Driveway Tuneup

For several years, I have been planning to make improvements on Rosslyn’s driveway. Not dramatic changes, nor a huge project. With 2023 swiftly vanishing, we have initiated our long overdue driveway tuneup, completing the brunt of the work with spring 2024 “fine tuning” slotted in once the new work has weathered in during an Adirondack Coast winter.

Thank you, Bob and Phil, for shoehorning us into your busy end-of-year schedule. After installing helical piers for the carriage barn privacy fence on Friday December 8, they returned Monday through Wednesday to tackle the driveway.

While winter may not strike you as the most obvious time to excavate a driveway (given the potential for snow, ice, mud, and challenging working conditions), Bob and Phil felt confident that the weather conditions were amenable. And they advised that waiting until spring would be a bigger gamble since we have no idea when the snow will melt, spring thaw and mud conditions will pass, and the ground will become firm enough for site work.

They were right, of course, on both counts. And, for my part, I definitely appreciated the opportunity to cross this too long deferred task off the to do list. So win, win, win.

Although I’m blaming the delay in posting this update on the holidays, this tardy tidbit is actually a significant improvement deserving greater celebration than I’ve managed. So, let’s reboot with the enthusiasm this update deserves…

Eureka! The first phase of our two-part driveway tuneup is complete. And it looks outstanding! Thank you, Bob and Phil.

Long story short, these gentlemen who have managed most of Rosslyn’s site work over the years, rebuilt the driveway beyond our parking area, up toward the carriage barn, and to the south and southwest of the carriage barn.

Much of the driveway has been shifted north away from our south property line (allowing for a better buffer with our neighbors). And parts of the driveway that were never properly been base-coursed have been excavated and rebuilt from scratch.

In short, we’re ready to put this newly improved driveway to the test during a grueling Adirondack winter. I’ll update you in the spring when we move forward with phase 2, and until then, I offer you this photo essay!

And that is the driveway tuneup, phase one, completed a couple of weeks ago by Bob and Phil, two guys who have under promised and over delivered time and again for years. We’re SO grateful each time they tackle a project for us!