Putting a drivway down. Help please.

agnes

agnes

agnes

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Right, I am no DIY guru but not a total tool.

I intend to lay down a driveway from our carport on the side of our house to the back of our garden where a double doored garage lays. Reasons are I want to keep the bike in the garage and slowly convert the garage into another room for my self, to sleep and live in.

It is large enough. As for the driveway, there is currently grass in the way so have no idea where to start, what foundations should be laid down? What should I use? Slabs, as I don't want to ruin the look of the garden with a huge long strip of nasty concrete.

Secondly, how easy it is to route power, heating, phone line (same line im using for the internet atm) and water out to the garage? Do I need any permissions? I am not extending anything, just building into it.

Re roofing and insulation, expensive? Or just time consuming.

I would like to get this all done over winter.

Anything I should consider? Where should I start?

Also, anyone near Reading fancy giving a hand to clear out the garage as I am petrified of spiders and the place is crawling with them.

OH, one last thing, the garage it's self have nothing more than reinforced concrete walls... A window at the back maybe 2 foot wide and 1 foot tall... So a tiny air vent perhaps? Should I go through the fuss of trying to install a window or just install a couple of ceiling windows to get natural light in?

Oh and the double doors on the garage are just some wooden panels on hinges atm. What type of door would be safe in it's replacement as well, our area isn't the friendliest.

ags
 
Davepen said:
Id consider getting a professional to come do it for you...
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That's the thing, I don't have thousands to spend on this.

Otherwise I would in a heartbeat.

I was thinking I would do it all bit by bit. Starting with the driveway :)

ags
 
It's very difficult to build a driveway properly that won't fall to bits once you start using it. It's not as simple as whacking down some tarmac of paving slabs.
 
[TW]Fox;15028057 said:
It's very difficult to build a driveway properly that won't fall to bits once you start using it. It's not as simple as whacking down some tarmac of paving slabs.
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Yea, hence why I want to get as much advice and guidance as possible.

I did our car port which has lasted the test so far.

ags
 
If you are looking to convert the garage into actual living accommodation then there may be planning/building regulation things involved which you'll have to comply with.
 
memyselfandi said:
If you are looking to convert the garage into actual living accommodation then there may be planning/building regulation things involved which you'll have to comply with.
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Hmmm, okies, I will contact the council today at some point. See what they say.

Thanks, ags.
 
So you're not a DIY guru but you plan to take on a task which will involve pumbing mains water out of your house and into an external building. Then pipe the sewage back and into the main drains?
And you're going to take a mains feed and drill through your house, lay it underground I hope and then into the garage?

I hope your garage is already damp proofed and you're feeling good at plastering.
Actually it probably is doable but it's not going be easy and you're going to need to be unemployed all winter inorder to have enough time.

I wouldn't imagine it's still going to cost a few thousand in materials either way.
 
( |-| |2 ][ $;15028214 said:
So you're not a DIY guru but you plan to take on a task which will involve pumbing mains water out of your house and into an external building. Then pipe the sewage back and into the main drains?
And you're going to take a mains feed and drill through your house, lay it underground I hope and then into the garage?
Click to expand...

Yes, everything will be underground and nothing will be external. It has to power nothing more than a hanging bulb, and 2 sockets... There will only be a sink, no toilet/shower facility. So that makes things a little easier as our external drain to the sewers is easily accessible and will be a doddle to dig a trench a few feet deep between the garage and the drain in order to drain from the sink.

As for the drilling through the house. No, I will defo call in a professional to do the electronics, or at least just a line up to the garage and I shall wire from then on. Not something I want to faff around with tbh.

( |-| |2 ][ $;15028214 said:
I hope your garage is already damp proofed and you're feeling good at plastering.
Actually it probably is doable but it's not going be easy and you're going to need to be unemployed all winter inorder to have enough time.
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Garage is damp proof, like I said, just missing insulation and the roof has a couple of leaks. And I know it may take a while. But time is not a problem to be honest. Even if I don't get it all done by summer next year, it will be done :)

( |-| |2 ][ $;15028214 said:
I wouldn't imagine it's still going to cost a few thousand in materials either way.
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So you don't think it will cost thousands via DIY route or you do?

ags
 
Buy the B&Q "You can do it" book as it details the exact steps you need to take. You'll be digging down a long way and laying down a sub-base with hardcore and sharp sand before you get to topping it off with whatever surface you are going to use (probably have to be block paving to get planning permissions with drainage issues etc.).

Getting it done for you will cost thousands, doing it yourself will at least halve if not more that figure but be prepared for some very hard work.

edit: ok, regarding depth, for block paving (which should be done using the herringbone layout of blocks to be able to handle cars moving over it) in firm well-drained soil you'll need at least 150mm of compacted hardcore then 50mm of sharp sand/ballast + the depth of the blocks. If putting this by the house you need to make sure the top of your surface is at least 150mm below the damp-proof course of it.
 
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Just finished ours, so long as your house/garage has damp proof course you'll be fine.
What we did was put a layer of concrete around the outside, layed some paviers, dug up the dirt in the middle, put hardcore down and whacker it untill its flat
then tarmac..
Make sure you design it so it slopes away from your house, if not you'll need drainage which is a lot harder
 
Overlag said:
if you dont want to have a big slab of concrete down the garden what about some grasscrete or something. Theres two designs, one is a concrete slab that you can grow grass on or another design is plastic/metal/rubber stuff with lots of holes in it, again allowing grass to grow. That way it wont stick out as much.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/82/211203615_86128f2054.jpg?v=0

http://www.frankejames.com/art/layingperma_0103.jpg
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+1

This will also allow rainwater to soak down to the ground easier. If you have a large expanse of slab, this willcreate runoff and maybe needing some sort of half gutter to one side or something.
 
DB_SamX said:
+1

This will also allow rainwater to soak down to the ground easier. If you have a large expanse of slab, this willcreate runoff and maybe needing some sort of half gutter to one side or something.
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great, now your front garden can look like a temporary car park at a festival! Seriously, I would wager those two "solutions" will not really look great to prospective purchasers if/when the OP decides to sell their house (I assume they own as doing this kind of work on a rental property would be madness).
 
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