Crushed Oyster Shell For Driveway Pro's Cons and Where to buy a large Quantity

Sapidus

Well-Known Member
Thinking about redoing my driveway and doing it in crushed oyster shells. Anyone have any experience with this?

If so let me know any pro's or con' or ideas on where to buy a large quantity. I am in Calvert.
 

NorthBeachPerso

Honorary SMIB
Good to know. And good to know we can be civil when not discussing politics

Well oyster shell reclamation is a highly partisan issue.

Gilligan beat me to the answer. I, too, looked into getting some for the driveway several years ago.

At one time, many of the roads in Southern Maryland were oyster shell.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Good to know. And good to know we can be civil when not discussing politics

Way back in the day, I used to shovel the shells out of the shuck-shell boxes for a local oyster shucking operation for free...used them to pave my drive and my small boat launching ramp, one pickup load at a time. Different times...

These days, the best luck I've had - and the only thing I use any more - are asphalt millings. Some people call it "Re-falt". It works really well and you can obtain it from any number of local stone/sand material suppliers.
 

Baker12

New Member
I use rockfish and menhaden for my driveway, the smaller the better. In April I try to catch a few big cows because their eggs help keep my driveway smooth
 

Monello

Smarter than the average bear
PREMO Member
I use rockfish and menhaden for my driveway, the smaller the better. In April I try to catch a few big cows because their eggs help keep my driveway smooth

Is it true that you can only pave 2 eighteen inch sections per day?
 

3CATSAILOR

Well-Known Member
Thinking about redoing my driveway and doing it in crushed oyster shells. Anyone have any experience with this?

If so let me know any pro's or con' or ideas on where to buy a large quantity. I am in Calvert.

NOT a good idea. The oyster shells are needed to attempt to bring the Bay back to better health.
 

Popster

Member
Aryster shell will pulverize and wash away. Recycle them. Use fine millings if you are re-coating. I last paid $300 for a dump truck full. I have the guy's name somewhere if you are interested.

We did our whole road and driveways. Neighbors and I bought around 10 loads, spread them with our tractors using box blades, and then rented a huge hydraulic roller to smash them down. I believe the millings were screened to insure uniform size. Over time they are now packed just like asphalt road. Some folks will use a leaf blower to blow off the loose top stones and then spray them with diesel or fuel oil to melt them and compact them Some even set it on fire (Both Highly illegal I am sure).

Makes a great driveway and now I am able to plow it with a back blade during snow storms.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
When I was stationed at Eglin AFB in FL, the roads there were paved with oyster shells. When it rained it brought the oil out to the surface, making the roads very slippery. I don't think that becomes a problem for a driveway, but I guess it's something to keep in mind.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Use fine millings if you are re-coating. I last paid $300 for a dump truck full. I have the guy's name somewhere if you are interested.

We did our whole road and driveways. Neighbors and I bought around 10 loads, spread them with our tractors using box blades, and then rented a huge hydraulic roller to smash them down. I believe the millings were screened to insure uniform size. Over time they are now packed just like asphalt road. Some folks will use a leaf blower to blow off the loose top stones and then spray them with diesel or fuel oil to melt them and compact them Some even set it on fire (Both Highly illegal I am sure).

Makes a great driveway and now I am able to plow it with a back blade during snow storms.

I had AB&H recondition, widen, raise and cover the main drive in to our place, about 20 years or more ago. They undercut and widened it, then brought in bank fill and compacted that to a depth of about 6". Then they brought in fine asphalt millings and spread that and compacted it to a thickness of about 4-5" with a big vibrating roller. Other than some pothole maintenance, its been the next best thing to a paved drive for all that time. Maybe better than, actually, because we have a lot of heavy trucks and tractor trailers in and out on a regular basis for the business. It's held up really well that that traffic.
 

spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
When I was stationed at Eglin AFB in FL, the roads there were paved with oyster shells. When it rained it brought the oil out to the surface, making the roads very slippery. I don't think that becomes a problem for a driveway, but I guess it's something to keep in mind.

I remember that, and the 4 PM Rain most every day in the summer when the air got too saturated to hold the water.

My wife was a USAF officer assigned to the Armament Lab from 11/82 - 11/86.
When I joined the Reserves, was with the 919th at Duke from 9/83 - 11/86.
 

PsyOps

Pixelated
I remember that, and the 4 PM Rain most every day in the summer when the air got too saturated to hold the water.

My wife was a USAF officer assigned to the Armament Lab from 11/82 - 11/86.
When I joined the Reserves, was with the 919th at Duke from 9/83 - 11/86.

I was there from 5/85 - 9/89 then again 9/93 - 5/98. Best assignments ever.

I took a lot trips up to Duke to fix broken comm lines. There was a comm hut with a wire frame. The vertical blocks had carbon module breakers that had pins that would pop out when the carbon was tripped by a surge. You could stand there and watch the pins pop out everywhere when lightning struck the flight line over a mile away. We got a kick out of that. But then we would have to replace them all.
 
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spr1975wshs

Mostly settled in...
Ad Free Experience
Patron
I was there from 5/85 - 9/89 then again 9/93 - 5/98. Best assignments ever.

I took a lot trips up to Duke to fix broken comm lines. There was a comm hut with a wire frame. The vertical blocks had carbon module breakers that had pins that would pop out when the carbon was tripped by a surge. You could stand there and watch the pins pop out everywhere when lightning struck the flight line over a mile away. We got a kick out of that. But then we would have to replace them all.

Eglin was our 2nd favorite assignment, really miss the fisherman's coop in Niceville, got shrimp right off the boat.

Favorite was Offutt, we were there 11/86 - 11/91, bought our first house there, would have gone back after my wife got riffed in August 94 if there had been a job for her. As an engineer, she's always been the main income.

Tied for 3rd are the 2 times we were at Right-Pathetic, 6/81 - 11/82 and 11/91 - 08/94.

I was with the CE squadron at Duke.
 

Sapidus

Well-Known Member
Aryster shell will pulverize and wash away. Recycle them. Use fine millings if you are re-coating. I last paid $300 for a dump truck full. I have the guy's name somewhere if you are interested.

We did our whole road and driveways. Neighbors and I bought around 10 loads, spread them with our tractors using box blades, and then rented a huge hydraulic roller to smash them down. I believe the millings were screened to insure uniform size. Over time they are now packed just like asphalt road. Some folks will use a leaf blower to blow off the loose top stones and then spray them with diesel or fuel oil to melt them and compact them Some even set it on fire (Both Highly illegal I am sure).

Makes a great driveway and now I am able to plow it with a back blade during snow storms.

Currently I just have a gravel drive. What do they millings look like when they are in place? Like asphalt? I'm thinking maybe pea gravel might be more attractive if Oyster shells aren't possible. I'm right on the bay so looking for something kind of beauty if you know what I mean.
 

Gilligan

#*! boat!
PREMO Member
Currently I just have a gravel drive. What do they millings look like when they are in place? Like asphalt? I'm thinking maybe pea gravel might be more attractive if Oyster shells aren't possible. I'm right on the bay so looking for something kind of beauty if you know what I mean.

Asphalt millings look like a fine-granular dark packed gravel. Not quite as smooth or solid as the original asphalt, but can be close, depending on how laid out and compacted.

Pea (bank run) gravel is about the worst driveway material there is. It simply won't compact and it won't "stay put"...it's constantly moving as you drive over it. Unsafe for motorcycles to operate on too. Have you looked in to the usual "crush and run"? ...or maybe one of the colored gravels that are available (white, orangeish, blue, green..) . I've seen some interesting driveways done with the dyed or colored gravel.
 

black dog

Free America
Currently I just have a gravel drive. What do they millings look like when they are in place? Like asphalt? I'm thinking maybe pea gravel might be more attractive if Oyster shells aren't possible. I'm right on the bay so looking for something kind of beauty if you know what I mean.

You can't keep pea gravel in place, it doesn't lock together and it's a bitch to plow
or shovel snow off of. If you have a slope in your driveway it will forever flow to the bottom, even faster with monsoon rain.
Millings are ground asphalt, when warmed up in the summer and or compacted they will act like a poured asphalt drive.
They are black to a dark gray color.
 
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