Yet another block paving question

[Monkey Spanker]

Have got to say "what a find".....

We've got approx 187m2 of driveway to re-cover (currently tarmac, which is OK, but we moved in last year & now fancy a change...)

Had a builder who was recommended to me come round on Sunday to have a look at the job. He seemed to know his stuff (to an office wallah like me anyway), and talked about putting the DPC below the sub base (scalpins - is this the same as DTP1??) to stop weeds getting through, and connecting the existing grates (no drain attached!!) to a soakaway that would be a couple of metres away from our front door (due mainly to the fact that it's illegal to tap into the FW system).....

I discovered this site on Sunday nite, and have spent the last couple of days scouring the place for info.... From what I've read, and the piece about driveways on RT, my gut reaction is not to touch this bloke with the proverbial, but am I over-reacting??


Karl

[bobhughes]

Someone is getting their acronyms mixed up here. DPC is Damp Proof Course – usually found in a wall.

You don’t say what you plan to replace the tarmac with but if the base is still sound then why would weeds start to grow through? And why would you want to dig it all up anyway? You could just scrape the top off and replace it with blocks or whatever.

You should get at least three quotes with a detailed specification for the job. Ask for examples of previous work and check that it was theirs. With the amount of money you are about to spend it is worth taking some time to get it right.

[Dave_L]

I think he was talking about a membrane under the subbase to stop weeds breaking through? Seems an awful lot of work for little gain as Bob has said.

[lutonlagerlout]

"a little knowledge is a dangerous thing " mr spanker
have you thought about resin bonded gravel
have a look here lot less costly than ripping the whole lot up
cheers LLL

[TheVictorianCobbleCo]

Another alternative is a cobble drive - see www.revelstone.co.za
Good luck

[Monkey Spanker]

Thanks for the pointers everyone! We both like the look of block paving, and we do understand that it aint gonna be cheap.....

Am waiting for 2 other people to come along and give me a quote, so will see what they come up with. Incidentally, builder "A" called the better half today - wants £5840 for everything apart from supplying the blocks. This is the cash price.....

Despite being a pen pusher, I'm relatively OK with getting my hands dirty. Given my complete inexperience with block paving, is this project a little on the large side for an enthusiastic amatuer??

Karl

[Monkey Spanker]

Someone is getting their acronyms mixed up here. DPC is Damp Proof Course – usually found in a wall.

You don’t say what you plan to replace the tarmac with but if the base is still sound then why would weeds start to grow through? And why would you want to dig it all up anyway? You could just scrape the top off and replace it with blocks or whatever.

You should get at least three quotes with a detailed specification for the job. Ask for examples of previous work and check that it was theirs. With the amount of money you are about to spend it is worth taking some time to get it right.

Bob

The DPC reference was what made me worry!!

How do i go about checking to see if the sub-base is still ok? Also, I imagine that the tarmac isn't going to be 100mm thick, so this might present a problem with the DPC - the current tarmac level is one course below the DPC. The drive is also a little uneven - few bumps, dips etc (funny, I never really noticed them until after discovering this place!!)...

Sorry to hit you with so many questions!!


Karl

[lutonlagerlout]

We've got approx 187m2 of driveway to re-cover

is this project a little on the large side for an enthusiastic amatuer??

you have 2 hopes of doing this right mr.spanker,slim and none,and slim 's outta town
£5840 is waaaay to cheap for the area you mentioned even if you add 2 k for the blocks ,he wil either cut corners or he has lads working for £40 per day and signing on,which is immoral and unethical not to mention illegal
that price works out at £43 per m 2 ,i was doing £50 per metre 10 years ago
get more quotes and also get checkable references i.e. the last installation that he carried out
cheers LLL

[Monkey Spanker]

what problems might I face LLL??

[lutonlagerlout]

lack of plant,lack of training, lack of experience,lack of knowledge
just a whole heap of lacks mate
it would be like my missus to tell me to do something with an excel spreadsheet
if you were gonna DIY it a smaller area say 20 m2 would be a starter,
if you noise it up you will have wasted a lot of money and time,and still have to pay to get it right
IMHO
cheers LLL

[TheVictorianCobbleCo]

Absolute confirm, job way too big for 1st timer, get a proffesional co and pay the premium
WCS