Driveways & Access Roads in Nanaimo

What's under a driveway that holds up?

A driveway that lasts is built from the ground up: proper excavation to grade, a compacted base of crushed rock at least 150 millimetres deep, and a crown or cross-slope that sheds water instead of holding it. Skip the base and the surface fails within a couple of seasons, no matter what goes on top.

Do you need a permit for a new driveway?

If your access ties into a provincial highway, you need a Ministry of Transportation and Transit permit before work starts — we check this for you as part of every quote. Access off a municipal or regional road inside the Regional District of Nanaimo generally doesn't need one, but we confirm it either way rather than assume.

Why compact in layers instead of all at once?

Because a compactor only works to a certain depth. Drop 400 millimetres of crushed rock in one go and you get a firm crust over a soft middle that keeps settling for a year — usually in the wheel tracks, which is exactly where you notice it.

So we build the base in lifts and compact each one before the next goes on. It is slower on the day, and it is the reason a properly built drive stays flat while a cheap one develops dips by the second winter. How thick each lift runs comes off what the plate or roller can actually achieve, not off a round number.

How it works

1. 1

   Locate request — We file the BC 1 Call locate before any digging starts.

2. 2

   Excavation — We cut the driveway to the grade and width your site needs.

3. 3

   Base compaction — We lay and compact a crushed-rock base so the surface has something solid underneath.

4. 4

   Surface shaping — We crown or cross-slope the surface so water runs off instead of pooling.