driveway surface

ian103

looking for ideas for surfacing a sloping drive, there is a flat section of about 6m and a sloping section of about 8m x normal single driveway width. i'd prefer to not use tarmac, concrete is a possibility but would look ugly, its currently slabs which I suppose could be reused, but then i would need something for the edges and the centre area. i suspect the usual materials:-

block paving
porous paving
concrete
slabs
tarmac

any other suggestions / ideas.

martinsurrey

ian103 wrote: »

looking for ideas for surfacing a sloping drive, there is a flat section of about 6m and a sloping section of about 8m x normal single driveway width. i'd prefer to not use tarmac, concrete is a possibility but would look ugly, its currently slabs which I suppose could be reused, but then i would need something for the edges and the centre area. i suspect the usual materials:-

block paving
porous paving
concrete
slabs
tarmac

any other suggestions / ideas.

resin bonded, not the cheapest, but can look fantastic on funny angled/shaped areas (and can be done on steep angles)

edit*

by the way, bonded resin is a surface coat for a concrete base, so you would need that done first. the resin bonded layer is good for looks and for grip on the slope in winter.

renovation_man

I would not recommend a resin bonded driveway, their cheap and nasty. Now a resin bound driveway is something much nicer and is self draining and therefore SUDS compliant.

Other options are Decorative concrete overlay or pattern imprinted concrete.

On completion make sure they put anti slip in the final coat of sealer

dld2s

renovation_man wrote: »

I would not recommend a resin bonded driveway, their cheap and nasty. Now a resin bound driveway is something much nicer and is self draining and therefore SUDS compliant.

Other options are Decorative concrete overlay or pattern imprinted concrete.

On completion make sure they put anti slip in the final coat of sealer

A neighbour got a decorativ pattern driveway, looked fantastic when it was done around 3 years ago, looks awful now, bits broken parts of pattern missing etc.

Hintza

How about cobblestones, won't come cheap but will look stunning.

rxbren

proper resin bond is expensive and mostly used as decrative paths or round trees in shopping centers o not suitable for heavy vehicle traffic

personally best option is block paving loads of options/designs/colours to choose from there is also a good range of permeable (porous) colours/designs

tarmac- at best looks ok for a year then dulls in colour and there are alot of cowboy tarmacers out their who will just do one 30-40mm pass of 10mm so wont last and if you try to jack a car up the jack will push through the tarmac

slabs-not really suited to cars due to the slab sizes and the load bearings

concrete- can be expensive and needs to be done by people who know what they are doing to get a good long lasting finish

inprint concrete- as above plus concrete is more expensive due to the added fibres

ian103

The drive is a really odd shape / layout, tarmac would be easy but agree would look poor after a while, I think block paving may be the simpliest way forward with a gravel margin by the property / retaining wall ( or a drain ) and a drain at the garage door and the bottom of the slope. The existing slabs could be lifted and freecycled.

Johnhowell

Look at the Paving Expert website.
It covers all these types of paving options and lots of advice.

Leif

A neighbour got a local firm to redo their drive with brick sized blocks in a herring bone pattern. It looks very nice. Then 5 or 6 other neighbours employed the same company to do their drives. I have a concrete drive and paths around my house. They have cracked in many places. The neighbours concrete drive is far worse, but to be fair they are 40 years old, (the drives, not the neighbours).

renovation_man

Resin bonded (scatterbond) where the adhesive is rolled on the surface and chippings of various shapes, sizes and colours can be chosen. Depending on the design many are quite sharp and can be dangerous to children or anyone falling over. It cannot be used as a tree pit.

Resin bound is enscapulated in resin and laid at 20mm thick and is a much nicer job and user friendly and can be used in tree pits etc as no drainage is required.

Conrete whether plain or pattern imprinted should be laid on consolidated hardcore with an expansion strips at enclosed edges and sufficient crack control joints cut in.

Patterned concrete should be resealed after about 3 yrs to maintain its finish.

When block paving is laid it looks very nice but loses it's colour after a few years and when power washed all the kiln sand gets washed out, in my experience sumps in area's as they are only laid on sand.

Which ever surface you choose should be laid on well consolidated base.

rxbren

block paving only sags if either there is too deep sharp sand used or not enough subbase layed and compacted properly