Gravel Driveways & Building Pads

A properly built driveway or building pad starts below the surface. Boulder Brothers LLC installs gravel and limestone driveways, driveway extensions, parking areas, RV pads, garage pads, shed pads, and other compacted aggregate surfaces throughout Houghton Lake, Higgins Lake, Roscommon, St. Helen, and surrounding Northern Michigan areas. Whether you're replacing an existing driveway or starting with bare ground, proper excavation, grading, drainage, base preparation, and compaction are essential for creating a surface that will hold up to Michigan weather.

Gravel & Limestone Driveways

We install new driveways as well as repair, regrade, and add material to existing gravel driveways.

A typical new driveway installation may include:

Excavation and grading as needed
Removal of unsuitable material
Commercial-grade geotextile fabric when appropriate
Approximately 4 inches or more of compacted limestone road mix or gravel
Proper grading for water drainage
Mechanical compaction
Final grading and cleanup

Every property is different. Material depth and site preparation may need to be increased depending on soil conditions, drainage, vehicle traffic, and the existing base.

Existing Driveway Repair & Resurfacing

Not every driveway needs to be completely rebuilt. If your existing base is still in good condition, we may be able to regrade the driveway, correct low areas and drainage problems, add additional limestone or gravel, and compact the entire surface. This can be a cost-effective way to restore an older driveway without replacing the entire base.

Building Pads

We also install compacted gravel and limestone pads for:

Garages
Pole barns
Sheds
RVs and campers
Parking areas
Equipment storage
Carports
Other structures

Our typical building pad uses approximately 6 inches or more of compacted aggregate, although the exact depth and base preparation depend on the structure, soil conditions, drainage, and project requirements. Building pads must be properly graded and compacted. Simply spreading gravel over an area does not create the same stable base as a properly prepared and compacted pad.

Why Proper Compaction Matters

Aggregate should be installed and compacted properly to reduce settling, rutting, soft spots, and movement. For deeper installations, material may need to be installed and compacted in lifts rather than placing the entire depth at once. We evaluate the existing ground conditions and determine the appropriate preparation for each project.

Built for Northern Michigan Conditions

Michigan's freeze-thaw cycles, snow, rain, and varying soil conditions can quickly expose problems with an improperly prepared driveway or building pad. The visible gravel is only part of the project. Proper grading, drainage, base preparation, fabric when needed, aggregate selection, and compaction all contribute to how well the finished surface performs. Boulder Brothers LLC takes the time to prepare the area correctly rather than simply spreading stone over existing problems.