Course of blocks that meet pavement are loose

[jonsey24]

I have recently had the driveway block paved and i am happy with what has been done, the only thing i have noticed is that the last course of blocks that butt upto the public pavement are loose and have movement in them, contact with these blocks are made as soon as i drive my car onto the path.
They were intially cemented in with a dry mix and sand was brushed into the joints but they dont seem to have held.

Does anyone have any ideas how these blocks can be secured to stop movement i was thinking of laying them with a cement mix like you would use to build a wall so when it sets it should do so rock hard

[seanandruby]

They need to be laid on 100ml of concrete, not drylean.

[jonsey24]

Will that hold them firm Sean this is what i had in mind lay a nice thick bed of concrete and lay them into it then follow up by brushing the kiln dry into the joints

[Tony McC]

That's what Sean has suggested - 100mm of a decent C20 (1:2:4) concrete that is moist and then bed the blocks onto it so that they bond.

[g.stewart]

there should be a kerb installed at start of job,6x5 bullnose or flat top kerb where your property meets the pavement.this leaves a clean ,neat and staight edge also a restraint for blocks so NO movement

g.stewart

[DNgroundworks]

i use flat top concrete edgings for this scenario

[seanandruby]

flat top to. Bullnose if a slight step.

[Tony McC]

There's no real advantage in using a kerb, an edging kerb, or a row of setts rather than a soldier course. If the edge units,(whatever they be) are properly laid and haunched on decent concrete, they don't move.

[mickg]

well I must beg to differ there Tony as there is a massive advantage of using a flat top edging across the driveway to the pavement, the main reason is if the council ever turn up to change the pavement covering if that be tarmac flags or concrete then the driveway is not disturbed, bedding a 50mm or 60mm block they normally get disturbed

the second advantage is it looks more professional when the driveway is completed and certainly a lot neater

the third advantage is 9 times out of 10 the tarmac on the pavement will of sunk where the vehicle drives on and off the driveway so by installing a 150mm flat top edging from point to point across the width of the driveway keeps the paving perfectly flat and then to make good any difference in height with a thin strip of haunching or if its wider then use tarmac

now granted this can be achieved your way too but it always looks like its lacking a neat finish where the block paving meets the pavement, and now drainage channels have to be installed by adding a flat top edging 150mm deep gives the channel more lateral support

[Tony McC]

Nope - I still can't see any advantage.

If the public footpath reconstruction (should that ever happen) will disturb a soldier course, it will disturb a 150mm FT edging. I spent too many years working with highways gangs doing just this type of work, and if the excavator nudges the threshold edging, it has little chance of surviving intact. All footway reconstruction contracts include an allowance for accommodation works which covers remedial work to all thresholds.

As for it looking more professional, I can't agree. Why does a narrow strip of cheap uncoloured concrete add a more professional look to a driveway of coloured concrete pavers? You might think it looks more attractive, but it certainly isn't more professional.

And regarding the possible sinking of the existing footway, I fail to see what difference is made by having a line of edging kerbs rather than a line of blocks. Both provide a straight and level edge - you can't say one is better than the other.

Similarly with a linear channel. If it is laid correctly, the bed for an adjacent soldier courses acts as a more than adequate haunch for the channel. Adding a pre-cast strip of concrete doesn't provide more or better support: that's determined by the bed and haunching concrete.

When I was involved in constructing driveways, we'd only ever install a pcc edging is there had been one there previously that had been removed for whatever reason during the prep work. It would only be re-installed on the grounds that it was a part of the public highway and therefore not ours to bin, and to omit it could make the threshold noticeably different to others on the same road. If I could get away without a pcc edging, I would - my own driveway doesn't have one, and 15 years later, it's managed to survive.

[mickg]

I could show you 20 or so driveways that don't have a flat top edging across the driveway and they always rut where the car drives off the pavement and onto the driveway

by adding the edging I personally have found it holds everything in place and keeps it flat, if i had a choice of having something 150mm deep bedded on 100mm or something 50mm bedded on 100mm I know which it would be

bottom line is this......both our ways are right :;):

[lutonlagerlout]

I have done it both ways,
and would rather use a 150 by 50 edging
my reasoning for this is that the haunching can be 60 mm down allowing for pavement side to be made good satisfactorily .
IME its difficult to haunch 50-60 mm blocks effectively
plus the no edging route is what the pikesters do down here,and the results are there for all to see
however, i am sure done properly, it can achieve the required results
LLL

[mike builder/landscaper]

I always put pin kerbs at the point where the drive meets the pavement i think it looks a lot neater and stronger.

[Tony McC]

If you want to use a kerb at the threshold, why use a cheap, uncoloured pcc edging or road kerb that inevitably suffers from 'sore thumb syndrome' when contrasted against all those coloured concrete pavers? Why not use a coloured edging kerb or even one of the small unit 'block paving' kerbs?


Mick is having access problems, so he might not be able to post a reply (assuming he wants to) until he evicts the gremlins from his pc.



Edited By Tony McC on 1292406765

[lutonlagerlout]

cost, really boss
very few want to pay for a tegula kerb to be buried at the front
I have done it with PPC kerbs, tegula, KS and KL kerbs and blocks haunched .
the temptation is for lads to screed the sand then just haunch that leading edge ,as mick says a massive fail

you need SOMETHING with 200mm of concrete under it, and restrained the choice is part cost , part aesthetics,and part functionality
cheers LLL