DIY Driveway - reusing rubble?

B1983

Please be gentle - I've no DIY experience whatsoever, but I'm in the process of converting our front lawn into a gravel driveway. Nothing fancy, just somewhere to get the car off the road. So far I've lifted the lawn and am now in the process of tackling the hefty tree roots underneath. After that I'll put in a hardcore base and then get the gravel down. The problem is that there is now a drop of approximately half a foot from street level to where the new driveway will be, so I'll need to create a slight incline. I've two questions, and I'd really appreciate any advice:

1. Will I be able to build the incline using compacted hardcore? Will that be stable enough or am I going to need concrete?

2. I plan to take away a significant part of the garden wall to widen the entrance to the driveway. Can I use the rubble as part of the base for the driveway itself? If so, what's the best way to break it down?

Thanks in advance.

Silver-Surfer_2

No reason why you can do the incline in hardcore, for the amount you'll need I would just lay the bricks down and hardcore over them. Hire a wacker plate to compact it as you go.

You won't be able to diy the dropped kerb if you haven't already got one and without you'll have no legal access to the new drive.

Mojisola

Some councils have rules to stop gravel spreading from drives onto pavements and roads. Have you checked with your council?

eg. http://www.merton.gov.uk/transport-streets/roads-highways-pavements/crossovers/guidance-front-gardens.htm
gravel with a stone size of at least 20mm. (Where such gravel is used, a suitable hard surfaced strip of at least 110mm deep must be provided at the property threshold (matching the width of the crossover) to prevent stones spilling onto the pavement.)

Carmk2008

The rubble from the wall will be fine if it needs broken, sledgehammer will break it up and then blind with type1 hardcore. I would put a row of slabs bedded in mortar at the entrance of the driveway to prevent gravel getting carried out into the street, and I also prefer not to use rounded gravel use stuff with sharp edges tend to find it binds better. I would also use a weed membrane before any hardcore went down.

B1983

Thank you. I already have a dropped kerb - I'm widening an existing driveway rather than creating a brand new one, and the kerb drop is wider than the existing entrance. As for the threshold, I imagined the base of the wall would provide a suitable barrier?

B1983

Carmk2008 wrote: »

The rubble from the wall will be fine if it needs broken, sledgehammer will break it up and then blind with type1 hardcore. I would put a row of slabs bedded in mortar at the entrance of the driveway to prevent gravel getting carried out into the street, and I also prefer not to use rounded gravel use stuff with sharp edges tend to find it binds better. I would also use a weed membrane before any hardcore went down.

I've seen people argue about whether weed membrane is necessary. There's no harm in it, I suppose, is there?

keith969

B1983 wrote: »

I've seen people argue about whether weed membrane is necessary. There's no harm in it, I suppose, is there?

http://www.pavingexpert.com/faqmembr.htm

Weeds will grow in the gravel layer over time, membrane or not, but a yearly spray with weed killer will deal with them.

Furts

A driveway lower than the pavement is always a risky proposition so check out your situation with care. The problem is as a car goes on the drive, the front wheels go down the slope and the exhaust and floorpan grind on the drive. For this reason good building practice flags up this scenario with guidance on design.

The other issue is drainage - a drive falling towards a home will direct surface water to that home. Consider your drainage strategy to prevent the risk of flooding and the risk of damp in your walls.

Your idea of using the wall for hardcore will work, but frost may get into these bricks and gradually cause you maintenance issues. The bricks should be broken up first. (You could lay them out as a layer but only if you really know what you are doing here such as frog up or frog down, and voids under the bricks.)

Enjoy your DIY workout.

B1983

Thanks for all the advice.

The slope away from the pavement isn't ideal, but it shouldn't be steep enough to affect the car. And drainage shouldn't be a problem - the driveway won't meet the wall. The gravel will stop a good 6 feet from the house, and there is a pathway and a flowerbed in the way that will collect any water.

As I said, this is well beyond any other DIY ive ever done, but after getting a quote of £1200 from a builder who said it would be an easy day's work for him, I'm determined to do it myself. I'm well aware it'll take me longer than a day...

JP08

Furts wrote: »

A driveway lower than the pavement is always a risky proposition so check out your situation with care. The problem is as a car goes on the drive, the front wheels go down the slope and the exhaust and floorpan grind on the drive.

This - big time. Can be quite significant.

When we had the front drive done I spent a good deal of time measuring the drop from the edge of the pavement to the gutter, the slope of the drive, and the wheelbase and ground clearance of my at the time rather low slung estate car. It was quite surprising - there was an 8" drop across the width of the pavement, and a 1 in 12 slope on the drive. Then spent a bit of time drawing it up and bashing figures with an excel spreadsheet.

Ended up putting a flat area at the end of the drive of about 80 cm grading over a curve to a now 1 in 10 drive slope. Gave me a designed for 2" of ground clearance under the exhaust box centre of the car.

Measuring the total drop on the drive was fun. Working solo and not liking the idea of a taut bit of string and trying to rest a spirit level on it for level I went for the spirit level tied to a three foot bit of 1cm tubing clamped to a vertical bit of timber. Sight through the tube so the top of the drive is dead centre and the tube is level by the spirit level - adjust with the clamp. Then measure from ground to centre of tube - that's your drive drop at that point. Surprisingly accurate.

Furts

JP08 wrote: »

This - big time. Can be quite significant.

When we had the front drive done I spent a good deal of time measuring the drop from the edge of the pavement to the gutter, the slope of the drive, and the wheelbase and ground clearance of my at the time rather low slung estate car. It was quite surprising - there was an 8" drop across the width of the pavement, and a 1 in 12 slope on the drive. Then spent a bit of time drawing it up and bashing figures with an excel spreadsheet.

Ended up putting a flat area at the end of the drive of about 80 cm grading over a curve to a now 1 in 10 drive slope. Gave me a designed for 2" of ground clearance under the exhaust box centre of the car.

Measuring the total drop on the drive was fun. Working solo and not liking the idea of a taut bit of string and trying to rest a spirit level on it for level I went for the spirit level tied to a three foot bit of 1cm tubing clamped to a vertical bit of timber. Sight through the tube so the top of the drive is dead centre and the tube is level by the spirit level - adjust with the clamp. Then measure from ground to centre of tube - that's your drive drop at that point. Surprisingly accurate.

You sound switched on which leaves me pondering! A drive design needs the introduction of transitions, iirr possibly when at 1:12, certainly by 1:10. So either you have knowledge of design or you are clued up and have invented this within your brain. All credit to you