driveway choices, confused dot com!!!
Discussion
hi looking for some advice on driveways. I currently have a tarmac driveway which is 10years old, good nick but want something a little bit more pleasent looking. i also have a grass area where i want to extend the driveway onto. Ive also ripped down some bushes under the bay windows planted some smaller ones, and want the driveway extended alittle bit so i can get car side by side.
i had a block driveway at a previous house, i wasnt particulary impressed with it, it was hard to keep tidy and the sand ended up transferring into the house (unhappy wife).
ive looked into the possibility of resin bonded driveway but its too expensive, £75 per m2 and that does not include any groundworks... so thats off the list, i could tarmac the grass area and extend whats already there but it doesnt look the best. I was looking at pea shingle but i would have to take up the tarmac, thinking perhaps employ some lads to take up wahts there, put down some mot type 1, compact it down, and i can spread shingle on it.
the only block paving i like are the slight squarer pavers which have been tumbled etc but guess they will be same as the regular pavers.
the driveway size is 80m2 including the grass area, for some reason my laptop wont let me upload pictures...
i know things are limited but perhaps someone can suggest something.... i'm lost on what to do.
i had a block driveway at a previous house, i wasnt particulary impressed with it, it was hard to keep tidy and the sand ended up transferring into the house (unhappy wife).
ive looked into the possibility of resin bonded driveway but its too expensive, £75 per m2 and that does not include any groundworks... so thats off the list, i could tarmac the grass area and extend whats already there but it doesnt look the best. I was looking at pea shingle but i would have to take up the tarmac, thinking perhaps employ some lads to take up wahts there, put down some mot type 1, compact it down, and i can spread shingle on it.
the only block paving i like are the slight squarer pavers which have been tumbled etc but guess they will be same as the regular pavers.
the driveway size is 80m2 including the grass area, for some reason my laptop wont let me upload pictures...
i know things are limited but perhaps someone can suggest something.... i'm lost on what to do.
Imprinted concrete seems to be all the rage near us at the moment.
I guess it depends who lays it, some of the ones look pretty good, others a bit slapdash.
Longevity would depend on the skill of the bloke laying it too.
Oh and a lot of it has a slightly shiny finish.
No sand or weeds though.
I guess it depends who lays it, some of the ones look pretty good, others a bit slapdash.
Longevity would depend on the skill of the bloke laying it too.
Oh and a lot of it has a slightly shiny finish.
No sand or weeds though.
I looked into resin bonded driveways and it seemed a lot cheaper if you do it yourself or use a cheap builder. There are Companies that will sell you the materials online and some tuition. It wouldn't work out much more, if any, than a printed driveway. And far nicer, depending on your property.
C Lee Farquar said:
I looked into resin bonded driveways and it seemed a lot cheaper if you do it yourself or use a cheap builder. There are Companies that will sell you the materials online and some tuition. It wouldn't work out much more, if any, than a printed driveway. And far nicer, depending on your property.
And after a week the stones are all in your car, in the house & up the road 
absoutely the worst option.OP there are many different types of tarmac including various degrees of porosity (is that a word) to meet council nazi planning regs.
I had a pattern imprinted job @ last pad never had an issue with it , even parking a 9 tonne truck on it regularly,, make sure it is regularly 'sealed' to proect it.
Whatever you do conc, tarmac etc make sure the 'base' is done properly and 'whackered'
I remodelled my gardens and driveway some years back and debated whether to go for paviers, tarmac (bitmac) or imprinted concrete. Paviers looked good but could be quite high maintenance what with sand, regrounting every so often, a bind. So I chose the imprinted concrete - never again. Even the best laid imprinted concrete is likely to crack at some point and that's unsightly. Last winter's hard weather further ruined the surface, and, worst of all, unless there is a decent gradient, rain water lies for ages. Unlike tarmac it isn't permeable. If I was doing it again I would go for asphalt with red marble chips.
hornetrider said:
speedyguy said:
And after a week the stones are all in your car, in the house & up the road absoutely the worst option.
How do you get stones everywhere with a stonebond driveway? absoutely the worst option.
Look good for a very very short time and probably only fit for 'walking' traffic & surfaces to be looked @ and not driven on.
The place I was just made redundant from did the resin bonded thing. It works quite well - it's the same technology used to do the "high friction" surface you get near junctions, so it is very hard wearing. The only problem with a domestic application is that it doesn't get trafficked enough to remove the loose stone (you always over apply to ensure coverage) so it will be shedding bits for years to come.
I can't think of any high friction surfacing that has been laid on the 'new' flow controlled motorway sliproads that hasn't broken up or worn badly 
.
Best the Op looks at any high friction surfacing if it's the similar stuff to get an 'idea' on it's 'performance', I'm sure someone somewheres making/made a lot of money out of it..
Doesn't bother me either way what the op goes for but from experience Bonded surface would come right at the bottom of my list if I wanted a half decent job to last
.Best the Op looks at any high friction surfacing if it's the similar stuff to get an 'idea' on it's 'performance', I'm sure someone somewheres making/made a lot of money out of it..
Doesn't bother me either way what the op goes for but from experience Bonded surface would come right at the bottom of my list if I wanted a half decent job to last
thanks for all the replies, interesting read hearing other opinions on the surfaces. the imprinted driveways looks a no no, i wash the cars every weekend and the front garden is north facing so esepcially in the inter with the sun low it doesnt really get the sun on the driveway so standing water doesnt really evaporate quickly.
pavers, still not sure, i like the look but after the problems i had in the last drive way not sold, missus hates the sand.
tarmac, perhaps rip up whats there, relay again in a different colour, not sure red, but maybe another stone in the mix to break it up a little.
still a very hard choice.
pavers, still not sure, i like the look but after the problems i had in the last drive way not sold, missus hates the sand.
tarmac, perhaps rip up whats there, relay again in a different colour, not sure red, but maybe another stone in the mix to break it up a little.
still a very hard choice.
speedyguy said:
hornetrider said:
speedyguy said:
And after a week the stones are all in your car, in the house & up the road absoutely the worst option.
How do you get stones everywhere with a stonebond driveway? absoutely the worst option.Look good for a very very short time and probably only fit for 'walking' traffic & surfaces to be looked @ and not driven on.
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