Limestone screenings

[BeezFun]

The limestone screenings I've gotten have always been gray colored, and compact really well. My neighbor got some screenings that are more light beige in color and seem to not drain as well, and end up being almost muddy when it rains and the horses walk on it. Are there different kinds of limestone rocks that these come from, or is it possible there''s some kind of contamination in the beige screenings that give it that color and make it turn a bit muddy?

 

[Industrial Toys]

Clay, I'm thinking. I use tones and tones of the stuff. Doesn't drain well, but that would need coarse gravel underneith.

 

[RNeumann]

Every quarry will have different material. Sounds like his came from a different one. Or the crusher and or screens were out of adjustment and he got junk.

 

[BeezFun]

OK thanks for the info. I wish I knew where the stuff came from, but it's been awhile since he put it down and neither of us can remember who hauled it. He also didn't have as good a base as I had. There were horses on his property for years that the people didn't clean up after, so the manure got pushed down deep into the soil. Even though he scraped it first, I think there still might have been too much manure in the soil so it doesn't drain well. We're on a glacial till so the soil is mostly sand and rocks and drains really well. But I think years of contamination on the top layer might be the problem.

 

[Leejohn]

Sounds like he has egg lime and you have chad.

 

[2LaneCruzer]

You could very easily be talking about chemically different minerals...such as Dolomite (high in Magnesium) or Calcite (Calcium Carbonate)...or a mixture. They would have different chemical and physical properties. Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) would also appear similar.

I recall the company I was working for bought a load of "limestone" to use as a buffer to neutralize the acid water coming from their facility...but tests indicated it wasn't working. Turns out they got Dolomite instead of Limestone.

 

[EddieWalker]

I can't speak for where you live, but here in East Texas, we have a few limestone quarries that are local with really soft and poor quality rock. They sell it for a little less then the good stuff that comes out of Terrell, which is close to Dallas, and just over an hour away. The good stuff, is a very light grey in color, while the junk is a very dark grey. I made the mistake of saving a buck, and found out that in a very short amount of time of normal vehicle traffic on my driveway, that it broke down into smaller and smaller pieces until it was gone and I had pot holes to deal with. The better stuff has held up like it's still new. Two years ago I bought some crushed concrete based on the recommendation of the guy who sells all the rock in Tyler. It's the same price, but it compacts better and he said that it's even stronger and will last a lot longer then his best quality limestone. So far, I totally believe him from what I'm seeing.

 

[Oldoak]

Two years ago I bought some crushed concrete based on the recommendation of the guy who sells all the rock in Tyler. It's the same price, but it compacts better and Two years ago I bought some crushed concrete based on the recommendation of the guy who sells all the rock in Tyler. It's the same price, but it compacts better and he said that it's even stronger and will last a lot longer then his best quality limestone.

That makes logical sense. Water dissolves even the hardest of limestone over the years. Around my area the Fish Commission dumps hundreds of tons of crushed limestone rock, (not pulverized limestone that farmers use), in the head waters of many creeks to help neutralize the acidic water for better trout management.

 

[CADplans]

One time, around Roanoke there was a high demand for crusher run, which is 57's gravel with limestone fines mixed in,,

Well, since they were out of crusher run, someone got the bright idea that they could mix non-topsoil dirt with gravel to "make" crusher run.

Everyone was getting "brown" crusher run,,, the next year, everyone found out what they had bought,,
One guy even took the seller to court, because he had bought a lot of it,,, I never heard what happened.

I think a local sand plant was doing something similar, but, with tailings from the sand washing.
That seemed to work OK,,,

I use a product that locally is called "pug mill run" ,, it is like crusher run, except it will compress almost 50% when you drive over it.
The local DOT uses it as a base under new asphalt. When packed, it is REAL close to concrete,, you can not push a walking stick into it at all.

We have it where we park the cars, it is perfect, never soft, never wet, and you can put it down any thickness.
One time I put crusher run down about 7 inches thick. A neighbor drove over the area and got stuck,,, that was the last crusher run that I ever used,,,

 

[Industrial Toys]

Years ago I was told that the limestone screenings here were a surplus product. Really only worth the cost of trucking. I will have to ask my gravel connection, the next time I see him, beacause I still get it for just the cost of trucking but thought it was because I do the odd thing for them.