Shingle Pavers??

BB_TX · Oct 30, 2003

There have been a lot of advertising lately on shingle pavers for paving driveways. Anyone had any experience with this method? I need to put a drive to my shop. I plan to put down a base of rock. I want to cover the rock with something to prevent dust when dry and mud when wet. I was thinking gravel. But saw these ads touting shingle paving. Apparently this is just shredded shingle material? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif They advertise it $1 per running foot, 8' wide x 1.5"-2" deep if they spread it. $100 per load if they just dump it. (Not sure yet what a "load" is or how much a load will cover).

Junkman · Oct 30, 2003

I remember back in the 1960's my dad would get the tab cut outs from the shingle manufacturing plant in Jersey City NJ. Don't remember the brand, but they were a pain in the neck to deal with.... couldn't plow over them, and they would clump up and be very bumpy to drive on. The only reason that they used them is the road was built over a swamp and was constantly moving.. pot holes that you could loose a car in and movement of more than a foot was not unusual. It was cheap fill, but today, it would probably be considered hazardous waste because of the asbestos in the old shingles. I think that it must have been at least a foot thick when they stopped putting them down... Just remember truck after truck, day after day, month after month, year after year, ....... get the idea??? There was a bulldozer there to move and level them every Friday.

If these "pavers" are used, you will have the nails to deal with even if they are ground. There was a company in MA that did a driveway for "This Olde House" that was made of old shingles and asphalt, but it didn't hold up well after the first winter and they never did another episode using them.... I looked into it because the company that made the product was close and it was cheap. They went out of business, so I don't think it was very successful......

MF1455v · Nov 1, 2003

BB, I have seen the same adds as you and have known of a few peope who have used them. It is a cheap for fill or base material like the white rock used in our area. When you drive on it it feels spongy and during the summer they get sticky. Ever walk on a hot roof and see what happens to the shingles?

On my driveway I used Bridgeport base material. It is a one shot deal. Has a little dust and when wet it is not muddy at all. My drive way has been installed for 5 years now an I love it. My neighbor put in a white rock driveway 2 years ago and it has pot holes and ruts. It is a mess in wet weather and dusty to the max right now.

Bridgeport base is about 50% more but is well worth the added cost in the long run. I believe Hines Sand and Gravel in McKinney can get it for you.

One other option that is good is to catch the Highway department repairing roads and get asphalt grindings. I got about 30 yards for my other property for free. Problem is they will not hall very far. Just happened to chatch them while repairing road in front of may land.

PineRidge · Nov 2, 2003

I had a friend of mine that used the recycled asphalt that the city grinds up when resurfacing the roads. It did not hold up well and is very hard to groom I don't think you wouls be happy using this material. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

wroughtn_harv · Nov 2, 2003

I suspect the shingle pavers would be hard to keep groomed. I put down some coarse wood chips one time and it was a nightmare. You just couldn't get it to lay down smooth, wanted to clump.

Your sand and gravel source can get you "washout". Washout is what's washed out of the concrete trucks when they come back to the plant. The cement has soured so it doesn't coagulate when you put it down. What makes it so good is you have the fines that are so important in making a gravel driveway firm and level.

Dust is always going to be a problem. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

Helenwillis shingle paving is there on HWY78 in Farmersville. If you're seriously considering the shingles I'd ask for the numbers of customers who've had them for at least one year. That way you get to see what they found out over all the seasons.

BB_TX · Nov 4, 2003

MF1455v - Not familiar with Bridgeport base, but I will check in to it. I live just a short distance from Hines. As I understand your statement, you used all Bridgeport as opposed to a whiterock base covered by Bridgeport. Correct?
Thanks for the info.

BB_TX · Nov 4, 2003

Harvey-Hellenwillis is the last and biggest ad I saw. I didn't think that sounded too good but willing to look at all options. I will also check in to the "washout". I am also going to stop by a house in New Hope. They put down a whiterock drive a couple years ago and then covered it with something that looks like a thin layer of crushed granite or some such stone. Made what appears to be a smooth clean drive and seems to be holding up well. Could be a little expensive for a 350' drive though.

MF1455v · Nov 4, 2003

BB, yes the only thing I used was the Bridgeport base. It has a mix of fine cuttings of rock and larger rocks (approx 1" in diameter). The cuttings or powder is the fine material left over after blasting. It is loose and relativity easy to work when it is delivered. Once it rains on it for the first time and then drys it sets up and gets very hard. If by chance you get a rut or pot hole it can be graded out, provided you can cut thru the stuff. It all the same material so it doesn't change the look of the driveway. Have yet to have this problem. I have had cement trucks on mine the day after a rain and did not even dent it.

It is called Bridgeport base because it comes from Bridgeport Tx. I believe there is a base material that come for a rock pit in Wills Point but I have not seen it.

Back when i bought mine white rock was $200 for an 18 wheeler load. Bridgeport base was $300. That was around 16 yards to a load. It took 6 loads to cover 300ft 8in deep. 4 to 6 in deep is probably plenty deep for the average drive.

I started to use white rock then cover with some other material. But after talking to a few people, decided against it. Reason being, white rock is not what I would call rock. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif It will melt in the rain. The example I was given was to take a piece and place on top of a wood fence post. After 2 of 3 rains it will be gone. On the ground it just melts turns to a hard dirt. If it is used as a base, and another harder rock material is placed on top, over time it will mash down into the white rock. Then your buying more material to put on top again.

wroughtn_harv · Nov 5, 2003

White rock, aka limestone, around here is of the soft variety. I was talking to a farmer in Lucas who had some great big boulders out in a pasture left over from when they put in one of thos big water lines to Plano.

I asked him why he had them left there. He pointed out it self destructs in the weather. He said they would be gone in three years if we hand decent winters. The rock absorbs the moisture, freezes, fragments. The now smaller sections absorb moisture, freeze, fragment. This happens until there's nothing but dust left.

The way to figure spreading rock easy according to a bud who's in the business is a ten yard load will cover five hundred square feet four inches deep.

A couple of months ago I learned the hard way about just using large rock to cover clay. I fenced in a storage yard for a construction company. Most of the acre was clay until they brought in the bridgeport inch and a half rock. They laid down six inches plus. It rained. I drove in and instantly sank to my axles. They hadn't brought in the finer stuff that settles in and packs around the rock to make it stable.

You have to have the fine or the rock isn't stable.