Limestone chippings - Discolouration (moisture)

[swancott2006]

Hi guys I've got a problem with a driveway/pedestrian access ive recently done with a colleague of mine(his job) basically we laid a drive of aprox 200m2 with cotswold chippings ,the white ones.some of it was on new mot and some was on existing sub base, as per client instructions! Now the client has been on the phone doing his nut saying that we've done a crap job as the gravel we've laid is patchy in colour in places.on a site visit today the problem was obviously that the gravel was drying out at different rates I.e. white where dry and yellow were damp.there are other factors in that some of drive is more exposed to the weather and obviously the thickness of gravel varies in places, any ideas on a remedy appreciated, ta

[msh paving]

a picture would help to see the problem better MSH

[lutonlagerlout]

we did a driveway this year and the client rang up with exactly the same gripe
when they are dry they look white,when wet yellow
tell him not to worry in 6 months they will all be green
LLL

PS we advised against them but he wouldnt have it

[Dave_L]

Agree with LLL, give a month or three and it won't be an issue.

[swancott2006]

Cheers lads, i'd not used them before and the client had supplied the bulk of them from the local merchants, we just had to get another 4 ton from the local quarry to finish the job, so when he rung my mate and said there was a colour variation alarm bells started ringing but surely cotswold chippings are all from the same place! As for photos I should have took some today but I never thought. if the weather was up to its usual tricks for this time of year theyd all be yellow!

[Mainland]

Unfortunately there are many different sources of Cotswold Buff Chippings on the market but believe it or not very few actually come from the Cotswolds. This is due to genuine Cotswold Stone being composed of a softer Limestone making it a poor choice for driveways. The industry answer to this problem was to source a similar coloured but harder Limestone from the Derbyshire and S.Yorks area but still market it as Cotswold as it is an established name. The true Cotswold materials tend to have a more attractive yellow tinge to them but are soft whereas the Derbyshire and Yorkshire materials are more creamy white in appearance but much more durable making them more suitable for driveways.

[lutonlagerlout]

welcome back mainland aggregates
crikey it must be 3 years since your last post?

cheers LLL

[Mainland]

Yep it's been a while! Got a few DIY projects on the go trying to keep the mrs happy so thought I better swat up at pavingexpert.com!