Advice before starting.

[pollitt1]

We have dug up our our driveway and are about to embark on our block paving project (with the help of this website).

However, to throw a spanner in the works, partner has come home from work to say his colleage did his driveway but did it with thick layer of concrete and then cement mix on the top and then the blocks on that. He said that if you do it the original way then eventually you will get movement from the car over the years. By doing it the way he did, you won't get any movement and also, you won't have a problem with weeds.

Can I have some advice please? I don't want the other half to make a mess of it after taking different advice.

[nelly05]

A concrete slab is not required for a block paving driveway.

The information provided on this site is from professionals who do this job day in day out. Any info yo can glean from here will be sound advice and well worthy of following.

I did my own drive with the help of this site - 150mm type 1 mot and 50mm max compacted grit sand was suitable to lay the blocks on.

Both the sand and mot type 1 need to be well compacted (instructions on the site) and then the blocks can be layed and the gaps filled with kiln dried sand after. The correct compaction of the MOT type 1 sub-base is the key to the job.

I am not sure the implications of using a conceret base for block paving but am sure there is no requirement to do so.

There are membranes than can be laid to prevent weed attack, again there is more info on the site as to whether these should used with block paving.

Go for it (weather permitting!!)

regards

[pollitt1]

thanks for the advice. I am all for doing it this way but partner has now got blinkers on! I need some good hard facts that will make him stop and think!

Has anyone got any benefits for doing it without the concrete? I was thinking about drainage etc. Have anyone had a driveway down for a while which was laid without concrete and hasn't had any movement?

[lutonlagerlout]

partner has come home from work to say his colleage

surely colleague ??
block paving is a flexible paving,its designed to be flexible
if it is laid on *cement* it will cause problems
do it right do it once
regards LLL

[slimdotjim]

Rigid construction i.e. laying blocks on mortar is a skilled job not usually recommended for diy. Its expensive, extremely time consuming and in your case totally unnecessary. If you do get some movement in your flexible construction its pretty straight forward to rectify the same cant be said for rigid. If your partner insists on the rigid construction make sure he has plenty of man power, minimum of three physically fit people. There is a page on rigid construction, look in the index.
Cheers
Slim

[pollitt1]

thanks for all the advice. he has come round to the normal way of doing things. So we can carry on as we started!!

We are going to be doing the drive at the weekends so hopefully the weather won't be too wet!

How long on average does it normally take? I'd say the rough size is about 40m2

[Rich H]

The correct compaction of the MOT type 1 sub-base is the key to the job.

As nelly05 says the key to the drive retaining integrity is the preparation of the sub base.

Assuming you've worked out where the water will go (and I'm sure you'll know it doesn't sink through the blocks) it's fairly straightforward provided that you take your time and don't skimp on anything.

If you're doing this as a pair at the weekends I would allow

Weekend one:

Finish excavation, drainage and peg out for MOT

Weekend two:

Take delivery of MOT. Rake to level, fall, etc. and compact as directed on the main site. And compact. And compact. And compact. Lay kerbs and edgings.

Weekend three onwards:

Screed, lay, cuts, fill.

Pretty heavy but possible. Suggest some help for weekend two!

[lutonlagerlout]

would you not be better to go out and earn some money doing what you do for a living at the weekends then use this to pay someone semi-skilled to help you??
it can get frustrating for a first timer
regards LLL

[pollitt1]

LLL, We want to do it ourselves and then the money we save on this project can go into something else. there are plenty of people on here who are doing it themselves so it is acheivable. Also, our jobs don't cater for weekend work (office based).

Rich, we are debating over where the drainage should go, think we are going to have to have a drain running across the front of the house and straight across the driveway, I am a bit worried that this will spoil the drive though and look unsightly!:rock:

[lutonlagerlout]

no probs pollitt but 1 half sensible guy who has done it before can guide you 100 times better than words alone
cheers LLL

[nelly05]

Thats why us first timers come on here and mither the hell out of you Tony.

But i do know what you mean. Luckily i had a bloke local to me who knew what he was doing and when i got a bit stuck he advised me on the job.
Although there are definately things i would do different now knowing what i know.

Re the drain across the drive, it certainly wont look unsightly, and if you install it right as per the info on this site it will be fine.

You just need to get it right in your mind what youa re going to do and then stick to that, dont try and change your method half way through because someone says they have done it different. If in doubt check on here, the people who do it day in and day out will confirm for you.

Regards