New driveway - advice/ideas

[scott1358]

Hi everyone, was hoping for some advice on getting a new driveway. I attach some picture of the state of the current drive - no idea how old this is but it's in very bar repair, lumpy and cracked in parts and dips elsewhere. 

 

I've got a few questions which hopefully more experience heads will hopefully help with (as I am totally new to this): 

 

1. What kind of material would be easiest to replace this - paving, concrete, gravel? I want something relatively inexpensive but also quick to do as don't want drive dug up for weeks. 

2. Is the poor state of the drive due to age / maintenance or could there be other potential issues at play? If so, what would I need to consider/who to consult?

3. Should I consider having the garden patch removed as part of any new driveway - not that bothered about it. Will I need to get a separate company to do this, or even a tree surgeon for the small tree? This seems quite close (about 10 inches) to next door's garden and drive so concerned the tree roots may have spread. 

4. How easy will it be to hide the man covers - there are two on the driveway.

5. All things going well, how long would it take to replace this drive, i.e. how big a job do you think it would be?

 

Just looking for some ideas before making any firm decisions on what to do about it, but the unsightliness is getting to me. 

 

Thank you, Scott. 

[Adsibob]

1. Pavers will be most expensive but give you a nice look. Concrete is cheaper. A halfway house is to get the companies that do concrete and then somehow mark it with a stencil or something to make it look like pavers. It is a pretty clever effect and gives you the best of both worlds, though if not done well it can look a bit tacky. Gravel is the cheapest. The low cost of gravel and the potential security benefits (it makes anoise when somebody steps on it) are its main advantages. It looks nice too. But gravel has a big disadvantage: even if you dig a trench for it and apply an edging strip to try and contain it, it gets all over the place eventually. So if you have gravel, be prepared for that and maybe consider whether you'll mind and if you will, whether you'll have  time to sweep it, reposition the stray stones.

2.Pass.

3. I would definitely keep the garden. It's a nice feature, adds greenery and gives a calming and balancing affect to the view of the driveway. If you were to get rid of it you would just have a car park in front of your house. Don't worry about stray roots growing into neighbour's land. That's not your problem.

4.Probably not much you can do other than try and replace them with manhole covers that is coloured the same colour as your final driveway.

5. Pass. I'm due to do mine at the end of the summer and will let you know.

[Temp]

1) I would estimate no more than 7-10 days for anything. However nothing is going to be ultra cheap if the prep is done correctly.

2) The poor state appears to be because its been constructed and altered/added to in many stages. However a common cause is also a lack of correct preparation (Eg not enough hardcore or incorrect compaction) before the top surface is laid.

3) Personally I would retain the garden unless you are short of space.

4) That depends on the final finish. You can get manhole covers designed to take block paving, concrete and probably tarmac to match the rest.

 

Consider where you would want to put an electric car charger and consider running a duct there? 

 

Are there any issues with drainage?

 

I recommend only using a company that has a landline and an address you could go and check actually exists. A really bad job would involve someone breaking up the existing concrete with a hammer and calling it compacted hardcore, then putting tarmac on top. That would raise the level and probably last just few months before developing issues.

 

Done correctly all the concrete should be taken up and anything below it to perhaps a total depth of 250mm. If the concrete is to be reused it should be properly reprocessed into hardcore, probably off site. Proper kerbs/edging should be installed and haunched with concrete. The ground should be compacted (vibrating roller or possibly a wacker plate) then hardcore laid and compacted in layers to a depth of perhaps 150mm thick. What happens next depends on what finish you go for.

 

There is a lot of advice on how to do it properly on this site. Last time I looked they had some summary specifications for the work you could use to get quotes.

 

 https://www.pavingexpert.com/

 

Check out the site index.

Edited April 13, 2021 by Temp