Recommendations needed for good pavers in kent

[css_jay99]

Hi,
I live in Welling(Kent) and would like to know if anyone can recommend a good company that can pave my driveway. I have seen a lot of drives all over the place and its difficult to sort the cowboys out from the good ones.

additionally, the area i wanted done is 4.5meters by 9.2meters. How is this calculated in square meters. Also what is the average price to expect for brick paving of this size ?

Ohh finaly, is perttern Imprinted Concrete any good ?
thanks

css_jay99

[Stuarty]

I live in Scotland so i dont know anybody down in Kent heh. Square meterage is determined by length x breadth ( 4.5 * 9.2 = 41.4 m2 ). Prices always vary from place to place so you are better off getting quotes from several contractors. Remember, dont just go with the cheapest, have a look at jobs they have done previously.

Im not to keen on PIC, i personally dont like the look of it. Some folk love it, others dont

[css_jay99]

thanks for the reply,

I have decided to go with brick as the missus wants a pattern. Anything I should be aware off when I get pavers, i.e making sure they use certain things, quality of bricks, depth to dig ....

cheers

[bobhughes]

You will find all the answers to that on the main site

[Mr_Michael]

I will be doing some work for my girlfriends dad, in blackfen.. i've been doing landscaping for 4 years, 2 labouring/and running a job, and 1 year block paving day in day out, and now 1 year with my own company.

[Mr_Michael]

thanks for the reply,

I have decided to go with brick as the missus wants a pattern. Anything I should be aware off when I get pavers, i.e making sure they use certain things, quality of bricks, depth to dig ....

cheers

Its not whats on top that counts its whats underneath, ie subase.. and levels.. most people tend to look at the patterns on newly done drives, which are sometimes done by fly bye's, and people think oh year, thats nices, lets get them, its a gamble cos 6-12 months done the line it may sink if not dug out enough, etc.. be careful.

[Ted]

I have worked for several paving contractors in south east London, including one in Welling. My past work in that geographic area has included PIC, broom finished concrete, slabs and block paving.

I must say that there are an awful lot of cowboy firms in the area. All the firms (bar one) that I worked for treated sub-base/sub-grade etc as some sort of joke 'cos the client wouldn't see it and they would have been paid by the time any problems arose.

I recommend you read this site and make sure you know every stage of the process and check that ever firm you use installs it properly. Driving around Bexleyheath etc I have seen so many new driveways which are, scuse my French, utter crap and have fallen to pieces very quickly.

That is why I left these firms. Cos I was only learning how to become a cowboy.

[Mr_Michael]

I have worked for several paving contractors in south east London, including one in Welling. My past work in that geographic area has included PIC, broom finished concrete, slabs and block paving.

I must say that there are an awful lot of cowboy firms in the area. All the firms (bar one) that I worked for treated sub-base/sub-grade etc as some sort of joke 'cos the client wouldn't see it and they would have been paid by the time any problems arose.

I recommend you read this site and make sure you know every stage of the process and check that ever firm you use installs it properly. Driving around Bexleyheath etc I have seen so many new driveways which are, scuse my French, utter crap and have fallen to pieces very quickly.

That is why I left these firms. Cos I was only learning how to become a cowboy.

i know the tricks of the trade, but whats the point in giving yourself a bad reputation, cowboys like to get in the area do a few jobs and get out, i like to spend time and make sure everything is corectly done.

[css_jay99]

Thank you very much for your comments.

Ted can you recommend some in the welling/bexleyheath/south area that does a good job, and possibly the ones to avoid

I have been looking around for the last 2 months with no success !

cheers

[Ted]

i know the tricks of the trade, but whats the point in giving yourself a bad reputation, cowboys like to get in the area do a few jobs and get out, i like to spend time and make sure everything is corectly done.

Are you talking about me giving myself a bad reputation? if so, I don't think I really am. I worked for these companies to get paving experience and I got some good experience. The paving we laid looked good, it was just that it didn't last long due to shoddy foundations. I knew and understood this and pointed it out. As a junior, I was not in an authoritative position to insist on spending more time preparing sub-bases etc. I simply hung around to learn what I could and then left to go and better myself.

If you are talking about why these firms "were cowboys" then the answer is I don't know. I have since purchased accountss from Companies' House for several of the firms I worked for when I used to live in Bexleyheath and I can see that none are exactly doing well and one is in a real financial mess. Which IMO just goes to show that in the long run it makes sense to do a good job or not do it in the first place.

[lutonlagerlout]

i dont think he meant you ted, i think he was refering to cowboys in general, up our way even the pikeys are realising(albeit very late) that if you do a good job you get more work by recommendation,rather than posting 3000 flyers
mind you i saw 1 lad bedding edgings on neat building sand the other day,the infamous "motorway maintenance" on his pick up!!
cheers tony

[Mark9691]

Hi Ted,

I'm also looking for good installers in Bexleyheath area. I have been quoted by Paramount paving (approx 7K for 70m2), have you heard of them? Also asked Jade to quote but they didn't bother coming back to me?

I was going to underdake some of the work myself for the reasons you outlined i.e firms skimping on the sub layers, especially as I have a fair bit of ground to build up (to level a sloping site) and am worried about it moving at a later date. I need to build up approx 300mm off an existing lawn; should all the top soil be removed down to virgin soil before type 1 is added. Also how much type 1 shoud be added btw compacting down? Is it OK to place well broken brick rubble under the type 1 layer, to save removal and reduce materials required.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

Mark

[lutonlagerlout]

IMO all vegetation and top soil must go down to virgin soil,MOT must be wacked at 150 mm intervals depth wise,so not too bad for you,you could probably lose some clean brick rubble in the bottom layer,N.B. breeze blocks are NOT very good hardcore as they tend to degrade ditto timber etc etc
cheers tony LLL

[Ted]

I don't know Paramount but have seen them about. Haven't heard anything bad about them and I never worked for them so can't comment.

If you take the time to understand sub-base requirements and ensure it is done well - or do it yourself - you should be OK.

[Mark9691]

Ted, Tony, Thanks for your answers,

I've dug a hole in the lawn to see how much top soil there is and I'm looking at 300mm to take off (the layer under this is sand). That means I will have to come up about 500mm in total with MOT in the deepest spots. For this depth of MOT and area (approx 70 m2) would it be worth hiring one of those ride on vibratory rollers or will a compactor plate suffice?

Also is crushed concrete a good infill material as it is almost half the price of MOT? 10 ton = £150 delivered

Mark