Dig a hole in tarmarc drive... how to fill without looking horrible

Associate
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Short story. New house, collapsed drain, my problem, need to dig out and replace 1m of pipe. Professionals doing that bit.

The drain is about 0.5m down so not too bad.

Once the drain is sorted and hardcore put back etc, it will need patching with new tarmac, which will look horrible. Do I;

- nothing you can do silly, the patch will look terrible for years until weathered
- try and disguise it as a manhole cover or something else
- this is quite near the edge of the driveway, which already has some brick edging, I could do a 1m strip of brick paving near the top across the entire width of the drive
- stop messing around and re-do the entire drive (it probably needs widening in the future anyway)
- some other magic solution I've not thought of?!

Thanks in advance
 
Soldato
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Surely this is a decision for you not for strangers on A forum? You Already know a patch will look cack so choose whichever option will suit your needs.
 
Associate
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Surely this is a decision for you not for strangers on A forum? You Already know a patch will look cack so choose whichever option will suit your needs.
Yes you are probably correct. If anyone could relay their own experience that would be appreciated. Maybe there is a solution I’ve not considered.
 
Man of Honour
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If you're going to widen it soon anyway and you've got the cash to do it now that seems like the sensible option, get it all done in one go.
 
Associate
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Depending on the size, you could make a 'feature' of the difference. Instead of a manhole, you could do a fake trap door.
Or feature brickwork? Difficult without a picture to get an indication of where it would be, but as above I think most options are going to be a bit crap
 
Associate
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Depending on the size, you could make a 'feature' of the difference. Instead of a manhole, you could do a fake trap door.
I like your thinking, I just need to carefully plan my hole.
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Soldato
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I'd either;
a) patch it, as a temporary measure, until you redo and widen the whole drive
b) get the whole lot done now; widen and relay/pave/whatever

The other options will just draw attention to the cover up IMO
 
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Maybe patch it, then do the entire drive with a couple of coats of this stuff

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Quick-Drying-Drive-Seal---5L/p/240296

I was going to say this. My olds drive started to wear after some years, he coated with that and it looked far better.

The issue more than anything is getting the hole filled really well. You need to talk to the contractor about this and say you really want it done perfectly (Heavily compacted).
When you think of road repairs they fill quickly and over fill the tarmac as it will sink.
 
Soldato
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Do they not join/seal the patch? like they do on roads - you normally see that shiny/slick border around a patch. Even if the patch weathers to match the surrounding tarmac, the join/seal will stand out like a sore thumb?
 
Permabanned
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Speak to your local asphalt company. They can brush on a very thin layer of a bitumen restorer to get the entire drive to look brand new.
 
Soldato
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Do they not join/seal the patch? like they do on roads - you normally see that shiny/slick border around a patch. Even if the patch weathers to match the surrounding tarmac, the join/seal will stand out like a sore thumb?

Council never do that round here for years. Cost cutting.
 
Associate
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Well the drain needed sorting and there was no luxury of messing around with options. It got patched:



Will the give the sealer stuff a whirl in spring and widen+block pave in a few years.
 
Sgarrista
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Well the drain needed sorting and there was no luxury of messing around with options. It got patched:



Will the give the sealer stuff a whirl in spring and widen+block pave in a few years.


You have mismatched windowframe colors and a pink garage, and that square of tarmac is your main worry?
 
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