New Driveway...

vail3r

vail3r

vail3r

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Any option's/knowledge in driveways?

Our block paving is knackered, has a few spots sunken and the wife as absolutely fed up the weeds :cry:

The wife is quite keen on imprinted concrete as during our dog walks locally, those seem to be the one's that still look the best even a few years old but I'm not 100% convinced. I think I generally prefer block paving but the wife is really against due to the weeds and how grubby it gets after cleaning.

Does anyone have any thoughts on driveway type? Or had one done recently what did you go for?
 
Have you tried looking at any of the other threads in this section, where people have asked exactly the same question??
 
If you go for block paving, pay the extra and use clay blocks, even after 20 years, the colour never fades. Use polymeric kiln dried sand for the joints. This sets hard and will limit weed growth.

Pressed Concrete also lasts if its done properly, can't remember exactly but i think you have to recoat it (the dye) every 10 years or so to keep it looking fresh.

Tarmac looks good at first, but it will fade to a dull grey after a few years. Make sure its done properly, ie. 100mm depth of Type 1, 60mm depth of 20mm base course and 20mm depth of 6mm topping.

Resin bound, can look good but it has to be done properly. The is a mod on here who had to get a different company to come and replace his first install.
I am not sure on the longevity of Resin, ie. UV fading the resin, weed or moss ingress over time etc....

You can even lay Porcelain tiles for a driveway, as above, the install has to be done right.
 
danlightbulb said:
A few in my street have recently had tarmac bordered by cobblestone style block paving. Looks really nice.
Click to expand...

Only problem with tarmac is it's non-repairable without it being noticable. I don't think I'd want to risk having tarmac laid if you had any utilities running under the driveway.
 
Haze said:
Have you tried looking at any of the other threads in this section, where people have asked exactly the same question??
Click to expand...

Haha I did! What are the threads called? I searched for driveway stuff but didn't find any.

j.col said:
If you go for block paving, pay the extra and use clay blocks, even after 20 years, the colour never fades. Use polymeric kiln dried sand for the joints. This sets hard and will limit weed growth.

Pressed Concrete also lasts if its done properly, can't remember exactly but i think you have to recoat it (the dye) every 10 years or so to keep it looking fresh.

Tarmac looks good at first, but it will fade to a dull grey after a few years. Make sure its done properly, ie. 100mm depth of Type 1, 60mm depth of 20mm base course and 20mm depth of 6mm topping.

Resin bound, can look good but it has to be done properly. The is a mod on here who had to get a different company to come and replace his first install.
I am not sure on the longevity of Resin, ie. UV fading the resin, weed or moss ingress over time etc....

You can even lay Porcelain tiles for a driveway, as above, the install has to be done right.
Click to expand...

I'll have a look into the clay blocks. I have noticed a few Tarmac drives round here have been recoloured with something and they look quite good again so maybe similar to concrete?

Semple said:
Only problem with tarmac is it's non-repairable without it being noticable. I don't think I'd want to risk having tarmac laid if you had any utilities running under the driveway.
Click to expand...

Yeah I have thought about this and Imprinted concrete is the same. Definitely something to mull over!
 
I have imprinted concrete and wouldn’t change it. I’ve been here 5 years and not a weed (with the concrete having been there a good while before that). Several others on the street have new paved driveways which they have to clear for weeds and add new sand to each year. I’m happy without the extra job!
 
My inlaws have pressed concrete, they've had it must be 10 years now. Still looks great but it is very slippy when it's wet and like an ice rink when it gets frosty so that kind of put me off.
 
Coran said:
I have imprinted concrete and wouldn’t change it. I’ve been here 5 years and not a weed (with the concrete having been there a good while before that). Several others on the street have new paved driveways which they have to clear for weeds and add new sand to each year. I’m happy without the extra job!
Click to expand...
What was the price difference between it and tarmac?
 
Is your current block paving the peemeable type? If so, I would replace with a permeable construction to not increase rainwater run-off.
 
DB_SamX said:
Is your current block paving the permeable type? If so, I would replace with a permeable construction to not increase rainwater run-off.
Click to expand...
This as you may find water stands on the printed concrete (unless it's sloped which if it is all the rain water will run down the slope and may pool at the bottom)
 
I had my driveway done a few years ago. A few thoughts. With printed concrete you don't get weeds and it lasts well. Personally, I didn't like the wet look. I didn't like it can slippery when wet. Resin, very expensive. Looks great again no weeds. And if done properly the water drains through. I didn't even entertain block paving. In the end I went with tarmac. Reasonable cost, no weeds and I had permeable tarmac so even with torrential rain you don't get any puddles or after a few minutes they are gone. If you go with printed concrete, tarmac or resin think about putting conduit pipework whilst they laying foundations. If you have a new internet provider you run the cables through the pipework.

After having various projects on my house over the last few years dealing with different trades I find driveway guys the worse. You come across some complete idiots.
 
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Maundie said:
This as you may find water stands on the printed concrete (unless it's sloped which if it is all the rain water will run down the slope and may pool at the bottom)
Click to expand...
Our driveway is quite sloped towards the house so we already have drains all the way across the front of the house. I don’t think it’s permeable as the few areas that have sunk do pool water.

RockLobster said:
I had my driveway done a few years ago. A few thoughts. With printed concrete you don't get weeds and it lasts well. Personally, I didn't like the wet look. I didn't like it can slippery when wet. Resin, very expensive. Looks great again no weeds. And if done properly the water drains through. I didn't even entertain block paving. In the end I went with tarmac. Reasonable cost, no weeds and I had permeable tarmac so even with torrential rain you don't get any puddles or after a few minutes they are gone. If you go with printed concrete, tarmac or resin think about putting conduit pipework whilst they laying foundations. If you have a new internet provider you run the cables through the pipework.

After having various projects on my house over the last few years dealing with different trades I find driveway guys the worse. You come across some complete idiots.
Click to expand...
Good idea for the conduit! I am maybe thinking towards tarmac with some edging. Will see what the quotes are like if anyone ever turns up when they say they will
 
Do you have any trees with needles nearby? We do and it means you get tiny areas that compost in gaps/cracks for weeds to grow. If you have any trees like this a completely flat surface that is easy to sweep would be ideal.

As others have said a conduit from edge of drive to house is a great idea. We have fibre to property border now, so when we order there will need to be a channel dug unfortunately.
 
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