Hi,

I was preparing my drive for Tarmac but due to the cost I am thinking of other permanent finishes and have a few questions below.

The drive has all been dug out to and filled with approx 8" of MOT Type 1 with a membrane underneath it. I have then cemented in edging blocks all around the outside and left approx 75mm for Tarmac.

The size of the area is 262 sq mtr so the cost is high for the supply and laying off Tarmac... Between £7000 and £8000. We have done all the drive ourselves so far but are not skilled enough to do the Tarmac therefore I have been looking at block pavin which i think we can do ourselves. To supply standard block pavers 200x100mm I can purchase enough for £2500 (a big saving). Obviously I need sand still..

After reading a bit on the Internet about block paving it would appear I need 50mm of sand and then the paver on this. Is the 50mm after it has been wackered?

As I only have 75mm to the top of my edging block I don't really want to take hardcore back off so could I go for 50mm blocks and put 25mm of sand down (totalling 75mm) or would I be best to go for 60mm blocks with 15mm of sand?

How important is the sand depth? Would I be better to take the hardcore out to get 50mm of sand?

Also this is going to be just a residential drive way, therefore are 50mm thick blocks sufficient for the load of 2 family cars or do I have to have the 60mm ones?

Do you have any tips on the joint sand to fill with. I want to avoid the weeds and someone mention that you can get joint filling sand that weeds won't grow in - too good to be true???

As the area is so big I wanted to phase the work. Is it feasible to do it this way and say lay sand for 1 third of the area and then pave it and then do the 2nd third etc or do you have to do it all at once?

Do you always wacker the sand before the blocks go on or do you just wacker the finished product?

Sorry for all the questions.. Hope you can help?

Mark

Everything you need to know can be found here http://www.pavingexpert.com/blocks.htm

50mm blocks are sufficient for family cars.

Fill the joints with Kiln Dried Sand - then seal the blocks to prevent sand migration and weed growth (can only be done when very dry).

You wack the sand, screed off to 45mm from finished height, lay blocks, brush in the dried sand then wack.

_________________
Cheers,
Darren

Property Refurbishment & Maintenance Dorset

Here's my driveway that was done a couple of months ago. I did the prep work but got a local company in to do the block laying.

Type 1 laid and wackered



Blocks delivered



Edging installed



Blocks being laid



All completed

_________________
Cheers,
Darren

Property Refurbishment & Maintenance Dorset

Do you always screed off to 5mm less than the block size? Is this so when you wack the blocks they drop typically by 5mm?

What about doing it in phases? Is this recommended..

Get the sand in, give it a good whacking and screed of to allow thickness of block, less 5mm, lay blocks, kiln dried sand and whack.
You can do it in stages, but dont walk/drive near the unsupported edges, always best to do it in one.
Good tidy job there Darren, the hard works in the prep.

Shame the little digger spoils the pic. You could have dug that out in 12 hours with 4 of you, you lazy 5od.

There wasn't 4 of us - it was only me doing the prep. There's 20 tons of type 1 in there. And this was the dig out a few days before.

_________________
Cheers,
Darren

Property Refurbishment & Maintenance Dorset

Last one I did there was 16 ton of scalpings and 4 of us dug out in 12 hours.

So I will let you off with a warning.....don't let it happen again lol

Couple more questions...

What is the minimumamount of sand I could get away with putting down before I compromise the finish or stability of the drive ?

What is the best sand to use? I have heard Sharpe sand?

Also I am looking at the standard type concrete block 100x200x50. In your experiences what is the best colour to go for that doesn't fade too bad or get old looking quick ??

Thanks
Mark

40 mm . You are going to have to shave some off the sub base. Drag a pick through the top inch of it , then use a rake.

Sharp sand or grit sand is the ONLY sand to use. It is free draining and won't turn to mush like building would when water logged.

Brindle. It's a mixture of brown and red. It's on a driveway on every street in the country. If you do your drive in one colour only, charcoal or grey or whatever , when you get an oil stain or chewing gum on it, it will be more noticeable than on brindle. Have to say though the light coloured grey , or pennant grey pavers I think are far more attractive.

That price you got for the Tarmac ...who was that from? Did they call you "boss" by any chance?

The price I was given was direct from Tarmac and their contracts department. I have also contacted 4 other suppliers who are all well known around my way and the price doesnt alter that much...

Can you post some links to the colour (not brindle) that you refer to?

Also I was thinking buff but can't help but think this will be a nightmare to keep clean and looking new.. Any thoughts.?

i suppose you have a big area to fill, it works out around 30 quid a sq meter. Tumbled pavers like Tegula , you wont get for much less than £24 a sq meter, and you still have to lay them. Then again you can pick up those simple red pavers for maybe half that.
would you consider a gravel? its making a bit of a comeback around here, especially the granites which lock together and are hard wearing.

have not seen a buff driveway laid for a long time. if you have trees nearby you will get that green algae on it . any oil stains etc will stand out a mile.

if you go on any of the manufacturers websites they will have pictures of their paving, bradstone..marshals..tobelmore etc.

as Darren says, paving expert.com has anything there is worth knowing about driveways.

Hi again...

My wife has been looking on the Internet at block paving and found something I haven't come across before. Have you heard of "sudscape"??

Is this any good for a residential drive?
Is it hardwearing?
Is is cheaper than Tarmac or block paving?
Can this go down on MOT type 1?

Should I stay away?

The reason the wife likes it was she likes the pebble type resis that goes down on top of Tarmac or concrete drives but this was too expensive for us as we would still need to get it tarmacd first.

Interested in you thoughts!

Mark

Just had a quick look. Interesting. That rubber looks like the stuff they lay in kids playgrounds.I know that stuff is expensive.
I can't see how it would be a huge saving on you laying the pavers yourself though. Unless you buy the rubber stuff, the resin , the hardener, the aggregate, and hire a big mixer. Yu would want to be pretty handy with getting your levels and using a floor trowel to get everything nice and flat. Also if it's resin bound, you only have about 20 minutes to get it done before it starts going off. If you're not up for all that you're going to have to get a firm in to do it for you.

And..could be wrong here but resin bound has not been around all that long, don't think we know what it's like long term.

Hi again,

Still debating on what to do on my drive and looking for a bit more advice and have the following questions :-

1. Maintenance - is block paving considered a high maintenence drive and what can be done at the point where I lay it to reduce this maintenance?

2. I'm now looking at these blocks http://www.crystalclearideas.co.uk/plas ... osetts.htm. Has anyone any experience, in terms of wear and tear, colour fade etc? I have seen many of these about so am a little cautious.

3. If money wasn't an object. Would you choose Tarmac over block paving? If so why?

4. Do You use sharpe sand, concreting sand or grit sand (sorry if a dumb question)?

5. Should you always seal block paving?

6. Can you get cleaners for block paving, I.e circular brush/sweeper?

Sorry for yet more questions. Hope you can answer them.

Mark