Stone is a beautiful and durable material to use in landscaping. In the last decade, it has become popular to use stone in the construction of walkways or driveways.
In new developments, where owners are given the option of landscaping and choosing a suitable surface for the driveway when they buy, new homeowners often opt for stone.
In this blog post, we give you some guidelines on what you should do before you start installing stone.
Preparatory work for laying stone
Before you call in your stone brothers, you need to think about soil preparation. There are providers who will do it for you as a complete solution, but there are also those who will install on prepared ground.
The biggest advantage of preparing the surface yourself is its cost-effectiveness. By hiring the right construction equipment, you can not only prepare the soil, but also carry out other excavation work if necessary for the same money.
1. Do you have the right skills to prepare the soil?
If you don’t have the skills and don’t want to learn to be an operator yourself, let a professional do the job. If the professional also has suitable rental equipment, all the better. See: full-service leasing.
2. Can you get your own construction equipment transproduced to the site?
The delivery of the machine is usually arranged by the hirer, who also provides transport to the site. Please note that transport depends on the mileage. It is advisable to compare different offers.
In addition to the price, be sure to compare other aspects, such as the number of working hours and maintenance, to avoid unexpected extra costs later on.
3. Do you have aggregate to prepare the soil?
When preparing the surface, it is necessary to first strip the surface and then fill it with layers of sand and gravel. Our advice to you is to consult Isekallur.ee.
They can help you to estimate, on a per square metre basis, how much sand and aggregate you might need to prepare the ground for laying the stone.
4. Do you have a plan to use the peeled material?
You can use the peelings in your garden. Generally, there is a desire to get rid of it due to lack of space. Therefore, you also need to think about how and where the peeled material will be transported. Here too, we recommend contacting our partner Isekallur.ee.
5. Have you considered slopes and rainwater run-off?
Depending on the site, the slope of the stone to be installed and rainwater run-off must also be taken into account. Be sure to think about what you are doing here and discuss it with knowledgeable people. After all, you still want to get dry feet in the car and not worry about standing water in your driveway.
6. Soil compaction
Now that the sand and gravel is going to be sprinkled on, you need to compact the soil to prevent subsidence later on. You need a soil compactor for the right preparation. For small square metres, a sealer with a sealing depth of 60cm is perfectly sufficient.
DONE!
Now that it’s all done, you’re ready to get started with your stone installation.
The choice is yours, whether you install it yourself from here on out in a DIY way or get a professional to do it for you.
But if you’re looking for a suitable rental machine or machine operator, the Fortal team is always on hand to help.
Call +372 5555 7700 for a quote or book a suitable machine through our self-service.
