Lime-stabilsed earth driveway - Lime-stabilsed earth driveway

[djh]

On the seventh page of The Use of Building Limes in Ecological Construction, Stafford Holmes describes how an estate road at Warwick Castle was made by stabilising the soil using lime. This sounds attractive (both aesthetically and economically!) for my drive.

I've found various descriptions of building lime-stabilised sub bases for roads but not found anything more yet about using the lime-stabilised material as the surface finish. Does anybody happen to know anything about this subject?

[Captain Concrete]

Its is possible to stabilize soil using lime and or cement, much depends on the soil, either way not really suitable for a surface finish in most situations. We usually top with tar and chip SMA or HRA only times we have left it as a finish surface is on little used forest tracks ect

[lutonlagerlout]

not a chance
we used to use lime on particularly muddy sites to make the job passable but your drive is not the M25 and almost certainly wont have 600mm subbase and 300mm of concrete on top
see here for more detail of the piece meal construction
M25

type1 is the minimum for a domestic driveway on the cheap

LLL

[GB_Groundworks]

plus the mechanical mixing drums etc runs on huge ag tractors or specialist wirtigen kit

and you won't get anyone doing a small driveway

[djh]

Did anybody actually read the description of the Warwick castle drive? Or better yet know any more about it?

[lutonlagerlout]

djh I have done vernacular skills course with lime mortar
and we were advised then by the course tutor that lime was not suitable for patios and driveays

quicklime is super expensive (about £1 a kg) and explodes on contact with water

hydraulic lime may be a bit cheaper at around 50p a kg

TBH by the time you have rotovated your drive and added this stuff (be careful it burns)

money wise a topping of type 1 would be cheaper

plus you wont be walking mud and lime in the house when it gets wet

LLL