my first post, and it's a bigun! I've been reading the excellent resources on the main site for 3 or 4 years now but have only just joined the forum. I'm just a regular Joe, no real construction knowledge or DIY skills, but the amazing amount of information here made it possible for me to order in materials, supplies and know what was needed to do my driveway 3 years ago. I didn't do it myself, I got in a local crew in NW London, but as they tried to cut every corner going at least I had pavingexpert to put me in the picture and set things straight.
Anyway, fast-forward 3 years and my drive is looking in need of a refresh and has started to settle a bit so I'm going to tackle this myself. The same crew came back to finish the final rear quarter of the house last month, but after half a days work and £300 laid out I sent them packing as it was turning into a real horror show. I'm going to pull that section up and do it myself, after a bit of advice from you guys hopefully.
Here's the front drive, done in Brett Alpha Antique 50, Autumn Mix, with a standard charcoal block used for edging. As you can see it's a bit grubby with tyre and oil marks, tree sap and with weeds coming up. More importantly though, there are a few dips where drive has compacted under my car's weight.
It's not really too bad, but I'm wondering how big a job it is to level it out? Can I simply take up about a meter square around each of those car tyre dips and shovel in some more sharp sand? I'm guessing that it's not just compacting that's gone on here, but lateral heave forcing material sideways and up and raising the centre bit between the tyre tracks slightly. is that correct? If so it would suggest the whole drive needs to come up! Something I can't really do myself so I might have to get a contractor in after all.
What's the best strategy for keeping the block pattern correct? I was going to number each block before removing and then try and make sure they go back in exactly the same. Is a screwdriver sufficient for removing blocks, or do you need a block extractor?
The rear section of the house is a different story and has faired much better. However this was laid over a concrete base and there's very light traffic here anyway.
Coming round to the far corner at the back. This is a 3m x 5m patch which was started last month and then left abandoned. It has a concrete base and the right hand edge is a about a foot or two of soil before the flower bed. The contractor just shovelled on some sand across the whole plot, raked it out by eye, scattered some dry cement on top straight out of the bag(!) and then started laying the blocks without compacting down or levelling or anything. The block pattern is diabolical and the lines noticeably curve out because they weren't paying attention.
I'm also concerned about the height of the paving around this vent. What's the best way to ensure I don't drainage problems with this?
View from above:
So to summarise, I need to de-weed, clean, level and seal the existing block paving. To that end, is this the right approach:
1 - apply weed killer to all the joints and leave 3 days (can anyone recommend a suitable weed killer for block paving, or can I use any one?)
2 - Use my Karcher K6.95 Pressure Washer with T-Racer adapter to thoroughly clean the paving using detergent. I'd rather avoid acid based cleaners as I don't want to bleach and discolour the concrete blocks.
3 - Extract blocks from the dipped sections of front drive, top up with sharp sand, whack down, and re-insert blocks.
4 - brush in new dry jointing sand into the whole drive. Leave a week or so and seal. Need a recommendation here: I want a natural matt look befitting of these traditional tumbled blocks rather than a wet-look sealer. Any recommended brand or product? How much should I be looking to pay, about £80?
5 - Finally, I need some tools to finish the back section. I'm planing to buy a used Wacker and block splitter rather than loose out on prolonged hire costs. My concern here is that I buy the right tool for the job. Will a light duty one be ok, just to flatten the sand and go over the blocks? The recommended 80kg machines will be far to much for me to load and store. Maybe something like a Belle minipac? Ebay sellers are selling stuff like this for block paving: 5 KN Compaction force, 28 kg weight, 400*320 mm. That seems very light, but if it just means I have to spend more passes to get the same affect that's fine with me. Anything I should look out for, either with the splitter or wacker? Also is a rubber mat absolutely necessary? Can I improvise with an old canvas, carpet or something?
Thanks for reading, and many thanks for any advice!
hi .i would use a stihl saw rather than a splitter for the cuts much neater.a mat is not needed on the whacker just put plenty of kiln dried sand on blocks before whacking.anything else you need to k now just ask gl.
thanks for the reply. Is that a hand held electric saw? If so, probably not safe in my hands!! I might be OK with it, but not having used one before I don't know whether I should risk it. Also, what about the dust from cutting? The cuts on that last section are manageable I think as it's a relatively square plot. What would you say are the disadvantages of a splitter in inexperienced hands? I intend to take my time and do everything carefully, so I'm not worried about having the fastest tools.
Anyone have any thoughts on the clearance around that vent? Is the sequence of proceedures to fix the front drive sound ok? How about the 30kg wacker, any point? Would really appreciate a recommendation on natural-look paving sealer too. Thanks all!
