The Hidden Costs of Building a Driveway For Your Airbnb!

Congratulations on purchasing your own piece of vacant land! Whether you're dreaming of building your perfect home or creating a serene Airbnb escape, one of the initial hurdles you'll encounter is figuring out how to access your property. Building a driveway on your vacant land may seem straightforward, but there are crucial factors to consider, including cost, material choice, and potential unforeseen challenges. Today, we'll dive into the real-life experience of how we went through this process and share our experience to help you  understand the expenses involved in putting in a driveway for your property.

Choosing the Right Material.

Choosing the right material for our driveway was the first big decision we had to make. We knew we wanted to create a unique and secluded experience, so we ended up with a much longer driveway – a whopping 1000 feet to be exact. After careful consideration, we went with 22A road gravel as our surface material. Why? Well, compared to alternatives like concrete or asphalt, gravel was much more budget-friendly. The cost of concrete or asphalt can be up to 10 times that of gravel and with the length of our driveway, going the concrete or asphalt route would've blown our budget out of the water. So, all said and done, we spent around $16,000 on our gravel driveway, which required a staggering 250 tons of gravel (that's over 500,000 pounds!). Yes, it was a significant expense, but it was far more economical than going for concrete or asphalt. Plus, we're fans of the natural look that gravel adds to our property – it just feels right.

Cutting It In + Additional Costs.

Clearing the land was the first step in constructing the driveway. There are many ways to go about this depending on your land and its specific landscape, but we used a mini excavator to remove stumps and a skid steer to push and cut in six inches into the topsoil, creating a level surface for the gravel. To prevent the gravel from sinking into the soil over time and weeds in the future, we also laid down a driveway fabric before laying the gravel down.

Depending on your unique situation, the costs for putting in a driveway can add up very quickly. Things such as renting the skid steer and mini excavator, purchasing chainsaws and additional chains, and other small items can turn a small expense into a large one in an instant. For us, we had to clear over 100 extremely tall maple trees AND we're building on a hill. Both of these items add complexity that in turn, adds to additional costs.

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Our Nightmare Scenario.

While we were cutting down the trees in preparation for the driveway, one of the large maple trees fell on a dead tree, which then struck a power line, disrupting the power supply for their neighbors. Normally, this wouldn't be too serious of an issue, but it turned out that the downed line was not just a power line but a fiber line. Unlike power lines, fiber lines cannot be easily spliced. If damaged, the entire line must be replaced, and this can result in an exorbitant bill – in their case, they were warned that a replacement could cost a staggering $100,000! Fortunately, quick action from the electrical company resolved the issue without further complications, but it serves as a stark reminder of the unforeseen challenges that may arise during the construction process and clearing your land.

Building a driveway for your vacant land involves more than just shoveling gravel onto a path. It demands careful planning, consideration of various materials, and an awareness of potential hidden costs. It's important that you weight all of your options from choosing the right material, being prepared for unexpected challenges, and acknowledging that some expenses, like tree clearing and equipment rental, are unavoidable. Creating your perfect driveway is an essential step in bringing your property dreams to life, so plan wisely, and you'll have a fantastic foundation for your future adventures. Good luck!

Watch our full youtube video on this topic here: https://youtu.be/iEMR6BsTaKA