New build, shared driveway

Norman_Castle

powerbarge said:

Thanks for the feedback all, it is some slightly comfort to know that others have had a similar situation. Many new and "old" houses will have a similar situation with a driveway with shared responsibility, it was just the maintenance cost that doesn't actually cover the entirety of the maintenance that has got my back up - an unavoidable cost that should probably be regulated against... but there's no choice in the matter right now.

If it was added to a regular annual cost it would be an estimate of potential work or a cost for completed work spread over many years. It wouldn't be any cheaper. With the current set up potentially you will have moved before any work is needed.

saajan_12

Is the issue just that they've split it into maintenance of roads (A) and driveways(B) into two numbers instead of one ? Economically that's the same as paying for (A+B) together, in the appropriate shares, just the management is at a different level and groups of owners in one cul de sac have more autonomy. 

Thisisnotasmile

Not the question you've asked, but from my experience you might find residents/visitors at the property in pink (or similar properties on the north side of the private road) use the entrance of the private road as a car park. You may or may not be concerned about this, but something to be aware of. (Unless the plans say otherwise) they won't have a right to do so, but getting them to stop is a hassle you probably would rather not deal with. 

andyf1980

Interested in the comment about block paving. 

We have a similar arrangement in our new build and the block paving looks the same as it did five years ago. 

We’ve had no problems but are in the process of selling and moving on now. 

Slithery

andyf1980 said:

Interested in the comment about block paving. 

We have a similar arrangement in our new build and the block paving looks the same as it did five years ago. 

We’ve had no problems but are in the process of selling and moving on now. 

It all depends on how well the sub-base has been prepared. If done properly it could last decades or if it's been bodged it may only last months.

Section62

Slithery said:

andyf1980 said:

Interested in the comment about block paving. 

We have a similar arrangement in our new build and the block paving looks the same as it did five years ago. 

We’ve had no problems but are in the process of selling and moving on now. 

It all depends on how well the sub-base has been prepared. If done properly it could last decades or if it's been bodged it may only last months.

And if it gets dug up for some reason it will never be the same again.

Noneforit999

Slithery said:

andyf1980 said:

Interested in the comment about block paving. 

We have a similar arrangement in our new build and the block paving looks the same as it did five years ago. 

We’ve had no problems but are in the process of selling and moving on now. 

It all depends on how well the sub-base has been prepared. If done properly it could last decades or if it's been bodged it may only last months.

Is that not the same for any driveway or patio etc? If the sub base is not deep enough or not compacted properly, its going to sink and whats on top of it (block paving, tarmac etc) will sink with it. 

We are in a new build and have a block paved driveway, 7 years later and it still looks the same. Its has a 1.6 tonne car parked on it every day as well as multiple 8-10 yard full up skips over the years. 

Section62

Noneforit999 said:

Is that not the same for any driveway or patio etc? If the sub base is not deep enough or not compacted properly, its going to sink and whats on top of it (block paving, tarmac etc) will sink with it.

Block paving needs particular care and attention in preparation and laying.  The individual blocks act largely independently, and have gaps between them that allow water in and fine material out.  'Tarmac' is a flexible surfacing material which acts cohesively and is largely impermeable.  It is more forgiving of lower quality preparation and laying.

This is one of the fundamental reasons why public roads in the UK are near universally surfaced with tar or bitumen-based flexible wearing courses (rather than blocks) - and why these flexible surfaces were frequently used to replace traditional 'blocks' manufactured from wood or stone (i.e. cobbles).

Noneforit999 said:

We are in a new build and have a block paved driveway, 7 years later and it still looks the same. Its has a 1.6 tonne car parked on it every day as well as multiple 8-10 yard full up skips over the years.

Dynamic forces have a far greater effect on the durability of pavements than static forces.  You can leave things parked or stored on top of a pavement for years with very little effect.

Repeatedly applying and removing loads is what causes the damage - the more frequent, the more damage done.  A private (single household) driveway has very little in the way of 'traffic', most of the time it is used for parking or is empty.  A shared driveway has more 'traffic', less parking.  A public road typically has much more traffic.  There's a reason why public roads tend not to be paved with blocks, the same principles apply to driveways shared by multiple properties - the more properties using a shared driveway, the greater the rate of deterioration of any given surface.

Added to which, you might just be one of the lucky ones whose driveway was specified and constructed by people who care, and knew what they were doing.