Is hoggin the devil??

[selfbuildrookie]

We are part way through our low energy new build (passivhaus with a small 'p'), and are starting to look to the external landscaping (very exciting!). I'm keen on the look of hoggin for our driveway and garden paths, I think it looks good and it's in keeping as we're in the Cotswolds - BUT my excellent builder hates the stuff. Says he's had to pull it up and replace it with gravel at a previous job as it was such a nightmare for them, mainly messy I think. I don't want gravel as we have a fall of about 1.5m on our driveway and I think we'll spend forever raking the bloody stuff back up, even with that grid stuff below it which is supposed to keep it in place. Plus, gravel's crap for bikes and I have three bike-mad small kids who will want to speed their way round the entire garden, driveway included!

 

Does anyone have any experience with hoggin? Is it really that bad? Should I try and persuade my builder? Should I consider alternatives? NB don't other telling me about that stone resin stuff, I HATE it and won't consider it! ?

[nod]

Our former neighbors have it down 

They had gravel originally 

They wanted Something else For basically the same reasons that you highlighted 

It looks very similar to there gravel All be it compacted 

They do treat the weeds once per year with roundup But seem happy enough 

It looked very simple to put down 

 

Its your choice Not your builders 

[Russell griffiths]

Depends on the clay content, I used to lay tonnes of it a year and after it’s rained I wouldn’t want to walk on it and then into the house. 

How about bonded gravel, not cheap but nothing is anymore. 

We get as dug gravel from the local quarry, we are in Cirencester, it varies and sometimes has a bit of clay. 

Again something I wouldn’t walk on and then go indoors. 

[recoveringbuilder]

I’m intrigued as to what this ‘hoggin’ is- looked it up but I’m sure it can’t be what the definition of hogging is??

[SteamyTea]

8 hours ago, Christine Walker said:

I’m intrigued as to what this ‘hoggin’ is- looked it up but I’m sure it can’t be what the definition of hogging is??

I think you need to exclude results from Urban Dictionary

[joe90]

I also did not know what hoggin was, but was considering “self binding gravel“ For my drive which appears similar,

 

just looked fir a supplier and this does not mention clay, just 10mm to dust......(with all the clay on my site I am sick of the stuff ?).

 

Dandy's Hoggin Self Binding Gravel is 10mm down to dust, in a golden brown tone.  The fines make it ideal for areas with a firmer finish when compacted.  

Edited July 8, 2020 by joe90

[ProDave]

Yes another on who did not know what it is. I suspect it is a regional word?

 

Having seen a picture on the net. it's what we up here would call a "Quarry dust finish"

 

It seems to work very well for footpaths, but I wonder how it would stand up to regular vehicle use on a slope? I suspect it might end up somewhat polished?

[joe90]

When I lived in shropshire a local quarry sold “stone dust” and it used to off like concrete when it got damp.

[Onoff]

Similar I think to what we call crag round here. 

[Onoff]

Don't use what I have on my drive.....compacted fire ash, full of rusty bits of nail from the pallets/scrap wood the previous owners burnt. Always coming to the surface and INTO MY TYRES! 

[joe90]

Yes, my wife’s father (who lived on this plot) used to bury all his rubbish and nails and bits of metal keep surfacing, can’t believe I have not had a puncture yet In my machinery!

[PeterW]

This is a consideration for me too but I do need to have a proper look at the Hoggin available in the local area as I’ve seen varying quality. Depends what you read, but 5-20% clay is the required amount and it does need to be laid to falls. 

[selfbuildrookie]

_{Thanks all. Some good pointers for me to look into ?}

On 08/07/2020 at 09:45, PeterW said:

This is a consideration for me too but I do need to have a proper look at the Hoggin available in the local area as I’ve seen varying quality. Depends what you read, but 5-20% clay is the required amount and it does need to be laid to falls. 

 

And yes I know it's my decision, fairly confident I will win this one with my builder! 

[Jilly]

The BBC website has a 'how to lay a hoggin path' and it says for foot traffic, won't stand up to vehicular use. 

 

[mvincentd]

My drive is sloping around 1 in 7.

I'm on a chalk base and whacked approx 35mm of type 1 onto it before laying grids and filling with gravel.

In the year it's been down i've not once needed to rake it , although now it would benefit from the half hour that would take (150sqm).

Being in grids it acts as a much firmer surface than loose gravel .... admittedly not perfect for bikes, but probably better than dealing with the sludge that moist Hogin will put on your tyres and shoes.

[Onoff]

6 minutes ago, mvincentd said:

My drive is sloping around 1 in 7.

I'm on a chalk base and whacked approx 35mm of type 1 onto it before laying grids and filling with gravel.

In the year it's been down i've not once needed to rake it , although now it would benefit from the half hour that would take (150sqm).

Being in grids it acts as a much firmer surface than loose gravel .... admittedly not perfect for bikes, but probably better than dealing with the sludge that moist Hogin will put on your tyres and shoes.

 

What grids can I ask please?

[joe90]

13 minutes ago, mvincentd said:

but probably better than dealing with the sludge that moist Hogin will put on your tyres and shoes.

surely that depends on the clay content?, lots of clay = lots of muck, little clay should be ok?

[mvincentd]

11 minutes ago, Onoff said:

What grids can I ask please?

Nidagravel , they're 1.2 x 2.4 so lay very fast compared to clipping typically 9 squares per sqm together and fighting with their stiffness.  The nidagravel's are flexible, but you should still aim to create a 'flat slope' rather than a radius....they did accommodate my slightly arcing transition from slope to flat though.  They're not cheap and when comparing their robustness to say Aco's grids there's much less material in them so you'd think them flimsy.....time will tell, but the point with all the grids is that their strength comes from the gravel fill.  I've no problems so far with them.  http://2gomadindorset.blogspot.com/2019/08/driveway-and-some-landscaping.html

 

19 minutes ago, joe90 said:

surely that depends on the clay content?, lots of clay = lots of muck, little clay should be ok?

Sure Joe, but in Dorset at least Hoggin is sand/gravel/clay and while its ratio may vary from supplier to supplier it can't really be a 'non-shedding' surface in the way paving, decking, tarmac or gravel is, but it does have the potential to be the opposite as far as i've seen, perhaps because i've not seen an installation of any significant area thats entirely avoided puddling.