The Brew Cabin

Hi Folks,
At the front of our house we have a driveway already
created in buff-coloured pavers.
The driveway is the minimum-width required for a car,
edged with bricks on to a garden area (moss, not grass)
of about 5 metres width.
With three sons of ages 10,12 and 14 I foresee three
extra vehicles in the not-too-distant future, plus their
interest in roller hockey would also be helped if we
paved over the existing garden too.

The resulting finished area (finished in my mind as of yet) would be approximately 8 metres wide and about
20 metres long.
How do I go about screeding that area (replies such as
"bl**dy slowly" being presumed :-)?
I was considering three longitudinal "slices", putting in
two linear drains and doing a sort of "divide and conquer".
Do I lift all existing pavers and then mix these in with
new-bought ones, or buy all-new pavers?
I've got a raft of further questions, but these might be
consequential on the answers to the above.
Thanks in advance
Mungo
(P.S. Great web site ; you gotta say that to get an
answer, right?! :-)

MungoH writted....

8 metres wide and about 20 metres long.
How do I go about screeding that area?

You more or less guessed - divide it into separate areas. You could split it lengthways and do two long screeds at 4m wide, or split it into, say, five 4m wide screeds, each 8m long. You'll need to use trammel bars/screed rails (unless the linear drains will do the job, of course!), but it's quite easy, really.


Do I lift all existing pavers and then mix these in with new-bought ones, or buy all-new pavers?

If you chuck away the older blocks, you're paying for a skip as well as new blocks, and it's environmentally naughty in these landfill-conscious times. Mixing in the older blocks with the new ones will make the new, extended driveway look spotty (much like one of your teenagers, I s'pose!) for a few weeks, but, 6-12 months later, you'll be lucky to identify the older ones.

A good tip is to power-wash the old blocks before you lift them. This makes sure they're in tip-top condition when they come to be relaid, and the weathering will be even less noticeable. Do the power-washing on the OLD drive - you shouldn't power-wash new block paving until it's sealed itself or been coated with a proprietary sealant or joint stabilising compound.


Great web site ; you gotta say that to get an answer, right?!

It's better if you write it on the back of a 20 quid note and send it to the address on the About Us page! ;)

Quote: from TonyMcC on 1:08 pm on Jan. 10, You more or less guessed - divide it into separate areas. You could split it lengthways and do two long screeds at 4m wide, or split it into, say, five 4m wide screeds, each 8m long.

The twenty metre length is along the gable-end of the
house (plus double garage etc; the house ain't that
big) so I'd think that working "long-ways" might make
it easier to build in a slight fall away from the house?

Mixing in the older blocks with the new ones will make the new, extended driveway look spotty (much like one of your teenagers, I s'pose!) for a few weeks, but, 6-12 months later, you'll be lucky to identify the older ones.

The presumption being that I can source blocks with an
identical colour (or as near as damnit) to the originals.
And identical size too.

If I create the new paved area with a slight fall away
from the house, is the idea of a couple of "train lines"
of linear drainage overkill? The present driveway sits
with puddles on monsoon day, so I'd rather install some
drainage than leave the rainwater to percolate away.

Would the linear drain lines detract from the overall
appearance, or would it break up the visual impact of
a big block of pavers?

The web-site alludes to the fact that some people
install patterns on the paving (house numbers, etc).
This sounds fine unless you accidentally encourage a
747 to land on your drive!
Looking down our drive, the main house door is
recessed from the gable end to the point that new
callers are initially puzzled as to where the front door
is. Beyond a large arrow, any alternative ideas to
encourage a "this way" feeling?

Further, I was impressed on a visit to Norway that
main buildings there sport a sort of "cattle grid" at the
entrance to attempt to remove snow and soil off the
soles of the pedestrians before they enter. Any source
for such a metal threshold grid, or do I just contact a
local blacksmith?

you shouldn't power-wash new block paving until it's sealed itself or been coated with a proprietary sealant or joint stabilising compound.

Presuming that modesty forbids you to mention any
particular manufacturer's product, how are us novices
to know which products are worth the dosh if we ain't
given (say) three alternatives?

Recently I received the Jewsons catalogue for paving.
The prices in there are about 11 quid per square metre
for the pavers. Is this reasonable, or one of Jewsons
(and other) manufacturers regular ploys to maximise
their profits to the unsuspecting DIYer?

Ta in advance; told you I'd have more questions! :-)

Mungo

Screeding:

Working the screed lengthways would be easiest. You have a level defined against the the house itself, so you need to define the outer edge, and then establish the central screed rail. As you're only establishing one screed rail, then the chance for error is much reduced.

And yes: it does have to fall away from the house. You will need some form of drainage at the low point, which could be on the outer edge or perhaps even a length of linear drain along the centre line.


Mixing Older Blocks

Colours change over time as dyes are refined or manufacturers switch from one supplier to another, but, if you have a multi-colour block to begin with, then any diff between old and new will be unnoticeable to the untrained eye. However, if you have a monotone block, that could be more of a problem.

Size-wise, there should be no problem as the vast majority of concrete block paving in the UK is made to a standard size and are interchangeable with units from other manufacturers (in the case of the standard rectangular 200x100 blocks, that is).


Linear Drain

Two runs of linear drain is overkill. The drainage capacity for these systems is phenomenol, limited only by the diameter of the outfall pipe, and you could easily drain your 160m² with just a single one metre length!

However, having just one unit of a linear drain plonked somewhere within the paving would look bloody daft, so you could consider....<ul>
<li> a central run of linear drain along the 20m axis, say around 14m in length, so that it is 3m from the top/bottom edges
<li> a central channel directing surface water to a couple of yard gullies at either end
<li> a linear drain laid just inside the outside edge
<li> a couple of yard gullies, either on the centre line or on the outside corners
<li> a larger gully positioned centrally
</ul>

...as you can see, there's more than one way to drain a pavement, and you need to decide which suits the project and your pocket. You need to consider the outfall points, ie, where the water will drain to, but all the above options are, in my opinion at least, aesthetically acceptable.

Enhancing the Front door

The simplest solution for this common problem is to build a feature step. A semi-circle always looks good and they're relatively simple to construct. Human nature is such that a new visitor will survey the paving to look for a visual prompt as to door position, and a step is one hell of a visual prompt! ;)


Pedestrian Cattle grid

Consult a local blacksmith or light engineering company.


Choice of Products

All the manufacturers listed on the Links page produce top quality pavers. I have my own favourites, but then, it's not me that has to live with your paving for the next 20-odd years. The biggest selling colour in the UK is 'Brindle' and my personal fave is the 60mm brindle manufactured by Marshalls at their Ramsbottom plant. It has a better spread of colours than brindles from their other plants, and is richer in tone than comparable products from, say Tarmac TopPave, Eaton or Charcon, but then, it's only available in the north-west, and brindle doesn't work with every property.

Send me a pic of your house, tell me whereabouts you live, and I'll give you a "Tony's Top Three" but the final choice should be yours.

11 quid per m² for a multicoloured 200x100 paver is fair. You can actually buy for less if you're in the trade (around 9 quid per m²) but that's only to be expected.