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...what would you have? Block/brick paving? Good old tarmac? Resin wotsit? Anything else?
We'll probably be getting ours done, cos it's currently a delightful mix of sagged and patched tarmac and bona-fide 1980's crazy paving. Next door's, which it will directly butt up against on one edge, is brick paving FWIW.
I'd go drivesett.
Block paving using a decent Marshall block for ease of bring able to patch and get replacements.
How big an area? What slope? Is it an in/out drive, any turning on it? What's the environment like? What's the house constructed of?
How big an area? What slope? Is it an in/out drive, any turning on it? What’s the environment like? What’s the house constructed of?
About two parking spaces worth with a bit of landscaping around some shrubs, flat, straight in/out, 1980s housing estate, house is made of brick.
Couple round our way have gone for a polished concrete with lines cut in for grip/looks a bit like blocks. It looks great, doesn't get any weed growth so easy maintenance and almost a fit and forget.
Block pavers look great then they fade, then they get weeds. Resin bonded is nice but is pricey, patterned concrete is again nice but imagine it being patched if you get a failed service.
A decent edging on your open edges with a good 6mm bitmac is what I'd go for, laid by someone who knows what they're doing and can get a nice tight finish.
That resin/printed concrete stuff is lethal when damp/frosty/dirty. Avoid. Also think about drainage
About two parking spaces worth with a bit of landscaping around some shrubs, flat, straight in/out, 1980s housing estate, house is made of brick.
Sounds nice & simple then and makes the whole job a lot easier. Block paving will be the obvious choice - to my eyes imprinted concrete always looks a bit rubbish and has a habit of cracking unless it's done really well. Block paving you need to get the base right so don't go for cheapness otherwise it'll move all over the place. You can also spec more intersting pavers than bog standard marshalls tegula, and decent clay pavers will weather better than concrete. Resin can look good, is a bit different to block paving but again needs a solid base - i've seen one done on the cheap that lifted in sheets, others are still looking good after years. Oh and there's 2 types of resin bound, either the sure-set type where you mix the aggregate with the resin before laying, or the 'top dressed' type where resin is spread and aggregate is then added afterwards. 2nd type is usually cheaper but depends on the installer again - both will need some sort of eding on any exposed parts too. Then as wrightyson says a tarmac option is fine too, probably more skilled people to lay it than the resin - you can patch any bits that need to be dug up but it'll still leave an obvious scar.
TLDR - choose what you like the look of then spend a while finding a good installer who has projects from a few year ago that you can look at.
Anything other than block paving.
Cheers all
then spend a while finding a good installer who has projects from a few year ago that you can look at.
Yeah, I think this will be key. Of course, if anyone knows of any in the Cirencester/Swindon/Cheltenham/Gloucester area...
Our driveway needs relaying as lots of paviors have sunk.
Anyone know a good company in West Yorkshire?
What would I go for if I want something that doesn't look like crap after bike washing on it?
From experience of many customers homes,check previous work out by the contractors,
Ensure there are drains, to get water away or use permeable tarmacadam,
Patterned concrete or the resin stuff without grip is dangerous in the wet as it doesnt shed water,when it freezes.
Try and ensure there is a slope away from the house unless to an slotted drain,
Ensure the new surface is not laid on the old surface and then runs towards the low lying air vent bricks,seen that.
Ensure vehicles dont leak oil or fluids as it will soften tarmac,
Never jet wash tarmac,seen that,it destroys the surface,
If you have gates ensure they open and close without catching the surface,seen that,gates stuck open.
Ensure any manhole cover is replaced and is easily removed in case of a blockage, not covered with a slab then tarmaced over.
For that area I'd consider proper edges and a thin covering of gravel over roadstone. Weeding is easier than with blocks and drainage isn't an issue
...installer who has projects from a few year ago that you can look at
Is the Fosse Way anywhere nearby?
Have you considered rubber crumb? Recycled car tyres, granulated and can lay onto pretty much any surface. Similar material is used for kiddies play areas, although I’m lead to understand that the granules used are bigger and its a thicker lay overall.
I’m trying to get someone to quote me for a courtyard at work at the mo, and they have yet to come over, so I’m not sure of cost however from the brief research I’ve done thus far it’s seemingly cheaper than resin aggregate. Environmentally friendly and offers very good grip in ice weather.
I'd go for a decent brush finished cement/fine aggregate concrete drive, one with plenty of expansion joints to control any cracks and good smoothed edges to smarten it up. I've seen one with expansion joints run up the edges a foot from the edge, and diagonal ones across the slab which makes it look a bit less like a warehouse yard 🙂
I mean to say, if I had a big pot of cash, I would do the above. As it is, I'll be digging out the smashed up sections of drive and patching it I think, some previous poor additions to the drive resemble compacted rubble, when I moved in there were just a few small cracks!
A lot of options are out for me as my drive is very steep at 20% / 1 in 5, I parked 3.5t vans on it, regularly point load it with trolley jacks and axle stands, and don't want to be worrying about oil and fuel stains!
My drive/parking area is ordinary gravel laid over large granite chippings on top of rubble, because the front garden was nearly a foot below the path running past the house. It has the advantage of draining well, but it’s not all that pretty.
If I was going to have it re-laid, I’d get red airbricks, lay them on their sides, holes upwards, on sand over gravel, and fill them with sand. This would give a solid, flat, well-draining parking area, and I’d let moss grow to soften the look.
Have you considered rubber crumb? Recycled car tyres, granulated and can lay onto pretty much any surface. Similar material is used for kiddies play areas,
That shit is horrendous, my lad looked like he'd been "down pit" years ago after playing on a park with that as the covering.
Ours is tarmac of some description which has been down over 20 years. Doesn't look that elaborate (cos it looks like tarmac of some description) but is still sound & problem free.
So It's obviously very durable.
Dunno what the ultimate in both looks & durability would be.
Have been looking into this quite a bit recently. We have an area of block paving on our drive that we want to extend. We really wanted wet pour rubber crumb, but its simply not strong enough to drive on. Also, with me constantly fettling with cars it wouldn't stand up to axe stands and trolley jacks putting point loads on it. It definitely wouldn't stand up to oil changes, bikes being degreased or the general mechanical/chemical abuse I put things through.
We then looked at resin bound surfaces and have so far had three quotes. Two wanted to do the following: dig up the area and put a layer of dolomite down, then cast a reinforced concrete plinth above that. The resin surface is a layer 15mm thick above that. That sounds great, but it means we end up with a 70m^2 sheet of impermeable surface supporting a permeable one. I suspect water will pool on it and possibly even cause lifting in cold weather.
The third quote was different. They too intend to dig down and drop a load of dolomite in, on top of that they will lay tarmac, then on top of that the resin surface. This sounds better as the tarmac will be permeable, meaning that it should drain properly. I'm tempted to go with them,the only thing is cost - it's about £8- £10k to do the 70m^2 area, which to me is outrageous.
If we had a big pot of money then I am tempted to go for a resin based driveway although my reservation would be around how well it cleans up in case of messy car cleaning / bike cleaning
I would never want a permeable surface just merrily draining in to the sub base without a bit of design and forethought about the formation material.
I think it cleans up pretty well. The aggregate is encapsulated in the resin, so there’s nowhere for the dirt to penetrate.
Yeah I’d be tempted to get them to fit something like a field drain beneath the dolomite. I wouldn’t want it soaking away into the ground water, though given it’s an old mine and coke works it’d probably do it some good!
We moved into a house with block paving, keeping it weed free has sent me crackers. And put my back out.
Most people just seem to let it go weedy.
Watching this thread closely.
Dolemite? I thought the Dolemites are a range of mountains in Italy. Is it the equivalent of road metal or type 1 my way?
These guys have been going for years , I've seen lots of thier work and used them a few times .not cheap tho.
Is it the equivalent of road metal or type 1 my way?
I believe it is type 1 but I may be wrong. It's certainly similar if not exacty the same. If it is close to type 1 it doesn't fair well to exposure to a lot of moisture and you will end up with channel lines in your topping of choice (not concrete) especially on a drive where you may just pull on and off in the same spot over time.
As I always say on these threads your topping is only ever as good as your sub base.
Dolemite? I thought the Dolemites are a range of mountains in Italy.
Named after their geology...
We went tarmac. Block paving always ends up a mess with weeds quickly.
Don’t forget building regs though can be a problem when coming to sell if you do it wrong
Don’t forget building regs though
Building regs doesn't cover external paving.
IHN, I used Cotswold Paving and Landscaping Ltd. They were not the cheapest but were a lot more professional than some of the cowboys around our area!They took about two days in total and were easy to deal with.
I got block paving done (Marshalls)as it matches the cotswold stone colour quite well. The direction of runoff is also important to get right. I think we paid somewhere between 4-5k for which included putting a slit drain along the front of the house and garage.
If the surface to be covered is more than five square metres planning permission will be needed for laying traditional, impermeable driveways that do not provide for the water to run to a permeable area.
Sorry I meant Planning Permission
Thanks for the recommendations, I've actually already called Cotswold Paving and waiting for him to call back (he's on holiday this week).
Petey83 - any chance I could come and have a look at their work?
Sure, no problem. check PM for address.