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We are looking to move house and a house we like has one, to me it looks well done - brick border all round to contain the gravel, large enough stones (it is not pea shingle but 20mm odd gravel). Unless it has recently been cleaned up, I don't see any in the road and it doesn't look to be full of weeds. Slope is minimal so I wouldn't have thought it would wash down the hill.
My Mrs and a friend of ours seem to think we should be budgeting to have it block paved or tarmac'd as it will be a pain to live with. Unless I am being naive, I don't see it being an issue and don't mind giving it a rake over every so often and topping it up with fresh gravel if and when it needs it.
So does anybody have any feedback on what they are actually like to live with?
As you say, no issue for me, mines flat mind, and pretty small. Wee rake now and again, pick weeds whilst they are small.
Next door have one. Similar construction to what you describe. This is on a slight slope, doesn't seem to leak gravel.
Plus point is good for security as you can hear people walking on it - and you can't get to the house any other way.
Big gravel car park and drive here. It migrates and needs topping up, and you find yourself shovelling it out of car footwells etc. This is pea shingle. But it's minimal hassle really, and a top class security measure. Chives grow well in it - better than the adjacent flower bed.
We've had two houses with gravel drives.
I had the gravel put down at the first one which had a straight drive in/reverse out driveway - worked well, no gravel migration.
House we're in now has a longer drive that you drive up and turn 90 deg at the top into the parking area which is also big enough to turn around in. It was worn and had ruts that you will never fix by filling them in. Where we turned 90 deg the gravel was all pushed out of the way leaving hardcore/mud/weeds. We had it ripped up and tarmaced within a few years.
Gravel is a good security device as it's pretty difficult to creep up a gravel driveway without making a noise.
I used to really enjoy broadside skids on my uncle's drive
^This.^ianfitz - Member
Plus point is good for security as you can hear people walking on it - and you can't get to the house any other way.
It'a a really good security deterrent and ours (20mm shingle type stuff) is fine, doesn't cause us any problems at all.
Block paving/tarmac can causer other problems too, such as water runoff, puddling, etc. Provided the subsurface for the gravel has been done well drainage, weeds, etc, shouldn't be a problem and as long as there's a cobble type rumble strip at the entrance you shouldn't get much migration of gravel into the road either
I've had a gravel drive for 11 years. The wife wanted block paving but I won and wanted gravel as back then I usually had flash cars and wanted to hear if anyone was snooping about. I still like it for that reason (though the flash cars have long gone). We had to top up the gravel last year and we just got a load for free from Gumtree and now looks as good as new again. Never really had a problem with weeds although a few do creep through. It's very low maintenance. Just need to brush the few stones that spill over onto the pavement every few weeks.
Wish I still had a gravel drive instead of current block paving, for the reasons mentioned above of low maintenance and security.
Certainly shouldn't put you off buying a house.
Conversely, I'd rather have block paving than gravel!
I don't like gravel on a motorbike so wouldn't want to take mine though it, particularly back peddling
We have it, I stick another 10-20 ton on every few years as it compacts over time, don't go smaller than 20 mm unless you want it stuck in your tyre tread all the time
I should have added that, overall, if I had the choice I would not have a gravel drive - I used to hate leaves and other stuff getting into the gravel and turning black as it rotted down.
I jeffing hate gravel. Part of that come from working in quarries for so long, but it gets everywhere, it looks shite, you can't park a motorbike on it (For cleaning, say) it always grows weeds, and it's basically just a cheap bodge. I'd rather have old concrete or crazy paving than gravel, and I had no problem at all spending £6.5k on block paving to get rid of the gravel at our house. None at all. Money very well spent.
Bah
Humbug
🙂
We had to top up the gravel last year
This is because the rest of it is all over the road, in your house, in your car footwells, under the hedge, in the postmans shoes etc....
We have a gravel drive/yard. I'd like to flag it one day but at roughly 200m² it won't be for a good while.
Gravel doesn't take much maintenance to be fair. Block or flags will likely need pressure washing now and again.
Two words, Cat Shit.
Cats love to poo on my gravel driveway and it's hard to spot.
Don't do it.
Stick a weed barrier underneath and it's good to go.
Easier to do when installing..
And spend the rest of time ordering cat deterrents planting curry plants, checking your shoes before walking in the house or getting in the car. Culminating in an absolute hatred of the neighbours moggies, trying to fight the urge to run them over on sight.
But I'm not bitter.
I'd never have another gravel drive, great for security but as above the amount of cat shit it attracted was phenomenal!
Also a real bugger to walk on in your best carbon soled spd's.
We have a gravel drive. Actually it's bigger than gravel 30mm I'd say
Cat shit is a real problem
It does migrate
We have some problem areas where it so compacted it won't drain properly
You can't jack your car on it
Obviously you can't sweep it so any detritus just gets mingled in.
I'd prefer block paving
But it didn't (and wouldn't) stop me buying a house
+1 on not really being a fan of gravel driveways - although perhaps our one is just badly done...
The house we move into is mainly gravel drive, but I suspect the gravel was just stuck down on top of the soil. The weeds come through, the gravel is massively compacted where we park the car so it's all squashed into the gravel and you end up with muddy puddles when it rains. And it just looks a bit rubbish.
Several times I have gone out armed with a plethora of gardening tools to give it a good weeding and get it back to it's former glory, but have never managed to do the whole lot. It takes ages to do it properly & I lose the will to live before succeeding.
Never had the cat poo problem though, even though we have two of our own....the drive's probably in such a state that the cats are ashamed to defecate in it!!
Thanks for the feedback chaps, seems a mixed response.
It wont put us off buying a house with one, it just adds to the list of things that need sorting and therefore reflects what we are happy to pay.
You will need a specific bike tire to ride up it as well.
Gravel here. Needs a weedkiller sprayed about 3 times a year. Migrates, gets in car footwells and drainage isn't great. New build so I'm putting it down to poor installation.
I would get the drive looked at to see how well it has been installed / laid.
I did my short drive in my last house properly, got some hardcore compacted first, then a layer of proper engineering fabric designed for cars weight to stop the weeds and the gravel sinking down. Then 20mm gravel.
Cheap and worked well - had edges all the way round to keep the gravel in and gravel size was big enough not to stick in shoes or tyre treads.
Wouldn't put me off another gravel drive but it is nice to have a long tarmac drive in our new house!'
We rented a house with gravel drive after the house we were about to complete on fell through. We needed a house urgently though and had some strict requirements. No gravel driveways is now added to the requirements.
It's awful. It ends up in the house, in the car, on the pavement, on the road, on the lawn. If you need to kneel on the drive its guaranteed to be the exact size to fit between your knee joint and socket. If you drop anything small ie bolts, screws etc then they are gone forever.
Its also loud as hell and the whole house can hear me walking up the drive when I leave for work at 2am. **** Gravel!
Ours is gravel, about 20m x 10m. Never had any problem with migrating gravel, but it is perfectly flat.
Needs spraying with glyphosphate and raking once every 6 months to uncompact it and kill off any weeds.
Will need redoing at some time soon as the paved borders are falling appart. And may as well ley a new membrane down whilst we're at it. But will definately stick with gavel.
Only thing thats a pita is setting off on the road bike! Returning isnt a problem but I just cant get going on it so end up walking down the paved border!
Has anyone used those retention mats under a new gravel driveway?
We're having one built at the moment, cobble sets down each side and at the front with a good layer of compacted type 1 underneath it.
I've seen the mats and wonder if they're a worthwhile addition?
I've always thought on gravel as the cheaper option compared with 'proper' surfaces. Don't know if that's true or not
From the descriptions on here, it sounds like the drives are massive! A bit like that kitchen thread a while ago
A house near us replaced a grassed area with gravel recently. They turned up one morning, stuck down a load of that blue plastic sheeting, tipped a load of pea shingle like stuff on it, raked it around a bit then left.
We call it "the beach"; you can see them really have to go for it when moving a car on or off so it doesn't get stuck. Half of it is often underwater.
Make sure it's done properly... 🙂
Ive had a pea shingle drive for 18 years and like it. No cat shit, but do get weeds which soon get sorted with a few sprays of weed killer every now and then. I really don't like the larger sized stones, its like walking on a stoney beach.
Had a pea-shingle drive. Cheaper to own / maintain than tarmac / block paving ime, 10 years zero cost vs issues with both the others. Also think about implications of water/gas supply issues under that expensive block paving as my mate just had to spend £3k digging his up and replacing a section. Very useful secuity feature as you can hear visitors welcome or otherwise arriving.