"GB" wrote in news:4e4025aa$0$2538$ snipped-for-privacy@news.zen.co.uk:
When you say patterned, how was the pattern applied?
I also remember hearing about another method of making conrete look attractive. I think it involved washing the surface away to expose bare stones or somethng. I think perhaps special decorative stone was added for this purpose, possibly after the readymix had been spread and tamped. Can anyone point me to any instructions on this method?
Al
Decorative rubber stamp for want of a better word. Large sheet with the pattern on it, about 2 metres square. You just have to hope it doesn't rain whilst you're doing it.
You can buy an awful lot of roundup for teh cost of redoing the drive.
[snip]
It's used for enormous lengths of level road. The cells prevent the movement of aggregate and stop ruts from forming and also stop your vehicle tracking shingle all over the place. I take it you've not had an aggregate/gravel drive before?
In message , AL_n writes
Pattern Imprinted concrete
A concrete slab is aid, an dye/hardener is applied to the surface, then a pattern applied using a mould to imprint the top of the concrete.
We have it here (done by a previous owner) on the drive (done to look like setts) and one the patio (to look like stone slabs)
Actually, it isn't bad - certainly a lot better than plain slab, and whilst if you look you can see that it isn't 'real' it;s ok. SWMBO didn't realise the patio wasn't real stone at first.
I don't think it is realistically a DIY technique.
Exposed Aggregate.
As you say, either tamped into the top or mixed in and then the washing away the top surface.
As ever, Cormaic's Paving Expert site as the gen:
Steve Firth wrote in news:302743207334526608.346015%steve%- snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september .org:
I know that loose gravel spreads around freely, but graded aggregate compacts down into an immovable crust (assuming the substrated is solid).
I suppose that if one only had the option of loose gravel then the Geoweb stuff would help to keep it in place. But would that be a better bet that compacted graded crushed rock aggregate? What is the advantage of the gravel+geoweb option?
The highways dept can be funny about gravel at driveway entrances. It prevents rapid accelaration into traffic. My latest driveway into a busy highway, I was specifically required to have a hard surface for that reason. They have other rules about gates, splay geometry, visibity, field of view etc.
I have paviour blocks which I DIYed. Not easy to do a good job. Lots of cracks for the weeds to grow in. The ants have swifty taken up residence and are undermining, little heaps of sand everywhere.
The advantages are they can be taken up & relaid if they sink and for replacement of services. Also, lots of different colours and patterns and shapes.
All forms of aggregate surface are hard work to maintain and look like crap after a few years. With my previous road I had to get in 40 0r 50 tons of aggregate in every year. I put in nearly 3000 tons of sub base in too.
For sub base, the cheapest form of aggregate you can get is rubble from the recycle centre, topped off with crushed recycled rubble. The trouble with it is that it is full of bits of crap. Metal, wood, plastic etc. You need to pick it out by hand, esp. the metal as it can get in tyres. It needs to be topped off with new stuff. There is also industrial waste in some areas such as blast furnace slag, now being "mined" for aggregate. Aslo burned "red shale" waste from coal minng areas.
Pathclear. Its more permanent.
Roundup only kills what's growing now. pathclear stops seed germinating.
Round here I can show you tarmac roads with grass growing on them, so even tarmac is no solution.
chris French wrote in news:0
Excellent. Thank you!
Al
Ours has weathered quite nicely. It certainly does not look like stone, but it doesn't shriek concrete either. It was old when we bought the house, and we've been here 13 years. The dye surface has long since worn away, but it's dirtied up nicely over the years and blended in. A chap wanted to come round and steam clean it for us, but that's the last thing I'd do to it.
If you had a 25m drive to practise on, you'd be quite good by the end. I don't know whether you can hire the moulds. Buying one might be prohibitive.
The real problem is if it rains whilst the concrete is still setting. I guess you might have to drill it all up again.
Sodium Chlorate used to be the dog's dangly bits, but that's probably no longer available. And, it can spread.
Correct.
Thought it was, but mixed with inhibitor so it wont bloody well go 'Bang' any more :-(
"GB" wrote in news:4e4199da$0$2527$da0feed9 @news.zen.co.uk:
I remember that stuff: a white crystalline powder, which I remember tasting when I was a toddler (out of curiosity)! When I was a kid, there was a rumour that you could make explosives from it.
Al
The Natural Philosopher wrote in news:j1sh2o$44l$6 @news.albasani.net:
I never could get it to go bang when I was a kid. No-one seemed to know the correct amount of sugar to add. ;-)
The sale was banned in May 2010 and use in May 2011.
The amount of crushed rock aggregate needed for a driveway depends on several factors, including the size of the driveway, the desired thickness of the aggregate layer, and the type of rock being used.
To calculate the amount of crushed rock aggregate needed, follow these steps:
Measure the length and width of the driveway in feet.
Multiply the length by the width to get the square footage of the driveway.
Decide on the desired thickness of the crushed rock aggregate layer. A typical depth for a driveway is 4 inches, but it can vary depending on the type of rock being used and the intended use of the driveway.
Convert the desired depth from inches to feet by dividing by 12.
Multiply the square footage of the driveway by the depth in feet to get the cubic footage of crushed rock aggregate needed.
Convert the cubic footage to tons by dividing by 27, as there are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard.
For example, if your driveway is 50 feet long and 10 feet wide, and you want a 4-inch layer of crushed rock aggregate:
50 feet x 10 feet = 500 square feetDesired depth = 4 inches / 12 = 0.33 feet
500 square feet x 0.33 feet = 165 cubic feet165 cubic feet / 27 = 6.11 tons (rounded up to the nearest tenth)
Therefore, in this example, you would need approximately 6.11 tons of crushed rock aggregate for your driveway. It's always best to order slightly more than you think you will need to ensure you have enough material to complete the job.
If you come to uk.d-i-y via anywhere other than that website a lot more poeple will see your messages. Most block hoh.
Use feet if you are still living in the early 1990s otherwise metres.
I spy A I
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