How to choose the best gravel for a driveway
You’d think choosing the best decorative aggregate for your driveway project would be a relatively simple task, and it probably is. Find a stone, like the colour, throw it down…what’s difficult about that?
But making an informed decision can have a major benefit to the performance and longevity of your project, and a few aesthetical and practical considerations courtesy of Stone Warehouse will help you achieve the perfect driveway for you.
So, as we’ve mentioned it already, let’s start with the best colour for your drive and project.
There are three main options – complement, contrast or go neutral.
The colours of your property and surroundings are a great guide, and complementing or contrasting them will have amazing results.
Red Granite is often a great contrast option and really makes a statement. But depending on your brick colour, it can also complement a strong red brick. Heritage Quartz Gravel complements limestone or sandstone walls and buff brickwork perfectly.
The safe options revolve around grey’s and whether its paving, resin bound or decorative aggregates, neutral grey tones have been all the rage for many years. Stone Warehouse’s Silver Grey Granite and Dapple Grey Granite hit that spot and provide the colour that goes with everything.
So, let’s just turn it on its head. Are there any colours to avoid?
You must remember that a driveway is not only an aesthetic space, but also a functional one. The lighter the colour, the more likely it is to stain and get dirty quickly, particularly with tyre marks. So, avoid the white aggregates, they won’t stay white for very long.
If dirt and cleaning is a particular concern, choosing a multi-coloured product that has that natural variation in it is a wise choice. Stone Warehouse Golden Gravel and Moonstone Gravel work really well to add a subtle tone change that can disguise the wear and tear of a heavily trafficked area.
So having chosen your colour what else do you need to consider ?
The shape and size of the aggregate are key for a perfect result, and this is the area where the most poor decisions can occur.
Choose an angular material. While small pebbles can look beautiful in a driveway setting, like ballbearings under pressure they easily move under the force of a car tyre. An angular material knits together and creates a stronger flatter surface.
If you are insistant that pebbles are your preferred choice, the addition of a gravel grid system that compartmentises them and prevents them moving around, is a must.
Stone Warehouse X-Grid and Core Drive 30 are great solutions for increasing the overall strength of a gravel driveway. We’d always recommend their addition if heavier loads are likely to be placed onto the drive, like a removal lorry or a dustcart. They are also useful in areas of sharp turning or on a sloping drive where there’s more likelihood of material moving down the incline.
What about the size?
It’s a balance between being small enough to be comfortable to walk on, and large enough to not be displaced and kicked all over the place. Also smaller angular bits of stone can easily get lodged into tyre tread, which can lead to increased tyre wear.
While there’s no right or wrong answer, the size we feel gives the least issues is 14mm. Small enough to give comfort under foot and large enough to not cause tyre and displacement issues.
Right, we’re very close to a good specification. So, what about the stone type itself?
The safe message here is ‘let’s go strong’…. chalky stones that have a relatively low crushing strength will perform but not for as long as those with higher strength properties. As well as crushing strength different stones will fracture at different rates, so maybe strong in one way but not in others.
So, there’s a balance between performance, look, initial budget and a maintenance budget.
What’s on the stronger end of the spectrum?
Granites, Basalts and Flint Shingles are right up there in terms of performance while sandstones, limestones and slates all are suitable but won't perform quite as well. All Stone Warehouse product pages clearly explain a product type and technical data sheets are also available for all materials.
Products that tick the majority of boxes, that we'd recommend as the perfect driveway material, depending on you colour choice would be:
- Black Basalt 14mm
- Golden Gravel Flint 14mm
- Green Granite 14mm
- Heritage Quartz 14mm
- Red Granite 14mm
- Silver Grey Granite 14mm
However, to look at the large variety of options, simply go to our Gravel Driveways section.
We hope this helps you make an informed choice. If you’re not sure about budget, the Stone Warehouse website gives you exactly what you’ll pay on a product page when you’ve typed in your postcode. No hidden extras at checkout.
For larger orders and tipped loose loads please call the Stone Warehouse team on 01629 636212 for a bespoke quote.
For the next step regarding your driveway, please see our Blog – ‘How to Lay a Gravel Driveway’.