The Affordable Way To Widen Your Driveway (Without Pouring Fresh Concrete)

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If you've outgrown your driveway, perhaps by adding another car or upgrading to a larger one, you may need to widen it. While you could always extend your driveway with pavers or by pouring concrete, these options can feel daunting to undertake and rather expensive, especially if you have to opt for professional installation. If you're on a budget and want to confidently take on the job yourself, here's an idea: Widen it with gravel. 

If you were installing a new driveway, gravel would be the most affordable option, at a cost between $1 and $10 per square foot for professional installation. Pavers, on the other hand, cost anywhere from $10 to $30 per square foot,  and concrete costs between $8 and $20 per square foot. The same cost considerations apply when adding onto an existing driveway, but cost isn't the only reason to choose gravel. It's less labor-intensive to install, it adds an appealing touch to your property, and it's permeable.

Permeability is an especially useful feature when it comes to installing a extending an existing driveway. Instead of pooling at the edges of the existing driveway or creating gulleys, rainwater drains through a gravel border. This means you don't have to be as careful about grading as you would if you poured concrete. That's definitely a plus if you plan to save money by doing the job yourself instead of hiring a contractor. 

If you're going to extend your driveway with gravel, you'll need to order material, and technically, it won't actually be gravel. It will be crushed rock, which has sharp edges and holds together when compacted. The two are often confused, but you'll typically landscape with gravel, because it's more decorative and has smooth edges that make it less stable.

A cubic yard of crushed rock starts at about $50. To calculate how much you'll need, multiply the length and width of the driveway extension by the depth of the gravel bed, which should be at least 12 inches for stability, and convert to cubic yards. Don't want to do that much digging? Consider installing a permeable pavement system like TrueGrid Pro Plus Permeable Pavers to stabilize the gravel. This will add $4.38 per square foot to the cost of the project, but you'll only have to dig to a depth of 8 inches, and you'll need less gravel.

After you've removed turf from the edges of the driveway and dug a bed for the gravel, it's important to lay a weed barrier before you spread the gravel, or you'll soon be battling weeds. A 4-inch-wide roll of Super Geotextile Woven Geotextile Fabric, which is recommended for driveways, adds about $0.80 per foot to the cost of the project. If you're trying to save more money, though, you could consider these alternatives to landscape fabric for weed-free gravel. You may also want to rent equipment to dig and level the trench efficiently, but after laying the fabric, it's just a matter of getting a couple friends or family members to help you shovel and rake the crushed rock into place.