We are thinking of getting some sand stone paving installed, however we have to be able to use lots of deicing salt in a bad winter.
Will the salt stain the sand stone?
Any other issues we should be aware of?
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exactly what type of deicing salt do you have access to, plan to use? eg en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deicing#Methods– Mike PerryJul 14, 2011 at 15:00
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@Mike, the type that is sold in the UK as "grit", it contains sand/salt/grit as it comes out of the ground.– WalkerJul 14, 2011 at 15:19
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but what type of salt does the "grit" contain? The type of salt will determine how corrosive it is.– Mike PerryJul 14, 2011 at 15:26
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@Mike, it is "rock salt" eg saltunion.com/products-and-services/dryrox-6mm (I never seen anything else for sale, maybe becouse we are close to the mine)– WalkerJul 14, 2011 at 16:13
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NaCl = Sodium chloride, therefore that particular deicing salt is going to be on the more corrosive end of the scale. Will it damage your sandstone paving? I honestly couldn't tell you, but sandstone is porous enough to hold a lot of liquid (as far as stone goes), therefore I would be somewhat wary of using that product...– Mike PerryJul 14, 2011 at 16:37
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1 Answer
Salt on stone can cause pitting, but it should be okay as long as you don't over-do it. If you still have visible salt crystals after the ice has gone, you're using too much. If you have trouble both avoiding visible crystals and clearing enough ice for safety, try using a sand/salt mix.
answered Jun 10, 2011 at 2:12
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I need the salt to stray on over night to stop ice forming from new snow (in the UK we often get a little snow that then forms ice, the weather forcust is not good at telling us if we will get it)– WalkerJun 10, 2011 at 8:29
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1@Walker then you might do better by spreading a generous layer of rough sand instead. Ice will still form, but you'll have traction in spite of it. Jun 10, 2011 at 13:28