The Brew Cabin

We are laying block paving over the entire area in front of our house. The front of the house and both side boundaries are all square relative to each other however the road in front of the house and the front wall are not parallel to the house or square to the left and right boundaries. As one looks at the house we are laying a stretcher bond that runs from left to right. If the block courses are laid such that they are parallel to the front wall/road then they strike the house at a slight angle and visa versa. I appreciate that this is an aesthetic choice however which would be normal practise, should the courses be laid parallel to the front wall/road or to the house?
Thanks

Rob

Hi Rob,

with a stretcher bond, it will look best laid square to the house thereby striking the threshold with the public highway at an angle. If you do it t'other road round, it looks bloody weird when you come out of the house, as one of my neighbours who "knows it all" has since discovered. ;)

And why stretcher bond? A herringbone is best for driveways, as you get a full interlock.

Thanks for your reply. I strongly suspected that this was the case. Our block pavers are trying to persuade us otherwise (having already laid about 30 sq. mtrs. of blocks parallel to the road). In retrospect perhaps we should have gone with a herringbone pattern however the blocks we now have are Marshall's Tegular traditional in three different sizes and so I presume herringbone would now be impossible. Thanks again.

Tegula/Drivesett can be laid in a herringbone pattern, but it actually looks best laid stretcher bond, so at least your gang got that bit right. :~)

I assumed you were using keyblock or similar, which is best in a herringbone. If you're not happy with the pattern they've laid to date, get them to redo it - you have to live with that paving for a long, long time, and it's easier to lift and put it right at this stage than wait for them to cover the entire driveway, cut it in and compact.