advertisement


Suitable Drive Surface - Block, Resin, Cobbles or.......

M

mark6565

pfm Member
Hi,

We are hoping to renovate and widen our house drive so it is capable to taking two average family cars.

At the moment, it's old style large council slabs - all worn and a few cracked now. Pretty drab and unattractive

Not really a fan of herringbone block paving, nor plain black tarmac but have been admiring some resin ones in the local area.

Just wondering if anyone has experience of this type of surface, good or bad, and can offer any tips on what to avoid.

Thank you
 
Avoid resin-bound gravel types - expensive, short-lived, non-permeable; and yes - can be slippery.

Plenty of alternatives to 'herringbone block' ( I know exactly what you mean...) - take a look at industry suppliers like Marshalls paving, and search outward from there.
 
I chose herring-bone for my drive as I didn't like the block and other patterns. T.b.h., it really doesn't matter, as after a few years they all look similar and the original aesthetic disparities in hue disappear and it simply looks like any other weathered block driveway. However, after some 7 years, I can say it's functional, easy to keep weed-free and clean, permeable to a degree and log-lasting. With contrasting edging, easy to keep back the encroaching plants too.

One of the best investments I've made (previously, like the o.p., uneven, damaged and unappetising concrete paving stones and mud ). A dodgy 1 car+ toilet for cats is now a functional 3 car drive at a push.
 
If you are just going to park cars on it then tarmac or patterned concrete will more than do. The resin stuff is very hit & miss with quite a few cowboys about.
 
Last year we had our front done in resin/fine gravel, can't see it being more slippery than any other finish when wet and icy. Have to say we are very happy with it, hopefully saving us a lot of weeding. A friend told me his sister had it done 9yrs ago and it still looks like new.
 
Depends on how much you want to spend and whether it's DIY or done by a firm and the quality of work carried out by firms in your area.
I've no experience of resin bound gravel.
I've approximately 20 years experience laying block paving and 10 years cobbling and laying stone flags. I did learn how to do the concrete 'Impression' patterned and dyed surface but I generally think it looks a bit cheap.
Tarmac is good if done properly but has a lifetime of about 10 -15 years.
Asphalt is better if done properly and has a longer lifespan.
Both require very little maintenance.
Block paving has a much longer lifespan if done properly, is easily repairable but requires maintenance, regular brushing , if not kept clean it will at some stage require power washing and re-grouting, much easier to give it a brush every week or two, 10 min job.
Cobbles will last a lifetime or two if done properly but is a much more expensive product but requires less maintenance.
The most important factor in all these surfaces is the prep work below.
I guess it depends on how long you intend to live there and the style of building, not all houses suit all products aesthetically but there should be a suitable style of block paving available.
 
Just having our drive done now ,the guys are civil engineers who do highways . They dug out about 350 mm deep and guy who dropped 8 tons of proper stone ( not the recycled stuff) was very impressed . Bit like the m5 is some folks comments . Its tarmac with concrete and block paving around .

Resin is a pitb to reinstate if you need a new drain or something , in a recent building project the architect and builders avoided the resin footpath like the plague because of that .

One guy here has had that shiny imprinted concrete done , looks horrible ,and drains downwards towards the air bricks , one day they will have a flood in base of floor
 
Tarmac is a mix of aggregate and tar, asphalt is a mix of aggregate and bitumen.
Tarmac generally is not as durable, asphalt is harder and has a better finish.
I don't know what the price difference is today but asphalt will certainly be more expensive.
I only worked with it on a few occasions but given the nature of my work I worked with men who had alot of experience and of course on jobs with a variety of trades.
In the past I've done alot of prep work for tar and asphalt squads, including setting drainage, kerbs and quite often a block paving or cobbled border.
 
Whatever you choose the key to getting a good lifespan is preparation. I put down some lockblock at our last house. It was just a small area at the front door to create a transition from the extensive gravel drive and some where better to sit in the sun.

I did my research and decided as it might be driven on I used the load bearing standard. I dug down far enough to get in 150mm of consolidated subbase then the bedding sand before laying the blocks. In 20 years it never moved and apart from scraping the joints occasionally needed no maintenance.
 
Had mine done last year, block paving in a new-ish style of lighter and somewhat random blocks. Neighbours and delivery drivers all commented how nice it looked. So it’s made a great improvement, but one tip - be certain the contractor is fully insured and that they take formal responsibility for the job.

My very competent but somewhat less formal builder had a mate with a mini digger come round to help get the old drive out. Great idea, until they pulled up the gas supply to the house.

It wasn’t too bad to sort out, but cost some time and some wrangling over who should pay Cadent’s bill.

The end result was well worth it though, huge improvement over a knackered old concrete thing.
 
gintonic said:
oh that doesn't bode well - road reinstatement around here lasts about 6 months. I assume you mean the company are civil engineers? Not the blokes laying the stuff?
Click to expand...
Not sure , they have highways maintenance on the van and are a civil engineering firm doing sewers , bus garages etc . only 2 of them
 
Horses for courses..

These days, house builders seem to provide half decent fencing, walls and drives. When we bought our place new in '76, the 'drive' consisted of two rows of 3'x2' concrete flags leading up to the door of the integral garage. The rest of the front 'garden' was turf, laid on cinders, as were the pavers.

Extreme financial struggles, redundancies, 2 kids, extended full time HE etc. and health issues pushed fancy drives way down the priority list but.. a neighbour was putting down block paving and was happy for me to accept 50+ 3'x2' pavers. Saved him disposing of them and me a few quid.

In 1997, one year after a heart attack, I set about laying the aforementioned pavers. I simply lifted the old 'drive' and the turf, and then patiently 'riddled' the cinders and levelled them. I slowly and patiently laid a few pavers each day. I 'benched' the 'open' edge adjacent to the front lawn with concrete, below grass level. It took a month or so, but I ended up with a 16' wide 18' long two car drive , which is still in place 27 years later. The pavers have barely moved. Maintenance comprises an annual jetwash, to remove slippery algae etc.

In retrospect, if I was doing it again, I would set some levels differently, esp. where it meets the pavement/sidewalk, but it works and whilst it may not have the looks of some fancy stuff, it is far from the ugliest drive in the street.

Some neighbours have 'professionally' laid 3x 2 flag drives which are falling apart. Some have similar but done properly, maybe with block paved edges etc. Many have block paving and spend days brushing moss from between them and brushing kiln dried sand in if ever we have a dry day. One chap has the moulded concrete 'fake cobbles' with a resin coating which is very slippy and cracking in places. Some have full 'resin' drives which do look very nice but the thought of what happens if services beneath develop a fault ..o_O A couple have York Stone, which looked gorgeous when first done, but seems to be falling apart.

It's also a function of your perception of what others think. Most of us in this street try to keep things acceptably tidy, but whilst some have immaculate lawns and hanging baskets everywhere, framing their fancy block paving.. others present their properties in a much more 'utilitarian' fashion..
Horses for courses.
 
hifinutt said:
some councils wont let you use gravel as it spills onto the pavement
Click to expand...

Yep. We have several gravel drives locally. It's a lazy and anti social approach in my view and yes.. it spills onto the pavement and road, which brings the risk of pebbles being fired at windows, or innocent bystanders, by passing vehicle tyres.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top