How much compaction does road base need for a path?

[Taleya]

We're laying a path - we know we need 5cm compacted road base. How do you know when it's compacted enough?

[JacobZ]

Hi @Taleya,

You'll want your road base to be compacted by about 20%, so start with a 6cm layer and compact it till it is 5cm thick.

Before adding your road base, can drive some stakes into the soil and mark 6cm up from the ground. Fill the area until your road base hits that mark and then compact it till your road base is 1cm below the original mark. 

Once this has been done, remove the stack, fill the hole where the stake was and tamp it down.

This will give you a well compacted substrate for your path.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob