Driveway options

Hi

Need to get the driveway re-done sometime soon so thought I'd see if there was any guidance experience etc.

It is currently tarmac that has seen better days. It also slopes from the road towards the house and the low point is just in front of the garage so there is a drain there that leads to a soakaway/drain somewhere else.

We have quite a few trees nearby and also a couple in our garden that shed loads of leaves and pine needles etc. Mention this as I was going to lay down a layer of gravel but trying to get the leaves and stuff off/out would be a nightmare.

Currently thinking about replacing it with more black tarmac - boring I know but that's ok.

Any pros/cons for the different options and how do they compare cost-wise?

Cheers

Had mine done about 3 years ago with granite blocks as opposed to bricks, my drive had a slope and a dip, they were able to drop it slightly at the path end and raise it slightly in front of the garage. Has made a big difference compared to what it was, the granite blocks are about 12 inches square , not cheap but still look like new, would definitely recommend.

We have the old ‘chips n slabs’ drive, neighbours have monoblock, some done very well so slight gradient and no puddles, others have several small ponds when it rains, one pal has concrete done to look like random stones whilst another has similar but done using some kind of resin, if I was changing mine
I think I’d opt for of the latter two cost dependent.

Mines old cracked concrete. But walking around my neighbourhood I notice that block paving drives start to look very 'secondhand' within a few years, but the Presscrete pretend block or slab drives still look good, some a decade or more old now.

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Originally Posted by Ruggertech

Mines old cracked concrete. But walking around my neighbourhood I notice that block paving drives start to look very 'secondhand' within a few years, but the Presscrete pretend block or slab drives still look good, some a decade or more old now.

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Agreed, some of the block paving drives in my road look very rough after the newness wears off, that’s why I paid extra for granite blocks which don’t seem to age and they get butted face to face so there is hardly any gap for weeds to grow. Power wash twice a year and they are like new after 3 years.

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Originally Posted by bobdog

Agreed, some of the block paving drives in my road look very rough after the newness wears off, that’s why I paid extra for granite blocks which don’t seem to age and they get butted face to face so there is hardly any gap for weeds to grow. Power wash twice a year and they are like new after 3 years.

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They definitely sound a wise choice, no doubt a bit dearer than the other options but if it only needs doing once makes total sense.

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Block paving is horrendous after a couple of years. I had a large driveway in my previous house and it was genuinely a nightmare to get control of the weeds.

I’ve just moved and in the middle of renovations but I’m going to go for red tarmac and granite border. At least that will look good for a decade !

There's not much wrong with Tarmac, imo.

I changed from a heated tarmac driveway to a block driveway and and wouldn't do it again.

Having paid a lot of money for block paving by a company with good feedback I would never have it again, ever.

We currently have gravel - love the look and it has it's own 'anti trespass' feature, but not great for sloping drives.

Pros and cons with everything. Block paving, weeds and starts looking tired. ( Just done mine myself in bigger blocks, going to put a sealer on it to prevent both cons hopefully) can be taken up and relayed if needed.
Concrete, I like it, but have seen some where the finish starts coming off, also any probs underground has to be dug up.
Tarmac, no weeds, starts to look tired, also needs to be dug up if any pipes burst etc.
Resin, I've seen a couple of these where brown stains appear .
Gravel, I like it when done properly and compacted down, no need for drainage. like you say pain with leaves etc but maybe a decent blower might help.

I don’t understand everyone who’s saying block paving starts to look tired after a year or two, what does it go like?

The entire road at my old house was block paved, I was there 10 years and it never changed

I had resin bonded in my old house, in 3 years didn’t lose a stone. Would do it again.

I had mine done a couple of years ago. I fancied that resin gravel stuff until the builder told me that basically meant doing it twice - getting the prep perfect, then the resin.
Went block paving in the end. Boring I know but three years on (and with two heavy cars) it still looks great.

We have tarmac which is about 25 years old. The firm that laid it recommended having it sealed after a couple of years and TBH I thought it was just a method of getting a few more £s. However, I agreed and 20+ years later it’s still very good. We had a new garage built last year with loads of concrete and blocks etc delivered so heavy trucks along the driveway. When work was underway I power washed the tarmac most nights to keep it clean and the surface is still tight with no loosening of the aggregate at all. I will probably get it sealed again next year if only to protect and make it newly black again.
Nowadays you should really be considering SMA rather than tarmac. That’s Stone Mastic Asphalt which should be harder wearing than tarmac, but not to be confused with hot rolled asphalt, which is the stuff used on motorways. SMA has a small cost premium but well worth the extra.

Thanks all, really useful to get real world experience and advice.

The resin bonded; concrete; and tarmac appeal most at the moment. Be interested to know more about SMA.

Does anyone have a rough idea of the price differential between these options?

We also have to think about if we are going to cover over any of the bare earth at the side, the flower bed at the front, what we do re gates as well as even if we don't get it all done in one go, there are some things that are better done together or planned for to avoid obvious joins etc.

We had two old oak gates, one was sagging a lot so we took it out completely, the other is now quite worn. So thinking about metal gates - we would probably need to get the posts in at the same time as any work on the driveway.

Thanks

We have a mix of tarmac drive way, and block paved area for parking outside the garages. The drive way was excavated to 1.5 metres!

I still have the specs somewhere:

Excavated 1.5 metres
Fill large quarry stones
Capped 3 inch crust
250mm DOT type 1
150mm base coat
100mm carriageway top coat.

It’s been in around 10 years and looks a lot better than the surrounding local roads completed within the last 5 years, but obviously subject to a lot less traffic.

The block work does need regular treatment to start on top of any weeds etc.

Past 2 homes have had gravel driveways and I love them, from both an aesthetic and security point, rake over once a month is the only up keep needed!

Anyone on bit of a slope have gravel stabilising-mesh system and your thoughts?

If you’re thinking of new gate posts at this stage, do consider the possibility of electric openers or even lights and lay cable ducts with pull through wires to future proof the setup. Costs pence now but makes it do-able in the future.

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Originally Posted by TomGW

If you’re thinking of new gate posts at this stage, do consider the possibility of electric openers or even lights and lay cable ducts with pull through wires to future proof the setup. Costs pence now but makes it do-able in the future.

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Good thinking. We have some electrical cable already at the front - not connected to anything but we put it in place when we had some work done on the water supply. It goes into the garage ready to be connected up when needed.

Hadn’t thought about lights etc.

This might be a bigger job than initially planned.

I had patterned concrete laid years ago at our old house. It replaced existing gravel driveway along the side of the house and they dug down and added a larger (3 cars) space in front of the house on existing grass.

It looked great for a couple of years and then developed a long crack along the line connecting where the "new" area was added. I got nowhere when approaching the supplier and Trading Standards as it did not exceed the width of a credit card (something to that effect was in the small print - you live and learn). I gave up as we were moving anyway. All done by a firm that was recommended through checkatrade etc. I'm not even sure if the issue wouldn't have occurred if they'd done more towards the prep as someone described above. 50+ years of sinking and settling to then have tonnes of concrete poured on top of somewhere nothing had been...

We moved into a 90s build with block paving. I hate maintenance and gardening and totally fed up with the constant weeds. Watching this thread with interest as its on the list of projects. I am leaning towards granite although the bonded resin it sounding interesting...

For SMA on existing surfaces, do they scrape a layer off till they get down to the base and then re-lay a top layer?

Presuming that if the base is sound then you can just use that? Obviously for any new areas you’d need to build the base accordingly.

Have a block paving path in the garden, and just spent the afternoon pressure washing it to get rid of the grey algae stuff and dirt and weed in the joints. Not my fav hobby!

Thinking of trying some block paving sealer, to see if it helps stop that grey stuff growing on it, and save me pressure washing it again next year! Anyone got any recommendations?

Also does that Dansand 'No grow' sand stuff for the joints work to stop the weeds?

We used to live in a bungalow, which had a block paved driveway. Every year we sprayed diluted chlorine over the drive and pathway to prevent any weeds, moss and it also helped to maintain its colour so UV didn’t affect it.
If you have pets, obviously ensure it’s fully dry before letting them walk anywhere near it.


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Have you considered a moat and drawbridge?

We had ours done about a year ago, had tarmac base with resin over the top. Finish was excellent and a year later still looks brand new still… time will tell if it stays that way.

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Originally Posted by oldoakknives

Have a block paving path in the garden, and just spent the afternoon pressure washing it to get rid of the grey algae stuff and dirt and weed in the joints. Not my fav hobby!

Thinking of trying some block paving sealer, to see if it helps stop that grey stuff growing on it, and save me pressure washing it again next year! Anyone got any recommendations?

Also does that Dansand 'No grow' sand stuff for the joints work to stop the weeds?

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Buy some Benzalkonium chloride, which kills and clears the algae - sold on Amazon and eBay- easiest to search for BAC 50. I apply perhaps once a year.
Weeds and moss in the joints best dealt with glyphosate.
Buy concentrate and dilute yourself - costs 20 times less.

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Originally Posted by Halitosis

Buy some Benzalkonium chloride, which kills and clears the algae - sold on Amazon and eBay- easiest to search for BAC 50. I apply perhaps once a year.
Weeds and moss in the joints best dealt with glyphosate.
Buy concentrate and dilute yourself - costs 20 times less.

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Glyphosate won't kill moss.

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Originally Posted by Kingstepper

Glyphosate won't kill moss.

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My bad - the BAC 50 does that along with the algae. Brings the paving up a treat.