Worried - it's called "bumping": posting an empty follow-up to a message to ensure it stays at or near the top of the first page.
I have a facility to "pin" very important topics, which effectively locks them in position at the top of the page forever and a day, but on other forumses, I always think a half-page of pinned topics detracts from the sense of a free community.
As for the scheme - I have a meeting in two weeks that might make it possible to say more. I've been doing a lot of talking on the phone, and by email, and while there is some movement in the right direction, it's all still very political and there's a number of fragile egos to be tended.
Urgent advice sought - What to do - job halfway through
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Tony McC
- Site Admin
- Posts: 8346
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
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waynefeltham
- Posts: 26
- Joined: Thu May 27, 2004 6:58 pm
- Location: Somerset
yeah...bump, like this (thought it worth a bump).Tony McC wrote:Worried - it's called "bumping": posting an empty follow-up to a message to ensure it stays at or near the top of the first page.
I have a facility to "pin" very important topics, which effectively locks them in position at the top of the page forever and a day, but on other forumses, I always think a half-page of pinned topics detracts from the sense of a free community.
As for the scheme - I have a meeting in two weeks that might make it possible to say more. I've been doing a lot of talking on the phone, and by email, and while there is some movement in the right direction, it's all still very political and there's a number of fragile egos to be tended.
In this case Tony I would say make it a sticky or maybe have a page on the site called "My experience with Marshalls" and then copy in both the good and the bad (obviously to give a balanced view). After all, this site is not only used by DIYers but also by those looking for advice...I even considered using Marshalls myself!
Cheers
Wayne
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worried
- Posts: 7
- Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 7:25 am
- Location: Scotland
Hello again Tony et al!
It's been a while - 14 years - time flies! Like many people at the moment, during lockdown I've been trawling through diy tasks and finally got to the 'clean driveway' one.
I hope Marshalls have sorted out their register after all this time - apologies if they have and this brings back memories of how rubbish a system they had. If they haven't then you have to wonder if there is any consumer protection out there.
So, how did it all turn out with the driveway and how did it stand the test of time?
Well, the kerbs remained rock-solid and haven't shifted at all - probably thanks to all that concrete I got the contractor to mix and I added to the minimal haunching he had done.
The drive itself has moved - there is subsidence where the tyre tracks of the cars are - noticeable with the naked eye when you look and really noticeable when we have heavy rain. The movement happened after a few years and got gradually worse and I think it's stopped a few years ago now. I always suspected the sub-base wasn't what it should have been and I think that probably proves it. We just have domestic cars - no vans or anything. Perhaps I'm being unfair and after a few years this might be expected?
In any case, I've been up close and personal with the driveway this weekend as I cleaned it with SmartSeal Drive Clean Xtreme and power washed it. As you'll know, this creates a lot of water so the tyre track dips were much more noticeable as I was obviously on top of it as I was doing the cleaning. It started to annoy me more than it does normally, so...
I'm now at the point where I think I have two realistic paths.
1. re-sand the joints and that's the end of it. Simple, relatively quick but I fear there may be regret later at having taken the easy option.
or
2.
- pull up the blocks where the tyre track dips are and try to level the area with additional sharp sand.
- relay the blocks - hire a whacker plate - re-sand and potentially seal with a good quality sealer (I figured that going to all the trouble with option 2 would easily justify the expense of the sealer)
The tyre track dips are approx. 10m long each and would probably mean removing slightly less than 2m wide tracks for each track - so ~40 sq metres. I'd say they are probably 1 - 1.5 inches below the level at their worst.
My question is - is option 2 worth the effort or am I opening up a bucket of worms as an enthusiastic amateur? I suspect the real way to fix it is to fix the sub-base as the tyre tracks will likely come back in time but I'm definitely not up for that! My thinking (possibly incorrect) is that extra sharp sand should mean that even if it did come back it probably wouldn't be as bad as the existing foundations haven't moved for a few years.
Opinions and advice really appreciated.
By the way Tony, you never did send your bank details for the use of that penalty phrase back in 2005! I know you were joking but your advice was invaluable back when the job was being done so please PM me your address and a note of what your favourite tipple is. It's a long overdue debt!
Thanks
It's been a while - 14 years - time flies! Like many people at the moment, during lockdown I've been trawling through diy tasks and finally got to the 'clean driveway' one.
I hope Marshalls have sorted out their register after all this time - apologies if they have and this brings back memories of how rubbish a system they had. If they haven't then you have to wonder if there is any consumer protection out there.
So, how did it all turn out with the driveway and how did it stand the test of time?
Well, the kerbs remained rock-solid and haven't shifted at all - probably thanks to all that concrete I got the contractor to mix and I added to the minimal haunching he had done.
The drive itself has moved - there is subsidence where the tyre tracks of the cars are - noticeable with the naked eye when you look and really noticeable when we have heavy rain. The movement happened after a few years and got gradually worse and I think it's stopped a few years ago now. I always suspected the sub-base wasn't what it should have been and I think that probably proves it. We just have domestic cars - no vans or anything. Perhaps I'm being unfair and after a few years this might be expected?
In any case, I've been up close and personal with the driveway this weekend as I cleaned it with SmartSeal Drive Clean Xtreme and power washed it. As you'll know, this creates a lot of water so the tyre track dips were much more noticeable as I was obviously on top of it as I was doing the cleaning. It started to annoy me more than it does normally, so...
I'm now at the point where I think I have two realistic paths.
1. re-sand the joints and that's the end of it. Simple, relatively quick but I fear there may be regret later at having taken the easy option.
or
2.
- pull up the blocks where the tyre track dips are and try to level the area with additional sharp sand.
- relay the blocks - hire a whacker plate - re-sand and potentially seal with a good quality sealer (I figured that going to all the trouble with option 2 would easily justify the expense of the sealer)
The tyre track dips are approx. 10m long each and would probably mean removing slightly less than 2m wide tracks for each track - so ~40 sq metres. I'd say they are probably 1 - 1.5 inches below the level at their worst.
My question is - is option 2 worth the effort or am I opening up a bucket of worms as an enthusiastic amateur? I suspect the real way to fix it is to fix the sub-base as the tyre tracks will likely come back in time but I'm definitely not up for that! My thinking (possibly incorrect) is that extra sharp sand should mean that even if it did come back it probably wouldn't be as bad as the existing foundations haven't moved for a few years.
Opinions and advice really appreciated.
By the way Tony, you never did send your bank details for the use of that penalty phrase back in 2005! I know you were joking but your advice was invaluable back when the job was being done so please PM me your address and a note of what your favourite tipple is. It's a long overdue debt!
Thanks
-
Tony McC
- Site Admin
- Posts: 8346
- Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2004 7:27 pm
- Location: Warrington, People's Republic of South Lancashire
- Contact:
When people tell me it's been 10, 15, 20 years since I gave them some tip or advice, it scares me. WTF! Where has all that time gone?
I had a call a short while ago from someone telling me I'd laid their driveway and they were having a problem....whoa! I doubt very much I laid your driveway: I'm into my 23rd year of having a completely knackered spine! Yes, it was defintely me, and my brother - Walton Road? Remember? 1987. !!!! I was about to tell him his guarantee had probaly run out by now but no: all he wanted was to know if I could still get the very particular block he had laid as he hasn't seen it in the brochure for a while. And yes: he did still have the invoice and guarantee from 33 years ago!
Anyway: back to today, and I rteckon you know what I'm going to say - fix it properly, it really isn't as hard as you might think!
In fact, there's a whole series of pages showing the refurbishment of a block paved driveway, and one page devoted solely to rectifying a small depression....
https://www.pavingexpert.com/refurb_04
...which is possible without the need to hire-in a plate compactor (as long as it's only a small area).
Have a look at that and let me know if you need anything more....in the meanwhile, I'll PM you aboout that "other matter".....
I had a call a short while ago from someone telling me I'd laid their driveway and they were having a problem....whoa! I doubt very much I laid your driveway: I'm into my 23rd year of having a completely knackered spine! Yes, it was defintely me, and my brother - Walton Road? Remember? 1987. !!!! I was about to tell him his guarantee had probaly run out by now but no: all he wanted was to know if I could still get the very particular block he had laid as he hasn't seen it in the brochure for a while. And yes: he did still have the invoice and guarantee from 33 years ago!
Anyway: back to today, and I rteckon you know what I'm going to say - fix it properly, it really isn't as hard as you might think!
In fact, there's a whole series of pages showing the refurbishment of a block paved driveway, and one page devoted solely to rectifying a small depression....
https://www.pavingexpert.com/refurb_04
...which is possible without the need to hire-in a plate compactor (as long as it's only a small area).
Have a look at that and let me know if you need anything more....in the meanwhile, I'll PM you aboout that "other matter".....
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