I'm not going to change it to cement/brick/asphalt for the following reasons:
> 
> 1. Asphalt looks like ...., c'mon, your house isn't an airport. Also unnatural.
> 2. Cement looks cheap. Also unnatural.
> 3. Brick or cobblestone look really nice, but if your guests or family (my brother in my case) it's prone to ¿skid? while in hurry, you will have some ugly and difficult to remove black marks in your driveway.
> 4. Since mine is small sized, I've never had problems with it chipping paint.
> 5. It may look cheaper, but It is not. You will need a big amount of gravel, and replace it (it breaks small until dust, more if it's small) every 4-8 years (in my case), and someone who spreads it evenly every time. And some way to prevent plants from growing or someone who remove them. It isn't fire and forget like the others.
> 6. It drains water, so no ¿puddles?. Where I live usually doesn't rain, but when it does, it does.
> 
> If any, I would change it for cobblestone, but water drainage it's a big factor in my case since it's a large space.
> 
> My 2 cents and sorry for english grammar.


Well said. Pea gravel is the typical gravel material you might notice in the front of English mansions in the movies. It's what makes that neat crunching sound. If you have a light-usage, low speed pathway, it can be a less expensive way to build a long driveway. Pea gravel won't compact or crumble, and maintenance means raking or adding a few bags of gravel.


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## Robotaz

Gravel ribbon driveways with grass in the middle are beautiful and very natural looking.


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## NJC614

I'm sure it's not an issue down south, but in New England it can help prevent frost heaves and cracks. If you have a quarter mile of driveway it's bound to crack and rise during a winter and then the spring thaw. With gravel you just pour some down every couple of seasons.


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## mikekilo725

Would love to have a gravel driveway, but being mine is all uphill or down, sending which direction, it would all end up in the street


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## Simey

matthewscheuerman said:


> ok...I've always wondered this. I grew up on a farm, and my mother demanded that we have a gravel driveway to keep the mud at bay during the spring and fall. This was just a requirement fueled by function. All the wealthiest people in our town paid to have their driveways paved in cement/brick/asphalt.
> 
> Even driving very slowly, rocks would kick-up and eventually chip paint.
> 
> So it came as quite a surprise when I met some very wealthy people and saw some million dollar homes in a few cities. I also noticed that in films, when a location scout picks a mansion, most often the driveway is pebble/gravel. The home of Mr. White at the end of Casino Royale is a perfect example.
> 
> Why would anyone pick gravel/pebble over something like cobblestone?


For that distinctively crunchy Rolls-Royce-driving-slowly-up-the gravel-driveway-to your-mansion sound of course.


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## craig00

cause of the beautiful look i guess ....its natural looking


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## _yourhonoryourhonor_

I live in Colorado and have seen plenty of incredible houses up in the mountains with gravel driveways. Maybe less maintenance?


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## MrBlandings

Asphalt is cheap, smelly, messy, and because of the petroleum content and the water runoff problems it can cause, not very environmentally friendly.

Gravel / stone / etc. is a more traditional solution to the driveway coverage problem, can be used pretty much as soon as it is put down, is very easy to repair, is a natural product with no petroleum, and does not cause water run off issues (as long as the driveway is properly designed and built). Oh, and it is often more expensive up front, yet less expensive to maintain.

As an architect, I have never had a client ask for a asphalt driveway.


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## Mediocre

MrBlandings said:


> Asphalt is cheap, smelly, messy, and because of the petroleum content and the water runoff problems it can cause, not very environmentally friendly.
> 
> Gravel / stone / etc. is a more traditional solution to the driveway coverage problem, can be used pretty much as soon as it is put down, is very easy to repair, is a natural product with no petroleum, and does not cause water run off issues (as long as the driveway is properly designed and built). Oh, and it is often more expensive up front, yet less expensive to maintain.
> 
> As an architect, I have never had a client ask for a asphalt driveway.


Thoughts on concrete?


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## wellhouse

we deliberately had gravel at my 'mansion' for 2 reasons - 1/. moving ground and tree roots play havoc with a third of a mile of driveway 2/. security reasons so we can hear thieving so and so's coming!


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## MrBlandings

Mediocre said:


> Thoughts on concrete?


Personally, I am not a fan (and have never had a client ask for one, either). It will also cause similar water run off issues. If you are in an area with great freeze-thaw cycles, and the earth is not prepared properly, the concrete is going to move and crack, and then you will be dealing with more water issues as it gets in to the cracks. Spreading salt on the concrete in winter can also cause staining, and also allow water into the porous concrete. On the good side, concrete can last for several decades, as long as the climate conditions and original preparation and installation was done correctly. However, these may tend to be warmer areas, and in those conditions, concrete becomes a reflective heat sink which can radiate back into a house on hot summer days, creating a greater heat load for the AC to deal with.


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## dadbar

Gravel is great as long as you don't have to plow it in winter


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## CSG

We have a large U shaped gravel drive. I wouldn't dream of pavement of any sort.


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## Yitzy Fuld

Where I'm from (NYC suburbs) we have a big issue with coverage. People can build a larger house if they put in a gravel driveway that does not count as coverage since it's permeable for water.


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## KneeDragr

Pavers are the way to go if you can afford it, all the benefits of gravel without the mess or car damage. Probably 100x the cost however.

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk


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## james walters

GOOD point NJC614, some other people do it for the beauty


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## charleswtch

For durability and good natural looks i guess.


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## Blarpie

Living in Southern California I have never in my life seen a gravel driveway. All of them, & I mean all of them are concrete. Portland cement specifically.


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## OUPEbiker

I grew up in rural Oklahoma, and our driveway is approximately 450 ft. long of crushed rock. I always thought it would be nice to have a concrete drive, but the repairs after winter are so easy with rock, and the audible warning you get when someone is coming to see you is convenient. Also, a normal house, not a mansion.


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## mikekilo725

I always equate a gravel drive with being home. Don't have one currently, but grew up with one.


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## yankeexpress

My driveway is over 1/3 mile of steep ups and downs, over several culverts and a stream bed. The hired snowplow tears it up, so gravel is easier to maintain. They call it Hardpack.

We had a sea-shell driveway at the shore house....beautiful but hard on bare feet and murder on the hardwood floors when tracking shells inside.


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## Robotaz

yankeexpress said:


> We had a sea-shell driveway at the shore house....beautiful but hard on bare feet and murder on the hardwood floors when tracking shells inside.


Switched to tile or stone yet?


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## yankeexpress

Robotaz said:


> Switched to tile or stone yet?


Nope, sold it.


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## OmegaDaddy

There's something in between called aggregate that's nice. Concrete with a rough top of exposed pea gravel. Looks natural, good traction. 

I'm with you, though, on being a little concerned about the gravel kicking up on the car when you drive a faster than you should. A similar annoyance is seeing maintenance guys using a blower around my car to whisk away the debris. The equivalent of getting your car sandblasted once a week....


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## CMSgt Bo

Decomposed/crushed granite on the upper loop and lower driveway. We live on the side of a mountain and the gravel slows/absorbs the flow of water and prevents erosion.


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## ascari_2

I would not keep a gravel driveway ... but then again I probably won't live in a mansion.


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## tzwick

Would never have gravel over cobblestone. Just like you said, huge pain driving on gravel. Not a fan.


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## Micro-Brand Fan

Sometimes you are in a location designated as "wetlands" and can not put in a surface on your driveway


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## conkmwc

I think the gravel drive is for aesthetics. A big long "runway" as someone else put it, isn't pretty. But crushed shells, gravel, etc can be beautiful.


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## Robotaz

conkmwc said:


> I think the gravel drive is for aesthetics. A big long "runway" as someone else put it, isn't pretty. But crushed shells, gravel, etc can be beautiful.


Right, until those shells fly out of your tires and chip your Mulsanne rocker panels. Not fun.


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## TunaSbdb009

Never gravel. Interlocking stone or stamped concrete is the way to go.


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## Ard

I'm in Alaska and while I could hardly call the home a mansion we do have a drive of almost 300 feet total length. In this climate and with the soils (glacial till) it would be very expensive to pave this. For short drive ways that lead to a garage like in housing developments there isn't a lot of bed preparation needed. For one like ours I would need to excavate at least 4 feet deep for the entire length and have a highway grade road bed installed to safeguard against upheaval in the winters.

5 years ago we had rain from mid September through the third week of October. This prolonged period of rain culminated in what was called a 500 year flood event. When it finally stopped raining it went below freezing. Then on Halloween Eve the temps plunged to -24 degrees and stayed there for over a week.

That was just 2 years after I had built this new drive way of ours. I'm a capable equipment operator so I had done all the excavating and grading work myself. The drive was good drainage and topped with about 2" of 3/4 inch gravel. It was the nicest drive I've ever had and my wife and I had discussed what it might cost to pave it in the future.

When the mercury dropped to -24 all that water in the ground from our 500 year flood event froze. As you know when water freezes the bonds between each molecule expands. Our lawn and driveway heaved up until they had a series of swales and moguls formed some almost a foot in height. I believe this would happen if it were paved also.

In short if I have a problem with our little gravel drive I can fix it by regarding and spreading some gravel, roughly a 750.00 job. If it were black top and in need of repair it would cost a few thousand. What would I be wearing as a watch if I wasted money like that?


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## watchRus

ronbryant31 said:


> I wouldn't be sure either. But for driveway, I would prefer to use asphalt or concrete.
> 
> Ron Bryant


I would choose pavers. Asphalt makes driveway look like a parking lot. Concrete will crack.


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## JD10

watchRus said:


> I would choose pavers. Asphalt makes driveway look like a parking lot. Concrete will crack.


This is the way to go. Looks upscale and will last

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## watchRus

JD10 said:


> This is the way to go. Looks upscale and will last
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Really big mansions tend to favor some sort of a sand mixture. For example, here is the Chartwell Estate in California:


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## hrant

Gravel is not "cheap" and in my book provides for decent aesthetics. Scrimping is having asphalt as your driveway. Also, may homes in the Bay Area have decomposed granite like the image above, and I think it looks great.


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## Birddog1

Old money. Goes right along with the old Chevy Suburban and house with no air conditioning.


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