Driveway - Slate chipping

kes · Post: # 35576Post **kes** Mon Mar 16, 2009 4:48 pm

i ve got a driveway 90 sq metres in area and need to know how many tons of slate chippings i need and what thickness to put them down at to cover it? Already hardcored and driveway used only for car use. Is there also a certain size chippings i should use? All good advice welcome?

Mon Mar 16, 2009 5:24 pm

i may be wrong here but surely the slate chippings will crumble?
i thought it was just arty farty garden designers that used them
also i could see problems with them flying about, theres not much interlock with slate chippings?
caveat emptor
LLL

kes · Post: # 35586Post **kes** Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:11 pm

i ve seen them used on a few driveways and unlike gravel they don t get in the grips of the tyres and it does nt drag on the road. There flat and about 35mm diameter, looks alright

Post: # 35587Post **Dave_L** Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:23 pm

I'll hazard a guess at between 7 and 8 tons

kes · Post: # 35588Post **kes** Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:32 pm

do you think its any good for a driveway?

Post: # 35589Post **Dave_L** Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:39 pm

The word "slate" to me is only suitable as a decorative garden "aggregate" in my mind.

Pablo · Post: # 35590Post **Pablo** Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:39 pm

Kes slate is not suitable for driveways I've seen it done too many times and it always breaks down where vehicles hit it. It's expensive and it will break your heart.It's also very sharp when broken and can give a you or a child a nasty cut if fallen on. If you do want to go with it then Dave is bang on with his estimate don't us a geotextile as the slate travels a lot and needs to bind with the subase.

kes · Post: # 35628Post **kes** Tue Mar 17, 2009 1:13 pm

i think i ll just use gravel, slate coming in at Â£600 for 8 ton dropped loose. Any ideas about how to stop it dragging on the road?

Post: # 35659Post **Tony McC** Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:19 am

See this page for examples of where slate waste has been used with reasonable success as a loose surfacing for car parking areas. Bear in mind that those photies were taken in NW Wales, where slate waste is less a commodity and more a bloody nuisance, and at the time those photies were taken (2003), we were paying 3 quid per tonne!

To prevent any loose aggregate spreading, you need some form of containment. For a driveway threshold, the two most common solutions are a 'sleeping policeman' type ramp or a dished channel.