Any gravel experts out there

[taxboy]

Our shingle drive needs a bit of top dressing to smarten it up. There are a few thin patches. It 20mm shingle.

Unfortunately our local supplier isn't doing visits at the moment but has said if I give him the sq m and tell him if I want 1, 1/2 or 2 stone depth he'll work out the amount.

I can measure the area simply enough but what depth do I choose please. I don't want to turn it into a beach with the tyres spraying the stuff everywhere when we are finally allowed to take the car out

 

[Nod]

1 thick, embedded into concrete. Loose shingle is horrible if you're on a bike of any sort and I am as much as possible!

Depending on his delivery charges, I'd go for 1 delivery of 1 deep and see if that's deep enough - easier than getting half a load taken away. If you need more, get another truck load.

 

[AgentOrange76]

Its his drive, dont expect he is planning to host the Grand depart for the Tour de France

1 stone deep will show gaps between the stone and therefore the layer below that e.g the membrane/soil
20mm stone doesnt spray like 10mm gravel does. All gravel migrates down slopes regardless of gradient - level is best.

2 stones deep would compact fine but could be too much for you.

Dont know how big a drive you have but I would be careful the supplier is not advising based on no exisiting stones. If its under 10 m2 i would buy by the bag rather than bulk.
As a top up I would say no more than 1/2 a ton per 20m2 and even that might be too much for your liking.

Recomended depth for a drive with 20mm gravel is 50-60mm so 2-3 stones deep. The more angular the stone the better it will bed and compact together so it doesnt feel like you are walking on brighton beach.
Also bare in mind that 20mm shingle comes in a host of variation in colour and stone shape - angular or rounded- depending on the quarry its extracted from so might be best to match a sample of your existing stone.

 

[taxboy]

Thanks for all the input. It's been very helpful. I think I will go with 1 stone as it's just a top dressing. It will have to be bulk rather than bag as I'm guessing it will be about 60 sq m. Matching isn't an issue as the pit is in the village and I bought some bags last year to do a bit of pathway