Steep driveway costing me my marriage

[saveasteading]

54 minutes ago, Gone West said:

most modern cards have traction control

Er....most expensive cars perhaps.

A bucket of salt/grit, of the modern chemical, plus a snow shovel. It isnt a long drive, and winters are getting milder.

[saveasteading]

6 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

test in High Wycombe, so every start was a hill start

If you get it wrong, do you end up in Low Wycombe?

[Onoff]

1 minute ago, saveasteading said:

and winters are getting milder.

 

Wait until we get a real bad one and we'll be cursing we sold all our snow ploughs! 

[Adsibob]

1 hour ago, Kelvin said:

An SUV with AWD. 

Yes, but over the life of the vehicle, the extra fuel costs of an AWD will probably be more than the cost of redoing the driveway. Plus the drive is simply not pleasant to use. If it was up to me solely, I would probably get an AWD and leave the driveway as is, but accept that in winter even an AWD might struggle to get up it. But SWMBO is really not happy with it and I now see where she is coming from.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Adsibob

[saveasteading]

I think i might build the 2 tracks as suggested, but fill the gap with stone.

The tracks made of insitu concrete with diagonal scores on them for traction and to cast off water. And exposed sharp aggregate.

[SteamyTea]

24 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

If you get it wrong, do you end up in Low Wycombe?

Or worse, Micklefield.

[Gone West]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

Er....most expensive cars perhaps.

It's all relative, what do you call expensive for a new car.

 

PS My 2007 Honda Civic had traction control.

Edited November 6, 2022 by Gone West

[Gone West]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

I took my driving test in High Wycombe, so ever start was a hill start.

I failed first time, must get around to redoing it.

Our car can be driven by any numpty, hence why I've got it, it won't even let you hit anything when parking, it just stops. I don't like some of the fancy gubbins though. Driving tests will have to change some more, as they have over the years. When I took mine I had to show I knew hand signals.

[Kelvin]

1 hour ago, Adsibob said:

Yes, but over the life of the vehicle, the extra fuel costs of an AWD will probably be more than the cost of redoing the driveway. Plus the drive is simply not pleasant to use. If it was up to me solely, I would probably get an AWD and leave the driveway as is, but accept that in winter even an AWD might struggle to get up it. But SWMBO is really not happy with it and I now see where she is coming from.

How much more fuel do you think an AWD uses? I suspect you don’t do many miles and you reckon the driveway will cost £6000. Your biggest cost is the depreciation of buying a replacement car which would be a reason not to do it. 
 

You live in London don’t you? How bad does the winter get and for how long that you think an AWD on all season tyres wouldn’t get up the drive? 
 

 

Edited November 6, 2022 by Kelvin

[SteamyTea]

34 minutes ago, Gone West said:

When I took mine I had to show I knew hand signals.

Me to.

Still use them, especially this one.

 

Means 'stop blocking the empty fast lane of the dual carriageway'.

 

Unlike this one:

 

Which means 'I know I have been a complete twat and purposely held everyone up, but I am more important than you'.

Edited November 6, 2022 by SteamyTea

[eandg]

Where do I get one of these steep driveways?

[SteamyTea]

Just now, eandg said:

Where do I get one of these steep driveways?

London, the classy bits 

[Adsibob]

On 28/10/2022 at 17:40, Iceverge said:

Of course, if you are willing to take move the bike shed the car could be put over there making the whole thing more aesthetically pleasant. 

Just exploring this option a bit further.

 

we have given the sump plug/oil change version significant consideration, but we are now thinking that it is not so elegant and does create a series of trip hazards for anyone silly enough to not use our steps. And looking at the postman’s route to our front door, as well as all the delivery men, it’s quite amazing how many people do not use the steps.
 

We may end up having to give up on having a ramp for step free wheeling of the bins and bike from the bottom of our drive to the street. This means either:

 

1) accepting that the bins will need to go up the steps (not bothered about wheeling/lifting the bike, it’s light enough); OR

 

2) moving the bins to inside one of the planters (and cutting into the wall of the planter to open up an entryway for the bins) that are either side of the stairs.

 

The downside of (2) is that the first thing one will see when approaching the house is the bins. 

[Miek]

If you had to move the car to move the bins up the sump plug version that would be annoying. 

[SteamyTea]

Aim for zero waste.

Bins become redundant then.

[Adsibob]

2 hours ago, Miek said:

If you had to move the car to move the bins up the sump plug version that would be annoying. 

That’s a v. good point. I think this is the final nail in the coffin for the sump plug version.

[Iceverge]

Alas, my genius concept is binned. 😭

 

You could always just hack up the steps and replace with a grippy slope to the front door, it seems to what those disobedient free spirited humans prefer  anyway.

 

Then have a slightly elevated slope for the car. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Adsibob]

Ok, so almost a year after driveway V1 was finished, my trusty builders are back to redo it. Costing me an absolute fortune, but probably cheaper than couples therapy.

Here is progress (of two guys) after day 1 (which started at 11ish and finished at 445):

they have managed to take up almost half the setts. The rest will come up tomorrow. 

[Thorfun]

29 minutes ago, Adsibob said:

Ok, so almost a year after driveway V1 was finished, my trusty builders are back to redo it. Costing me an absolute fortune, but probably cheaper than couples therapy.

Here is progress (of two guys) after day 1 (which started at 11ish and finished at 445):

they have managed to take up almost half the setts. The rest will come up tomorrow. 

i really think you're doing the right thing and not just for your marriage's sake! well done and keep up updated.

[Pocster]

41 minutes ago, Thorfun said:

and not just for your marriage's sake!

That’s what you need to sort for your marriage / ceiling sake 😎 ( I’m not helpful , I know that ) 

[Thorfun]

27 minutes ago, pocster said:

That’s what you need to sort for your marriage / ceiling sake 😎 ( I’m not helpful , I know that ) 

You’re very helpful and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. 🙃

[Adsibob]

Two weeks in, and they have made good progress. The retaining wall (made of steel reinforced concrete) has been cast and they have started to fill the diagonal volume now bound by that retaining wall with a layer of concrete rubble and then sand which they have been compacting with a compactor. They have maybe filled the bottom third of it. What has surprised me a little is that on top of this, they have put in some clay soil which I wanted thrown away (from the back garden). I wasn’t thinking it would end up in there when I asked them to dispose of it but it has now ended up in there as well. In all, it will only make up about a tenth of the volume, probably less, but it concerned me a bit as I would have thought this is not really a building material appropriate for the sub-base of a driveway. There is of course compacted MOT below all of this which was laid for the original driveway. 
 

I asked the foreman if it was okay to use soil mixed in with the sand, and he said it will be fine as they are compacting it.

 

Some of this clay soil (less than 5% of it) is grass, which will surely shrink to nothing once it decays.

 

Thoughts?

[Adsibob]

Postscript: got some further clarity today: above the clay they are putting in, they are putting in more rubble, above that and about 40cm below the finished driveway line, they are going to put a load more MOT in and pack it down with a compactor. So I’m more relaxed now. 

[saveasteading]

10 hours ago, Adsibob said:

asked the foreman if it was okay to use soil mixed in with the sand, and he said it will be fine as

It suits him and saves some money.

 

The weakest material always goes at the bottom. But this just seems silly.

[Adsibob]

1 hour ago, saveasteading said:

It suits him and saves some money.

 

The weakest material always goes at the bottom. But this just seems silly.

What’s silly about it? He had a m3 of clay soil to get rid of, which he hadn’t factored into his original pricing. If it can go in the ground underneath the driveway, what’s the problem?