Blue Limestone

Yes, and the mid blue-grey is one of the more practical colours for a drive. It is dark enough to hide tyre marks and general dirt far better than a buff stone, and light enough not to show pollen and dried spray the way black limestone does. The one thing to know is that limestone is porous, so oil and fuel drips mark it permanently unless the drive is sealed and spills are cleaned up promptly. 

A two-car drive is usually 30 to 36m², so order around 35 to 40m² to allow roughly 10% for cuts. Kota Blue mixed packs come in 5m², 10m², 15m² and 17m², so two 17m² packs plus a 5m² pack gives 39m² at £26.52 per m². Order the whole quantity together, as natural stone varies between batches. 

Lay a driveway to a fall of about 1 in 80, which is roughly 12mm of drop per metre, always running away from the house and any doorways. On a wide drive, fall across the width to one side or to a central channel rather than trying to shed water in every direction. Finish at least 150mm below the damp proof course. Water sitting on limestone encourages algae and works into the joints, where frost will loosen slabs over a winter. 

For a regular van, it is marginal; for anything heavier, no. Our Kota Blue is 22mm, which is patio thickness, and we do not stock a thicker driveway-grade limestone. Cars and the occasional light van are fine on a full mortar bed over 150mm of compacted Type 1, but a loaded transit several times a day, a motorhome or a delivery lorry could crack slabs. For that sort of use, block paving is a better choice.

Yes, and it is a good way to tie the front and back of a property together, as the same mixed packs serve both. Order the full quantity in one go so everything comes from the same batch and the colour matches. The build-up underneath differs though: 150mm of compacted Type 1 under the drive against around 100mm under the patio, with wider joints on the drive. Keep the stone continuous and vary what sits beneath it. 

Not in Kota Blue. Our limestone cobbles come in Kota Black only, in 20 x 10cm and 10 x 10cm at 30 to 50mm thick. The black frames the blue-grey well and is far better suited to an apron or turning area than a 22mm slab, as the load spreads across many small units. Our Silver Granite cobbles are the closest tonal match if you want the border to blend rather than contrast. 

No, our limestones perform much the same under traffic, and all are 22mm. What differs is how they look over time. Kota Blue hides tyre marks better than our yellow limestone and holds its colour better than Kota Black, which fades towards grey unless sealed. For genuine hard wear on a drive, granite is the tougher stone, though we stock it as cobbles rather than slabs, so it suits edging and aprons rather than the full surface.