# Driveway using Sea Shells or White Stones which is better?



## Don2222 (Aug 5, 2012)

Hello
Driveway using Sea Shells or White Stones which is better? Which is cheaper?
See pic of sea shells below. Click on pic to Enlarge


----------



## eclecticcottage (Aug 6, 2012)

I've never seen a shell driveway...but there's a beach not overly far fromhere that's all shell and it is NOT nice to walk on without thick sole shoes.  Wouldn't they be sharp?  I know gravel isn't smooth either, we had a gravel drive at the Old House, but it wasn't as bad as walking on the shells....

I always wanted to rent a big ole cement mixer and make my own "seaglass" driveway (like the faux seaglass they sell only on a bigger scale-just find someone giving away glass bottles, toss them in there with sand and stones and water and let it turn the broken glass until it was smooth like beach glass).  It wouldn't have the "c's" like true seaglass, but still...


----------



## billb3 (Aug 6, 2012)

you might want to be wary where the sea shells come from.
Clam shells in Delaware used in driveways have been found to contain WWII munitions.
and Clam shells in Ma were found to be causing some run-off contaminant problems. ( mostly huge mountains of them in storage, though )


----------



## Don2222 (Aug 6, 2012)

Hello

The sea shells in the picture above are ground smooth and make up the whole parking lot of Schoolhouse Ice Cream on RT 28 in Harwich Port MA (Cape Cod) They replace them after a few years when they get a little dingy looking but work out very well. There are quite a few cap codders that have this type of driveway!

See street view pic in link below.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&gs_mss=schoolhouse ice cream rt&cp=27&gs_id=2f&xhr=t&bav=on.2,or.rc.r_pw.r_qf.&biw=1280&bih=821&wrapid=tljp1339378575520054&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=schoolhouse ice cream rt 28&fb=1&gl=us&hq=schoolhouse ice cream rt 28&cid=0,0,14663501736693606232&sa=X&ei=6eEfUMWsF6SN6QHqhoHwCg&sqi=2&ved=0CJMBEPwSMAM


----------



## backpack09 (Aug 6, 2012)

In this neck of the woods the shells for shell driveways come from cohogs that come from clam processing plants. They are usually nice small chips and look pretty cool.  I would not want either at my house, enough stuff gets tracked in from the backyard and paved driveway as it is.


----------



## milleo (Aug 6, 2012)

Don2222 said:


> Hello
> Driveway using Sea Shells or White Stones which is better? Which is cheaper?
> See pic of sea shells below. Click on pic to Enlarge


How does that type of driveway work out when you have to plow snow in the winter?


----------



## woodgeek (Aug 6, 2012)

Don2222 said:


> Hello
> 
> The sea shells in the picture above are ground smooth and make up the whole parking lot of Schoolhouse Ice Cream on RT 28 in Harwich Port MA (Cape Cod) They replace them after a few years when they get a little dingy looking but work out very well. There are quite a few cap codders that have this type of driveway!


 
Personally...I always preferred the 'Old Schoolhouse' ice cream down the road a spell in South Chatham.


----------



## Don2222 (Aug 7, 2012)

milleo said:


> How does that type of driveway work out when you have to plow snow in the winter?


 
The cape cod winters are not so bad, but I bet the shell driveway still has problems like the stone driveway does when it comes to plowing.


----------



## Adios Pantalones (Aug 7, 2012)

I know that stone is more widely available, so I'd guess a lot cheaper. I could use a source for bulk shells (not ground)- preferably on the South Shore (Norwell, Scituate area).


----------



## Don2222 (Aug 7, 2012)

Hello

Here is where you can get them in Plymouth MA !
http://www.emeraldlandscapesupply.com/products/Crushed Seashells.html

From the web site.
"Certainly, if you go to a local feed store, bagged seashells can be extremely expensive but if you can manage to use a couple of cubic yards or more, seashells are comparable in price to crushed stone."

"As the shells get driven over or walked on, they break into smaller pieces.  Over time, the shells will break down to make a very solid driving or walking surface but will require periodic replenishment.  Few materials will create the dramatic visual effect of seashells contrasting with a lush green lawn."


----------



## Dune (Aug 7, 2012)

I have a shell driveway. I built it myself one quahog at a time. After 15 years I got bored with the project (I had only managed to eat about one square yard of quahogs in that time. I called the local trucker and had 3 cubic yards delivered. $60. A couple years later I put down another couple yards. I love shell driveways, they are quite beautiful, and cheap to maintain. If any plow damage occurs, I fix it with a rake in the spring. Plowing is really not an issue for me.

Interestingly, I live on Beach Road, and since I completed my driveway,  two other houses followed suit. The combined effect is quite striking.


----------



## nailed_nailer (Aug 7, 2012)

Don,

My driveway is seashells. 
IIRC I used 5 tons of shells the first year.

Every few years I add another yard or so.  And rake it out.
The going rate was $50 a ton.  Been a while so not sure what it is right now.

The shells break down after a while and turn into dust as they get driven on.
This also allows the sand/dirt to migrate up (or the shells down) over time.
They stink when they first go down but it dissipates in a day or so.
The sun bleaches them almost pure white.

They are hard to walk on with bare feet but my son does it all the time. 

As for snow.  I hand shovel my driveway.  I don't scrape to the earth when shoveling.
I try to leave about 1" of covering snow.
Worst case I rake the shells back into the driveway in the spring.

I like the look and if you can get the shells cheap it is a good driveway.

Also, the shells don't get tracked into the house as much as the beach sand.

---Nailer---


----------



## Don2222 (Aug 7, 2012)

Great nfo Mike
Thanks!


----------

