Should Stone Dust Be Used in Paver Snow Melting Jobs?
According to the Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute:
- Never use stone dust as the bedding material. It holds water, pumps when saturated, and promotes efflorescence. The correct bedding material should be washed concrete sand meeting ASTM C33 gradation. Limestone
screenings or stone dust should not be used as they often have material passing smaller than the No. 200 (0.075 mm) sieve. This fine material slows the drainage of the bedding sand layer. - Shallow pavers less than 2-3/8” (6 cm) will create a system with reduced aspect ratio, reduced interlock and in most case will limit pavers to a maximum length or width of 9.5” and applications to pedestrian only. So for heavier loads, use pavers up to 2.5" max thickness for best results.
- ICPI Tech Spec 12 provide industry best practices for snow melt systems installed under interlocking concrete pavers. Many recommendations in this document are for streets and commercial sidewalks. https://icpi.org/s/Tech-Spec-12-Snow-Melting-Systems.pdf