James
|
| posted on 20/11/09 at 06:55 PM |
|
|
Anyone done their own block paving?
There's no parking around here at all so we've been parking on the lawn!
Unsuprisingly this looks a total mess so we're thinking of block paving it.
I know there's planning issues for this but aside of them, has anyone done the work themselves?
The only issues I see is that the house is a little lower than the pavement (approx 200mm) so the drive will have to slope to the house. I was
thinking of having a 1m wide flowerbed in front of the house to collect rain run-off.
There are no man-holes or anything to complicate matters.
The kerb is already lowered to no worries there either.
My main worry is getting the slope down from the pavement to the house (200mm drop) straight/level.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
James
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
|
|
|
|
|
richardR1
|
| posted on 20/11/09 at 07:16 PM |
|
|
Done a lot of block paving at work. It is fairly straightforward to do, it's all in the preparation. You need to dig out to allow for 150mm of
crushed topping which needs compacting down thoroughly with a decent size vibrating plate. On top of this you want a few inches of sharp sand also
compacted. The easiest way of getting a nice straight fall is to get a length of timber long enough to go from the pavement to the house and use this
to screed the sand to get a perfectly even slope. This is the part that takes the time but gives a good result. You can screed a section then lay
the blocks, then screed a bit further etc. Lay the blocks nice and tight and then at the end brush kiln dried sand into the joints, run over with the
vibrating plate then re-sand. Stihl saw is the best bet for any cuts you need to do as block splitters don't tend to do a very neat job.
Regarding drainage you can get plastic gulley that comes in sections with plastic grate that goes over the top and this is designed to be driven on.
Just run that along near the house front and run it into your rainwater drain.
Most firms round here charge around £45 per square metre for the complete job. You will be looking at about £10 per sq metre for standard 50mm block
paving.
MK Owners Club Member 1015
|
|
|
hillbillyracer
|
| posted on 20/11/09 at 08:05 PM |
|
|
You should take a look at senciled concrete, you can get colours, patterns & finishes to look like all kinds of paving but less of the hassles of
getting it all level etc as it's just concrete with a nice finish, no gaps for the weeds etc & the bits that get most weight/traffic wont
sink as it'll be all one lump.
Like this:
http://www.patternconcrete.co.uk/vGallery.aspx?ID=52
|
|
|
fesycresy
|
| posted on 20/11/09 at 08:46 PM |
|
|
This was posted on here recently.
Link
Very good link, loads of info.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The sooner you fall behind, the more time you'll have to catch up.
|
|
|
carpmart
|
| posted on 20/11/09 at 08:54 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by hillbillyracer
You should take a look at senciled concrete, you can get colours, patterns & finishes to look like all kinds of paving but less of the hassles of
getting it all level etc as it's just concrete with a nice finish, no gaps for the weeds etc & the bits that get most weight/traffic wont
sink as it'll be all one lump.
Like this:
http://www.patternconcrete.co.uk/vGallery.aspx?ID=52
That looks really good. Some of the pics look a little like the Duckworths outside wall on Corrie but in the main, I like that!
Is it durable?
Anyone any experience with this concrete?
You only live once - make the most of it!
Radical Clubsport, Kwaker motor
'94 MX5 MK1, 1.8
F10 M5 - 600bhp Daily Hack 
Range Rover Sport - Wife's Car
Mercedes A class - Son's Car
|
|
|
mangogrooveworkshop
|
| posted on 20/11/09 at 09:18 PM |
|
|
yes
[Edited on 20-11-09 by mangogrooveworkshop]
|
|
|
britishtrident
|
| posted on 21/11/09 at 09:07 AM |
|
|
You need to find out what the local authority in your area will allow --- I suspect these days they will require permeable paving and your are likely
to require planning permision.
Because of the reverse slope of the driveway this might be best anyway. My drive way has a similar slope and although it has a permeable surface one
of the first things I did whe I moved in was put in a surface water drain.
You might want to consider using those blocks used by local authorities in overflow car parks that have holes for grass or gravel.
[I] “ What use our work, Bennet, if we cannot care for those we love? .”
― From BBC TV/Amazon's Ripper Street.
[/I]
|
|
|
swanny
|
| posted on 21/11/09 at 09:52 AM |
|
|
we've nopt long had ours done and when speaking to planning they basically said you dont need planning so long as none of your water from your
drive goes into the drains (ie must soak away) permeable (?) paving is a good solution or if you like you could just build in a number of run off
areas as we have done.
would be a bit concerned thought ab0ut having all the water rinning into a soak away next to your house. i thought they were meant to be five metres
away for good reason? a lot of water comes of a decent sizded drive in a downpour, whereas at the minute most of this will be soaking into the lawn.
in your case i'd feel happierr with permeable
|
|
|
smart51
|
| posted on 21/11/09 at 10:01 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by carpmart
quote:
Originally posted by hillbillyracer
http://www.patternconcrete.co.uk/vGallery.aspx?ID=52
Is it durable?
Anyone any experience with this concrete?
One of my neighbours has this and the people next door have blocked paving. Both put down at the same time. The blocked paving looks nicer as the
concrete is a little bit shiney and plastic but the block paving has sunk a bit where the concrete looks like new.
|
|
|
Grimsdale
|
| posted on 21/11/09 at 10:47 AM |
|
|
i'd advise only using an inch of sand, it's only there to even out the lumps in the hardcore you put down, any more and you risk it
sagging.
|
|
|
andkilde
|
| posted on 21/11/09 at 03:13 PM |
|
|
I'll second the thin layer of sand, also use as deep a layer of well-compacted crushed stone beneath as you can afford, 6" to 8",
more if possible. And be sure to brush fresh sand across it every few months to replace the stuff that the rain carries away.
My back aches just thinking about it though -- you'll spend what you save doing it yourself on chiropractor bills
Cheers, Ted
|
|
|
.jpg){kind=avatar}
