Driveway dilemma

[milesr3]

Morning!

I have a 45m2 driveway which is 7 years old and seems to be comprised of some kind of compacted hardcore/tar/tarmac base onto which there is a layer of pea shingle. The surface of the tar/tarmac isn't a smooth final surface, the hardcore is sticking through a little, presumebly to help secure the gravel on top. There are areas where the gravel is stuck in the tar/tarmac too - I think originally the gravel was supposed to be stuck in a layer of hot tar, but it didn't seem that well anchored and the gravel is too deep.

It has been necessary to occasionally rake the gravel about a little to recover some of the smoother parts of the base and to retrieve a little which is lost down a slight slope into a gulley adjacent to the garage and out onto the road.

At the weekend I lifted all the pea shingle because it seemed to be about 50% soil and indeed there was a 1/2" layer of soil under the surface which I pressure washed off the base. I also cleared about a barrow load of gravel and soil out of the gulley.

I was going to simply order another load of pea shingle, but it seems to me that this will end up in the same state again in 7 years or so.

At the moment I am thinking about the options, including a resin bonded surface, getting it sprayed with wet tar or perhaps a larger size of gravel (20mm is readily available locally) which might stay put better and will certainly not end up in the gulley. I would also appreciate DIY options for securing gravel in place and ballpark prices for the above options.

TIA
Richard

[milesr3]

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I'm now erring on the side of hiring a tar boiler and doing this myself with some pea shingle.

Can anyone tell me how much tar I'll need to do 45m2? I've seen 1.5 litres per m2 on the web for road surfacing...in which case I'm looking at three 25Kg blocks assuming 1Kg = 1 litre.

I was going to put 2 tonnes of pea shingle down - assuming 1 tonne will cover 25m2 to a depth of 25mm. Maybe I'll need a bit less than this, but I'd rather not be walking in tar in the summer...

Is this a bad idea to DIY? FWIW I'm pretty handy and not a complete no hoper, but have obviously never done this before.

[lutonlagerlout]

I'm now erring on the side of hiring a tar boiler

you had better make sure you live near a hospital mate boiling bitumen (tar is not available in the uk anymore) is very very hot
20m shingle is a much better bet than pea shingle as it doesnt get stuck in trainers,car tyres etc and looks better
all depends how much fall there is really,you dont want too much
cheers LLL

[Dave_L]

Not being funny or sarcastic here, but it sounds like a job for our digger......



to rip the surface up and dig down 250-300mm

and add a few tones of 6F2 and compact with a 120 roller



and to finish off, a few tonnes of nice hot tarmac! Laid by a professional gang!

[lutonlagerlout]

they are good those 3 tonne takeuchi diggers dave,our digger man uses one and i reckon they are the nuts,especially with a point breaking out crete
LLL

[bobbi o]

but I'm now erring on the side of hiring a tar boiler and doing this myself with some pea shingle.

make sure you post the pics on here

[milesr3]

Well I'm really pleased for you that I provided an opportunity to show off about all the plant you have and take the pi$$. And you wonder why the driveway business has such a bad reputation...

I'll assume from your invaluable advice that this isn't something I should contemplate doing myself.

[bobbi o]

i think it was the fact you were considering hiring a tar boiler,that set people off ! but as stated above and without seeeing the job,it sounds like a dig up and start again job. if you insist on diy'ng,then at least get your reputable local contractor out to quote it and gleam some advice from him.

[milesr3]

It really couldn't be further from dig up and start again job - the base is totally sound and has not deformed in any way. Nor do I want to tarmac it. I like the pea shingle finish as it goes with the house / location etc. The amount of pea shingle lost over the last 7 years has been minimal, more of a minor irritant to sweep up for 5 minutes every month rather than a major problem. The base is not a smooth finish and the pea shingle is pretty well anchored in it without tar. I was simply considering alternative surface dressings and better ways of securing what is there. It's not a major problem and a couple of tonnes of new pea shingle will do the job just fine. Like I said, I'm considering some other options while it's cleared and cleaned.

Some hot tar was originally used to secure the pea shingle. It is still adhered over about 25% of the surface area. It seems to me to be a logical thing to refresh this if that was how it was constructed in the first place. Maybe there are better ways of securing surface dressings. I like the idea of epoxy resin as I've used it in other applications and once cured it doesn't get on your shoes, unlike tar (or bitumen as it's now known, except in every ad for asphalt and macadam laying companies in the Yellow Pages because that's what the general public still call it).

I do appreciate that hot bitumen is nasty stuff and this alone is enough to make me seriously consider just replacing the pea shingle and tolerating a little sweeping every month.

[lutonlagerlout]

miles ,re: hot bitumen ,i have seen guys who work with it for 20 years get 3rd degree burns,flesh just peels off like a glove.never mind diy most builders wont get involved
years ago ppl did use tar/bit for a variety of sticking down jobs but it fell out of favour,my floorboards art home are stuck down into tar.
if you have a small edging at the bottom of the drive i.e the bottom of the slope,sticking up about 40mm, this should stop most of the stones from rolling
20mmshingle is better because like i already saiD the stones wont get stuck in shoes etc. and they can have a nice appearance. its the easiest driveway to maintain,a rake and your done

before anyone else tells you it is the traditional driveway for the southeast of england
the resin you spoke of is quite a specialist application and i dont think epoxy resin is external grade,plus its shockingly expensive
hope this helps
LLL

[Dave_L]

Well I'm really pleased for you that I provided an opportunity to show off about all the plant you have and take the pi$$. And you wonder why the driveway business has such a bad reputation...

I'll assume from your invaluable advice that this isn't something I should contemplate doing myself.

Exactly why I started my post with the sentence with "Not being funny or sarcastic here....."

[Dave_L]

they are good those 3 tonne takeuchi diggers dave,our digger man uses one and i reckon they are the nuts,especially with a point breaking out crete
LLL

We never use a pecker on our own machine, it's piped for it but the connectors aren't there!

Any pecking work is always done with a hired machine, those peckers are too hard on the machine joints for my liking. (Not good on your ears either!)

Oh and don't bend the pecker point whatever you do!!!

[Stuarty]

Peckers are great tools tbh, although as you say, not good for the ears heh. Ive used an post hold borer on our 1.5 tonner, it kept jamming, then we sheared the auger off of the motor, and occaisonaly it would just stop dead, not to mention you being thrashed around in the cab of the thing heh

[Dave_L]

Ha - ever used a hand held post hole borer? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

#####"You spin me right round baby right round"#####

[lutonlagerlout]

i think i have a film of me and my mate using a stihl butterfly post borer,i should put it on utube, who on earth thought up that crazy idea??? every time we hit a flint it was like trying to ride a rodeo horse :laugh:
cheers LLL