Talk:Cobblestone

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Contents 1 History of cobblestons 2 Cobbles and Setts 3 Greenfield Potatoes paragraph 4 set in sand rather than mortar 5 Cleaning a Cobblestone Street

[edit] History of cobblestons

Does anyone know more on the history of cobblestone streets? Such as which civilisation first used them, or when they were first introduced into Europe.

And also how 'common' they were, i.e. were they only used in cities at first, with dirt roads being in smaller country towns, or was it something distributed 'relatively' easily?

I am curious as to where all these caobblestones come from. Here in Europe there are gazzililons of uniform size and color little square stones used for paving streets, sidewalks and drives. I am curious about the manufacturing process or source of all these stones.

[edit] Cobbles and Setts

I understand that the difference between cobbles and setts is that cobbles form a deliberately rough surface (originally) to allow grip in bad weather for horses hooves. A hill or other slope is likely to be cobbled.

Setts are laid as smooth and level as possible, and would be used on level roads and pavements.

The pictures in the article appear to be of Setts, not Cobbles.

I intend to edit the main article to explain this difference and to start a separate article on Setts, but will await comments for a week or two. -- User:Peter Judge - 08:10, 16 August 2006

It certainly seems most people call these "setts" cobblestones, and I must admit this is the first I've heard of the term "setts". this site agrees with the distinction you're making. I just edited this gallery on commons, to try to make this distinction clearer (although I stopped short of removing all the pictures of setts altogether).

So by this reckoning, the photo currently at the bottom Image:Cobblestones 01.jpg, is actually showing setts.

-- Harry Wood (talk) 23:38, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Greenfield Potatoes paragraph

The Arroyo Seco link points to a page that suggests that Greenfield Potatoes are stones found naturally in wine-growing soil -- not in cobbles. "The locals have coined the name "Greenfield Potatoes" for the larger potato shaped rocks that strewn the valley floor. In addition to moderating the temperature, the rocks provide excellent drainage." That is, can a cobble stone be a cobble stone if it isn't used in paving? I'm going to remove this paragraph until someone can claim it. --Mdwyer 15:35, 21 May 2006 (UTC)

Greenfield Potatoes is a local term for cobblestones in Arroyo Seco, California. They are 3-4 inch cobblestones that resemble potatoes in size and appearance and which absorb heat during the day and radiate their heat after sunset. They also promote excellent drainage.

[edit] set in sand rather than mortar

Two years ago, I watched workmen relay cobblestones in front of my mother-in-law's house in Switzerland. They set them in sand rather than binding the stones with mortar. The two pictures shown in the article are for non-mortared cobblestones. Many of the stone streets and walks I've seen in Europe are set in sand rather than mortar. Cobblestone remain quite common in Europe. Thus, my changes. Swlenz 20:52, 5 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cleaning a Cobblestone Street

We live on a private drive and it happens to be a cobblestone street. How do you clean the oil and dirt off of the cobblestone? Do we use chemicals or sandblast? Sure could use some advice.

Method: 1. Elbow Grease 2. Use it

high pressure water jet should do fine; its outside, it can live having specks of dirt on it. And symantically speaking, doesn't 'street' infer public use, and not 'private'?