I'm having my driveway re-laid. Anyone else had this done ?

[Dave7]

Situation is.........after being on my own my daughter and family have moved in. They are now in the main house and I have moved into the built on granny flat (very comfy and totally my idea).
So......'we' now we have 4 vehicles.
Solution........redo the drive and extend it to what is the front garden.
Size will be approx 200 square mtrs (18 x 10 plus a recess).
I have dismissed tarmac for a number of reasons.
I like resin but the cost is prohibitive at £29K.
Re-flagging** plus extending is only marginally cheaper than block paving.
**it would look naff if I left the old flags down.
So I have more or less decided on block paving using a dark red 'brindle' block which will blend in with the house.
I have quotes from 2 reputable local companies and checked with a couple of thier clients who highly recommend them.
Cost will be £10K which, although not chicken feed, seems reasonable for what is involved ie removing all existing 'stuff' and disposing of it, using good membrane and quality sand base etc
So..... what think other CCrs ?

 

[fossyant]

Block paving, whilst it looks nice is a mare on maintenance needing regular weeding, jet washing and resanding.

Go for tarmac. You can at least re-paint it if it gets scruffy (e.g oil spils)

 

[Emanresu]

Had ours done in the last 18 months complete with the resin overlay. Looks very good but expensive. Neighbours have block paving but have to weed these every year so we have less maintenance. The resin bit is just a overlay. The key bit is the tarmac which took a long time to lift the old and replace. Resin overlay is a waste unless they do the tarmac bit right and suspect that if you left the resin off there wouldn't be much of a saving.

 

[Drago]

Mine is block paved, butnwith those self-spacing blocks with fine gravel between. Vastly reduces water run off whichnckntrivutes to localised flash flooding.

Looks like this...

Bear in mind that new driveways or extensions to existing driveways made from impermeable materials require planning pemrission if over 5 square metres (about half the footprintof one car), and quite often drainage to a certain spec. Gravel (ugh!) or the permeable block paving are exempt from this, so no future legal headaches.

 

[MontyVeda]

How about imprinted concrete?

 

[Dave7]

Mine is block paved, butnwith those self-spacing blocks with fine gravel between. Vastly reduces water run off whichnckntrivutes to localised flash flooding.

Looks like this...

View attachment 818960

Bear in mind that new driveways or extensions to existing driveways made from impermeable materials require planning pemrission if over 5 square metres (about half the footprintof one car), and quite often drainage to a certain spec. Gravel (ugh!) or the permeable block paving are exempt from this, so no future legal headaches.

Thanks. It would be permeable.

 

[Dave7]

How about imprinted concrete?

Its not permeable so for this area, as I understand it, i would need planning permission.

 

[Dave7]

Had ours done in the last 18 months complete with the resin overlay. Looks very good but expensive. Neighbours have block paving but have to weed these every year so we have less maintenance. The resin bit is just a overlay. The key bit is the tarmac which took a long time to lift the old and replace. Resin overlay is a waste unless they do the tarmac bit right and suspect that if you left the resin off there wouldn't be much of a saving.

It is my understanding that use of polymeric sand eliminates much of the weed problem.
Also sealing it properly though the jury is out on that.

 

[slowereveryyear]

Having had block paving on a drive I'd say :
It looks really nice, far better than tarmac or concrete.
The effort to keep it looking nice and weed free isn't small. Grass in the joins being the worse. Unless you use weedkiller or a flame gun weeding by hand is very time consuming and bad on your back.
I had mine taken up and tarmaced.

 

[oxoman]

With block paving its ok for the first yr or so, especially if south facing. Maintenance wise you'll get weeds around the edges to start with and weed killer normally deals with these. You'll need to put extra kiln dried down every yr or so and occasionally power wash carefully. If sub-base isn't good enough the bricks will dip wherever the cars are standing or driving regularly. Interlocking blocks best as already mentioned. Tarmac is great for a while, but will require a decent base and kept clear of weeds around the edges. Concrete is just utilitarian and ugly. Printed concrete I've not got any real experience of or resin, suspect they will be the same as normal concrete. Stone papers can look nice, however need regularly pointing especially if using resin mortar joints as it shrinks and degrades after about 4yrs, can also get slimy and slippy in the wet if not careful.
Gravel is high maintenance, however burglars hate it as it is noisy to walk on.
Good luck on choosing.

 

[Drago]

3 years with a heavy van and heavy electric car on ours, no prob,ams with sinkage. It remains as firm and erect as the day we moved in, so I guess the builders did a decent job.

 

[fossyant]

It is my understanding that use of polymeric sand eliminates much of the weed problem.
Also sealing it properly though the jury is out on that.

Doesn't. You have to maintain it. My neighbour, who is a builder twice relayed the whole lot because the weeds took over (an area of 4 cars). He gave up and put york style flagstones down. Similarly, any neighbours drives with block paves look a mess. Weeds and subsidence under car weight.

Needs to be done properly and maintaining regular. Make your family aware they will need to keep on top of weeding and resanding. Jet wash it and you'll need to resand it. My folks went for tarmac with a block paved edge (one brick) that looks nice.

 

[Drago]

Oh aye. I clean the van every 2 or 3 weeks and have a quick tactical go with the spray weedkiller while I'm out there. Usually half a dozen well aimed squirts and its done.

 

[SteveH80]

From experience I would avoid block paving. It looks nice when new but is a pain over time, besides the weeds the sub-base often compacts when subject to heavy loads like cars.
Tarmac is the best maintenance free solution although as noted previously you might need drainage and planning permission.
Planning is likely just to be a formality and is neither complicated or expensive so don't try and skip it, Planners get very uppity if you try taking the piss with them.

 

[Emanresu]

3 years with a heavy van and heavy electric car on ours, no prob,ams with sinkage. It remains as firm and erect as the day we moved in, so I guess the builders did a decent job.

That's a good point. We've had some minor damage to the resin/tarmac driveway due to a bin lorry reversing onto the edge. Normally the tarmac would have dealt with it but the higher surface temperatures this year meant it was softer. Block may be better if there is likely to be heavier vehicles.

On a related point the resin impregnated sleeper we had for steps in the garden were a real problem as they wept tar on to shoes as you used them.

(See I have contradicted SteveH80 on this point !!)