How to use decorative stone on a driveway

Using decorative aggregates on a driveway is the most cost effective way of creating a smart, elegant hard standing area in front of your home, whether you are using it to park a vehicle or you are just smartening up the area, below is a guide to creating the perfect finish on the drive way.

First of all, the area needs to be leveled either by hand with a shovel or with a small excavator, dig approx 60mm down to get the best finish. It doesn’t need to be mega level as the next step will provide a solution to any small lumps and bumps in the area .We advise that weed membrane is placed over the whole area, just to make sure no weeds can grow though the decorative stones.
(you will thank us later for this!)

Next, use either 20mm Crusher Run (also known as Crush and Run) or MOT Type 1 Sub Base for the base layer, lay this aggregate at approx 50mm thickness and compact with a vibrating wacker plate, making sure the area is as level as possible.

Use a decorative gravel to cover the whole area until you are happy that all the sub base (20mm Crusher Run or MOT Type 1) is covered.

We advise that a 20mm aggregate, such as Dove Grey stone (pictured below) or Cotswold chipping is used, 10mm variations of aggregates are not advised because they get stuck in tyres and more much more easily, Slate products can also be used but can be quite sharp at times so may not be the best product for parking cars on.

We have many different colours and styles available to suit any driveway project, if you require any help on matching a stone to the surrounding please do not hesitate to be in touch on 01909 550000 or sales@directgravel.com