Typically for a pathway, you would dig the area out to a depth of approximately 5 inches. A base of 3 inches of scalpings would then be laid and compacted. A weed control membrane is often laid over the scalpings and then the chosen chippings are laid to a depth of 1.5 – 2 inches.

 

With a driveway, a compacted base of scalpings is laid to a depth of 5 inches. A geotextile membrane is sometimes laid before the scalpings go down to suppress weeds and prevent rutting in the drive. Gravel is laid to a depth of about 2 inches. If gravel is laid deeper than this, cars tend to sink in leading to wheel spins.

 

 

 

First measure the length, and width of the area to be covered and then decide how deep you would like the chippings to be. From the measurements work out your cubic meterage. Below are some good ‘rule of thumbs’ for how much material you will need by weight ( we sell most of our materials loose by weight).

 

Scalpings 1m³ = 2 tonnes

Gravel/Chippings 1m³ = 1.4 tonnes

Sharp Sand 1m³ = 1.4 tonnes

Building Sand 1m³ = 1.4 tonnes

20mm Ballast 1m³ = 1.6 tonnes

40mm ‘rejects’ 1m³ = 1.4 tonnes

 

Again a good working ‘rule of thumb’ is that if you put down gravel 1.5 – 2 inches deep, 1 tonne will cover approximately 12m²

 

 Please click here for our Aggregate conversion table which converts cubic yards and metres into tons for a range of different aggregates.

 

 

It's personal choice but small 10mm gravel does tend to move around more and get stuck in tyres. We tend to advise people to use a 14mm or 20mm stone on driveways. If laying chippings around pipes, people tend to use 10mm stone and when building a soak away people use a 40mm reject.

 

Please click here for the Aggregate conversion table 

 

 

 

Again it's personal choice, but as a guide avoid Cotswold on a driveway – it's quite soft and tends to crush down. If you want a buff colour driveway then you could consider South Cerney gravel or an Old English Chipping.

 

20mm Thames Valley flint gravels tend to be hard wearing, good value and are ideal for  use on a driveway.

 

 

 

As gravel/chippings are naturally occurring products, they can change colour/shade even from the same quarry. Having said that, it is rare for a quarry to have a dramatic change in colour. If possible it's always best to bring a sample of your gravel to one of our depots to try to match it from our sample range. Please remember that once gravel has been down for some time it tends to lose its ‘shine’ so getting an exact match will be difficult.

 

 

 

This is a special type of hoggin which when compacted down forms a flat surface on which light traffic can be driven. It always has a dusty surface and is quite often used on golf courses and public footpaths. Typical brand names you may hear are Breedon Path Gravel or Coxwell Path Gravel. Please call our sales team if you are interested in this item and we can provide you with more details.

 

In brief when laying a patio, you will dig out the area to be paved to a depth of 5 inches. A base of 3 inches of scalpings will be laid and compacted. Getting the base level and compacted so your patio will not sink later is very important. A sand cement mix is then laid on this bed. We recommend that you lay paving on a full bed of sand and cement rather than on spots. If you are laying natural stone it is essential that you use a full bed of wet mortar. 

 

Some of the latest natural stone paving are best laid using white cement. Please refer to suppliers brochures for which products require this, or call our sales office for assistance.

 

When setting your patio level, if you are up against your house try to keep the level of your patio 2 bricks below damp course level. It is also good practise to leave a thin gravel drain between your house and the beginning of your patio rather than pave up against the walls.

 

 

 

Traditionally concrete paving has been laid on a mix of sharp sand and cement in a ratio of approximately 6 sand to 1 cement. For natural stone, landscapers are starting to use building sand to create a wet bed of mortar to lay their paving, again in a ratio of 6 sand to 1 cement. Certainly to get natural stone paving to stick down it seems to be better to use a wet sand cement mix.

When pointing in your paving, many people make a mortar mix with building sand with a ratio of 4 sand to 1 cement. This mix is then pushed into the paving joints with a pointing tool.

 

 

 

In the back of many suppliers brochures you will find sample laying patterns for paving. If you purchase your paving from Rivar Sand & Gravel we may be able to help you with a laying pattern – please ask our sales team. You should remember that these patterns should be used as a guide to help you lay the paving rather than an exact fit.

 

 

 

For most patios a medium power jet wash will be adequate for removing green algae and dirt. Avoid getting too close to the slab surface and try not to blast away too hard on the joints especially on old patios. A range of anti algae products can be purchased but we suggest you talk to our sales staff before using them. Sealing your patio can reduce the amount of discolouring, but again please speak to our staff to discuss your potential application.

 

 

Pave-Gard provides an effective barrier against ingress of dirt, oil, food or drink spillage to simplify maintenance and cleaning. The original colours of stone or concrete products remain virtually unchanged. Darker tones may be improved or enriched. Helps to provide resistance against formation of efflorescence onto hard landscaping surfaces.

 

  

 

Natural stone tends to represent value for money but some people don’t like the variation of shades in the colours. If you want a consistent colour, then you should consider a concrete paving. Apart from value for money, the beauty of natural stone is that if you look after your paving, the colour you get on day one is the colour you will keep for a long time. Concrete paving unless treated, fades in the sun. Also if you chip concrete paving raw aggregate is exposed, whilst if you chip stone paving, more stone is exposed.

 

RIVAR ONLY SOURCE STONE FROM SUPPLIERS WHO HAVE A STRONG ETHICAL TRADING POLICY.

 

 

 

 

 

As a general rule avoid limestone and Cotswold. When water runs off these materials they can effect your water quality. Good practise is always to wash rocks, boulders and cobbles before putting them near a pond – if they were quarried in the rain they can be carrying mud etc on them.

 

When buying pre-bagged cobbles and pebbles, some of them are marked as fish friendly but we still recommend that you wash them before being put down near a pond with fish.

 

 

 

You will need to have

1)      A sump or tub to hold the water

2)      A supporting lid/grid to hold the stone

3)      Possibly some blocks to add extra support to the grid

4)      Possibly a bag of sand to help level up the sump/tub

5)      A pump powerful enough for the height of the stone

6)      Some tubing to connect the pump to the stone

7)      Possibly a permeable matting to cover the grid

8)      Possibly some chippings to go on the matting around the main stone

 

Dig a hole to the size and depth of your tub. Make sure it is level in the ground. The metal grid then sits over the top of the tub. If you have a large stone you need to add extra support to the grid by putting blocks or bricks underneath it near the centre. Again check the grid is level. The stone is then positioned on the grid with the hose pushed up from underneath. Often the hose will not push up all the way through the stone but ‘locks’ against the sides to form a seal. The other end of the tube is attached to your pump. Give the pump a try before putting down a matting over the grid and spreading cobbles, chippings etc

 

Remember, that when your stone feature runs the water will splash so your tub needs to be big enough to catch most of this splashing water and re-cycle it otherwise you will always be refilling your feature.