richo106 Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 Hi All We are just deciding what to go with our driveway, with the driveway and couple of paths we want round the house its about 225m2 and majority of the driveway has an incline so we ruled out gravel This left us with tarmac, resin and block paving. With block paving coming out on top due to looks and price Firstly am I barmy having that much block paving due to the maintenance of it? Any body that has it what are the best maintenance tasks for it? Weed killer and jet wash? What is the best build up /best way to lay the blocks to try and reduce any risk in sinkage/movement? We haven't got any firm quotes but I want to know the best make up before approaching companies Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garrymartin Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 2 minutes ago, richo106 said: Firstly am I barmy having that much block paving due to the maintenance of it? Can't answer that one! For everything else, start here https://www.pavingexpert.com/blocks 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 I have heard of resin type being spoiled by “power steering” whilst not moving, block paving will cause weeds to grow between them, I had some block paving laid for a patio but was laid on granite chips not sand, this enabled me to pressure wash the weeds out without disturbing what was under the blocks (which can happen with sand). I really like imprinted concrete and comes in many designs and colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 We laid just over 400m2 on our previous build No maintenance 5 years on 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richo106 Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 5 minutes ago, nod said: We laid just over 400m2 on our previous build No maintenance 5 years on They look good! Love the raised kerbs/edging stones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nod Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 1 minute ago, richo106 said: They look good! Love the raised kerbs/edging stones Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 We just had 305sqm laid! I must admit, it's comforting knowing it is repairable should we have any sinkage, which around a new house is reasonable to expect! Tarmac was the other thought, it having spent so long living in new build estates with tarmac driveways (which my 4x4 would leave indents) we ruled it out quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 3 hours ago, nod said: No maintenance 5 years on How do you stop weeds growing between the blocks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 3 hours ago, joe90 said: How do you stop weeds growing between the blocks? Plus 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted June 21 Share Posted June 21 use polymeric sand instead of kiln dried and then spray a sealer on top. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oz07 Posted June 22 Share Posted June 22 Its a shame you cant seal the blocks for 6 months. Gotta try to keep them clean for those 6 months. Ive started to bleach with water and brush mine. Let it sit for 10 mins and wash off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 (edited) We have just had close to 300m2 laid just close to being finished after some batch colour issues (see my previous post). We have an incline too and lots of trees and ruled our gravel as this is what we had before and it was always wet and slushy and just not practical. We looked at imprinted concrete and resin but were worried about the longevity of it (a family member had concrete and it looks OK 10 years on but has a fair bit of cracking). My parents have tarmac and it has heavy indents from parking in the same place and when someone damaged it, the patching looks terrible. Block paving was a logical choice as if anything goes wrong at least it's easy to replace a brick or two. Once is finally finished I'll upload pics. We will be looking at some kind of sealer for it but once our finances are a bit improved so be good to hear of some suggestions. Edited June 23 by canalsiderenovation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 29 minutes ago, canalsiderenovation said: We will be looking at some kind of sealer for it On 20/06/2024 at 16:17, joe90 said: How do you stop weeds growing between the blocks? On 21/06/2024 at 13:31, Dave Jones said: use polymeric sand instead of kiln dried and then spray a sealer on top. I had not heard of that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 Polymeric sand is great between patio slabs, I think it's be too thick for block paving. We are also considering a sealer, though good advice apparently is 'you get what you pay for' apparently '.... 5x longer lasting costs you 5x more etc.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Jones Posted June 23 Share Posted June 23 2 hours ago, Andehh said: Polymeric sand is great between patio slabs, I think it's be too thick for block paving. We are also considering a sealer, though good advice apparently is 'you get what you pay for' apparently '.... 5x longer lasting costs you 5x more etc.... they do a specifc version for block paving of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 18 hours ago, Dave Jones said: they do a specifc version for block paving of course I'd be interested to see what sealer options there are. 20 hours ago, Andehh said: Polymeric sand is great between patio slabs, I think it's be too thick for block paving. We are also considering a sealer, though good advice apparently is 'you get what you pay for' apparently '.... 5x longer lasting costs you 5x more etc.... Any particular suggestions on brands of sealer? We have free ranging chickens and we haven't yet trained them to not go on the block paving! They are only just learning to avoid the porcelain patio/terrace/pergola and that's been through the use of a very powerful water pistol 🔫 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 On 22/06/2024 at 07:17, Oz07 said: Ive started to bleach with water and brush mine. Let it sit for 10 mins and wash off As a fan of Nancy Birtwhistle I have used soda crystals with some eco friendly washing up liquid and it works a treat on porcelain.... presume it would do a good job on block paving too https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7hAF8Zo4I9/?igsh=YW51eDlxN205cDBo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike2016 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Polymeric sand for narrow joints and Rompox for wider joints - both set and prevent any weeds. Did my driveway 18 months ago and no weeds to date! Didn't use a sealer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andehh Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 Wish if known this several weeks ago, when we had normal block paving sand laid.... Ya win some ya lose some. No idea on sealer yet, it's a minefield!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joe90 Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 56 minutes ago, Andehh said: Wish if known this several weeks ago, when we had normal block paving sand laid. If it’s a pain blow it out with a pressure washer and replace as above, but not too much or you will undermine the blocks (which is why mine were laid on granite chips not sand). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canalsiderenovation Posted June 24 Share Posted June 24 (edited) 5 hours ago, Andehh said: Wish if known this several weeks ago, when we had normal block paving sand laid.... Ya win some ya lose some. No idea on sealer yet, it's a minefield!! Yep, us too but maybe in time we will replace..... also like the idea they do the dark grey polymeric sand too. Edited June 24 by canalsiderenovation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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