Gravel Driveways in Plainfield, IN
Plainfield's subdivisions mostly have concrete out front, so the gravel calls here are the other kind: a side drive for a camper, a pad for a trailer, the lane to an older house on US 40 or a county road. Travis builds them on a compacted base, crowned so the clay underneath never gets the chance to swallow the stone.
- Free estimates
- Based in Greencastle, Indiana
- One crew, first cut to final grade
Gravel Driveways in Plainfield
Where gravel still fits in a subdivision town
Plainfield has grown from about 10,000 people in 1990 to more than 34,000, with neighborhoods going in from the 1970s on and new ones still being built. Those lots come with a concrete drive. The gravel work is on the edges and the older ground: the lots along US 40 that predate the subdivisions, the acreage out toward the county roads, and the rural parcels west and south of town.
In the neighborhoods themselves, it is the side drive. A camper, a boat or a work trailer needs somewhere to sit that is not the lawn, and a stone pad beside the garage is the usual answer. Travis builds those the same way as a full drive, because they carry the same weight.
The pad beside the garage
A parking pad looks simple and is usually done badly. Stone dumped on grass sinks into the clay the first wet spring and the trailer tires cut ruts through it. The pad has to be dug out like a drive: topsoil off, a compacted base, then the surface stone, with the edges held so the stone stays where it was put.
Where the pad is replacing a cracked section of concrete, or extending one, the old concrete comes out first. Concrete removal in Plainfield covers that. The pad is sloped away from the house so it does not become a channel for water into the garage.
Flat till plain ground and the base that goes on it
Plainfield sits on the Central Till Plains, which is to say flat glacial clay with few hills. White Lick Creek runs down the west side of town and Clarks Creek down the east, and everything between them drains slowly. Clay that stays wet goes soft, and soft clay eats gravel.
So the topsoil and soft material come off first, down to ground that carries weight. Then a base course of #53, an INDOT size of crushed limestone that packs tight because the fines are still in it, compacted in place. The surface is a smaller clean stone, #8 or #11, that drives and rakes well. On wet ground, geotextile fabric goes under the base to keep the clay out of the stone.
The crown, the edge and where the water goes
A drive on flat ground has no natural fall, so it has to make its own. The finished surface is crowned, higher in the middle than at the edges, and the ground beside it is shaped so the water that runs off has somewhere to go. On a flat Plainfield lot, that somewhere is often a shallow swale to the back of the lot or the roadside ditch.
If the yard around the drive already holds water, the drive will not fix that and the water will eventually get into the base. Yard drainage in Plainfield covers the swales, French drains and buried downspouts that go with it.
The road end: town, county or INDOT
The first few feet of any drive sit in the public right of way, which the town says looks like your yard but remains public property. For a new or widened entrance onto a town street, Travis asks the Town of Plainfield before anything is ordered. On a county road outside the town limits, the Hendricks County Highway Department is the office, and it usually has a say on the culvert pipe under the entrance.
US 40 through the middle of town is a state route. A new or changed entrance onto it needs an INDOT driveway permit, applied for through INDOT's online permit system and approved before work starts. The driveway culvert guide goes through all of this. Buried lines are located through Indiana 811 before the first cut, which is the law in Indiana.
Repairs, and getting a number
An existing drive with potholes, soft spots or a washed edge is a different job from a new one, and often a cheaper one. The ruts are cut out, the soft spot is dug and based, and fresh stone is spread and crowned. Gravel driveway repair and regrading explains what can be saved.
Travis comes out, looks at the ground and gives you one figure with the digging, the stone, the hauling and the road end in it. Estimates are free. Plainfield is half an hour from Greencastle, and the Plainfield page lists the rest of the work On Grade does here. The method behind every drive is on the driveway installation page.
Gravel Driveways
New gravel drives cut, based and crowned, plus potholes, soft spots and washouts repaired.
See the serviceTalk to Travis(317) 203-8928
Tell Travis whether it is a pad, a new drive or a repair, and whether it meets a town street, a county road or US 40. He comes out and gives you one number.
Call nowWhat that covers
- Side drives and pads. Stone parking for a camper, boat or trailer, built like a drive.
- New gravel drives. Topsoil out, compacted #53 base, crowned and surfaced.
- Repairs and regrading. Potholes, ruts and soft spots cut out and rebuilt.
- Culverts and entrances. The pipe and apron at the road, with the right office asked first.
Plainfield, IN
The west side of Indianapolis along US-40 and I-70, 30 minutes from Greencastle, with subdivisions from the 1970s on and new ones still going in.
Town pageAlso in PlainfieldDemolition & Removal in Plainfield, IN
See the pageAlso in PlainfieldConcrete Removal in Plainfield, IN
See the pageAlso in PlainfieldYard Drainage & French Drains in Plainfield, IN
See the pageThe serviceGravel Driveways
New gravel drives cut, based and crowned, plus potholes, soft spots and washouts repaired.
Main service pagePlainfield and the towns nearby
Plainfield is the south end of the Hendricks County run, half an hour from Greencastle on US 40. The same pads and drives are built north in Avon, west out US 36 in Danville and across the Morgan County line in Mooresville. Clayton, Camby, Cartersburg and the county roads between them are on the same trip, and the service area page has the rest of the map.
You get Travis. One crew, first cut to final grade.
You call
You call or send the form. Travis comes out and looks at the job with you, on the ground, rather than pricing it off a photograph.
A number first
You get one figure before anything starts, with the hauling and the finish grading in it.
One crew does it
Then the same crew that quoted it shows up and does the work, first cut to final grade.
Ground left usable
Voids get filled and the ground is graded back so you can pour, build or seed.
Photos of his work.
These are photographs from actual jobs. See more recent work. Or read about the full gravel driveways service.
Questions people ask
Not seeing yours? Call (317) 203-8928 and ask Travis, or read the guides.
Can I put a gravel parking pad beside my garage in Plainfield?
On your own lot, usually, though some neighborhoods have covenants about what is visible from the street, so check yours. The pad is dug out, based and surfaced like a drive. Anything that reaches the public right of way at the street is a question for the Town of Plainfield first.
What stone goes in a Plainfield gravel driveway?
A base course of #53 crushed limestone, an INDOT size that packs tight because the fines are left in, compacted on firm ground. The surface is a smaller clean stone, #8 or #11, that drives well and can be raked. On wet clay, fabric goes under the base.
Who do I ask about a new entrance onto a county road?
The Hendricks County Highway Department, before any stone or pipe is ordered. Inside the town limits, the Town of Plainfield handles entrances onto town streets. US 40 is a state route and needs an INDOT driveway permit, approved before work starts.
My gravel drive has turned to mud. Does it need rebuilding?
Not always. If the stone has sunk into the clay in a few soft spots, those are dug out, based and restoned while the rest is regraded and crowned. A drive that was never based and has gone soft end to end is rebuilt. Travis tells you which when he looks.
How does the drive shed water on a flat lot?
With a crown. The middle is built higher than the edges so rain runs off sideways, and the ground beside the drive is shaped into a shallow swale that carries it to the back of the lot or the roadside ditch. Without that, water sits in the stone and softens the base.
Other work he takes on
Most jobs end up being two or three of these at once, and they get quoted together.
Gravel Driveways in other towns
Excavation & Site Prep
Sites stripped, cut and graded, ready for the builder.
Learn moreFoundation & Basement Excavation
Basements, crawl spaces and footings dug to grade and backfilled.
Learn moreDrainage, Culverts & Utilities
Water moved off yards and away from foundations; culverts and service lines set.
Learn moreDriveways & Finish Grading
Gravel drives built and crowned; yards finish graded for seed.
Learn moreLand Clearing & Forestry Mulching
Lots and acreage cleared, brush mulched in place.
Learn moreBuilding & Pole Barn Pads
Pads cut, filled and compacted for barns, shops and houses.
Learn moreFree estimate in Plainfield.
Call or text Travis. Free estimates, straight answers.
Greencastle, Indiana · Putnam, Hendricks, Boone and Marion counties
Need gravel driveway work in Plainfield?
Call or text Travis with the address and what you are trying to do.