The Brew Cabin

after viewing your site i decided to tackle the block paving of my drive.The drive is aprrox 41 sq mtrs 5 sq mtrs of it is a path that goes past my front window.The main drive is to take a van and a car so i thought it would be best to put a good sub base down, so i hired a digger and dug 1ft down (jesus those diggers are scarey! ) my idea is to put a base of 8inch,sand 1.5 inch and finally 2.5 inch(60mm) block paver.After digging down i found out i had a gas leak due to a rotten pipe so in came the gas man and repair was done.This is when my dilema started.On the day the gas leak was repaired the heavens opened i had puddles everywhere ,i mean large puddles! the ground where they dug out for the repair is very soggy and soft partly clay too.I dug most of it back out and filled it with dtp1 but it is still soggy. What is not helping me is the weather, the ground is just a mess! water, mud and odd clay patches everywhere .What i need to know is will i be able to get my sub base down if there is a break in the weather? i spoke to a local landscape gardener and he said i should leave it until spring!!.I have purchased some geo-textile to put down under the sub base but will it be ok to carry on even though the sub grade is wet and muddy and more rain is forecast?.Apologies for the length of this but just wanted to explain as much as poss.look forward to your reply

thanks
paj

Your chum the local landscape gardener must be one of those soft sods that holes up for the winter just in case they catch a chill. The rest of us have families to feed and so we have to keep working to earn a living!

Today is a washout, admittedly, but, as soon as we get a dry break, clear off any sloppy, cacky mud from the sub-grade, cover the exposed sub-grade with your geo-membrane, and get a covering of decent sub-base material down, spread, levelled and compacted as quick as you can. Once your sub-base is in, that will help protect the ground.

If you have spare geo-membrane, put that down as a walkway cover, so that the crap isn't walked into the house - if you've no geo-membrane left over, get a few boards or decking sheets.

You can get your concrete bedded soldiers/kerbs in as soon as you get a chance, but leave the laying course sand and actual block laying until you know you've a couple of dry days when you can crack on and get most of, if not all, of the ground covered. And concentrate on covering the ground - don't be slowing yourself up doing cuts or fixing steps: get the laying course covered and then you can cut-in and do the fiddly bits as and when you get a chance.

It really isn't the best time to be laying a driveway or a patio, but it can be done and, look at it this way - when everyone else is spending next spring/summer digging and stoning-up and laying, you'll be sat out in the back garden with your feet up and a pint in your hand! :)

Keep us updated as to your progress (or lack of it!)

wow!i didnt expect a reply that quick (very impressed) i have noted what u have said the only thing that still worries me is the filling of the hole from the gas repair it is so soggy ,when u stand on it you sink down a good few inches i did part fill it with dtp1 but not entirely.should i dig it all out again and just use dtp1 or do u think it will be ok, just dont want to get sub base down and then have probs with it.
many thanks
paj

The quick reply was just luck - I check the forum at least once a day, usually after me tea, but you were lucky in posting just an hour or so before I came along. :)

The soggy bit really does need to be solid before you start any paving work. Usually, the DTp will help firm it up, but, if it's still spongey, dig it out and backfill again using clean DTp in layers around 150mm thick, compacting each layer as you go. That should cure it. :)

managed to get about two thirds of membrane and sub base down today(approx 2 to 3 inch) and wackered ,is it ok that i didnt get all base down?,i wackered the edge leading to unfinished part of base to create "feathered" edge, hoping to get rest done tomorrow afternoonish(back at work).regarding the spongey areas i did put quiet a bit of dtp1 back in but as i said in my last message not totally .went over with wacker and there is movement in the spongey area do you think this may tighten up as the sub grade dries out?,also in the odd part water as risen to the top after wackering but the ground does feel quiet firm to walk on.due to time of year i have started and the rain i will be happy if i can get sub base down and then wait for a good spell of dry weather giving any soft areas time to dry and base to settle ,what do u think?
the only spongey areas are where the gas board dug down to find the pipe, unfortunatley they didnt find it straight away so i i ended up with a line of about 4ft before the actual pipe.i am going on now so i will stop there.

many thanks
paj

I think you'll be fine. Make sure you get all the sub-base down as soon as you can and then let it stand for a day or so to see how it firms up.

There's a rumour doing the rounds that we're to have a couple of dry days towards the end of the week!

managed to get rest of sub base down today still not to required depth but have a good 3 to 4 inch down and all wackered, the spongey areas do seem to firming up alittle as more base goes down (keeping fingers crossed it will be ok) but are prepared to dig back out if needed.the only thing thats puzzling me a little is setting the the finishing level and fall of the blocks.the drive is basically a square with a few sq mtrs of footpath leadinig past my front window which is rarley used.three of the sides are "fixed" one is a dividing wall between my neighbour,two is the concrete base into my garage and three is the pavement, this leaves an open side leading on to a small lawn.the pavement is the highest point which then falls towards my garage (approx fall is about 4 to 5 inch over a length of 6m) my thought was to use the line on the three "fixed" sides of my original concrete drive which did drain ok and then take the fall sideways toward the open side which is 5.40 m wideand onto the lawn .I did look on the setting out page on this site but the more i read it the less i understood it (just didnt seem to sink in!) so the way i was going to do it was to peg at the highest point (the pavement) and run a line from that to the base of my garage which basically follows the old concrete drive.then from my garage door to the lawn side creating a fall about 2 to 3 inch and then back to the pavement on the opposite side of my starting point and then peg the middle to check accuracy right the way across width and length.What do you think? have i got everything totally wrong or is there an easier way(prob is). keeping me awake this bit.

many thanks
paj

p.s. if none of this makes sense it may be poss to get some photos taken which would prob. help.see what u think.

Have I got this right??? - see sketch



...it seems to me that you are planning to dump all the surface water onto your lawn. Do you reckon it will be able to cope? Personally, I'd put in a gully or a linear drain in front of the garage base and then connect that to the SW system or a soakaway, as I never like to drain any area larger than 10m2 onto a garden, unless it's exceptionally well-drained ground.

your plan was spot on and will put in linear drains just before garage and take it to sw system (the longest run! 9mtr) got a few prices today and cheapest i could find was £150 they came in 1mtr or 3mtr lengths do you think that was a good price? prob go for the 3mtr lenghts,less joints.

cheers
paj

B&Q are doing a 1m length of Recyfix Linear Drain, complete with tinny grating, for a tenner. It's fine for residential driveways and is a much better price than you've been quoted.

It's a polyurethene channel, rather than a polymeric concrete, but once it's laid on a bed of concrete and haunched-in, it will be grand. We've used it on a couple of jobs lately and have been happy enough with the results.

weather permitting getting edges in this weekend,correct me if i am wrong but is it poss to use left over dtp1 and mix with cement to bed them in? and what ratio should i use.taking ages this drive,busy laying carpets at moment i wish drives were as easy

Well, to be brutally honest, you shouldn't really use DTp1 as a coarse aggregate for concrete, but, for a residential driveway, it will be ok. The lumps are often a bit on the big side, and you will need to add some grit sand, probably, but it will do the job. On site, it would be considered a bit naughty.

I suggest 4 DTp 1 to 2 grit sand to 1 cement, and don't make it too wet - in fact, for bedding, don't add any water - there should be enough moisture in the aggs to initiate setting. You'll need to wet it up a bit for the haunching, though, but again, don't overdo it with the water. :)

went to B&Q and got the linear drains do they just push together ?,only reason i ask is that i have noticed on some types there is a jointing piece to secure each section.was thinking of running some kind of sealent to get a good joint or do you think after bedding and haunching any leakage would be minimal.You were right about using dtp1 for bedding mixture the lumps are a bit big,not quiet finished all the edges but i think i wil get some smaller agg. to finish the rest.

cheers
paj

They just link together with a sort of tongue and groove arrangement, I seem to recall. I know some linear drains have definite 'male' and 'female' ends, but some are more sort of unisex (or should that be hermaphroditic??)

Don't worry about getting a water-tight joint, though - the concrete bed and haunch will more or less seal them, and then, after a couple or three weeks, the silt/detritus will have filled any gaps the concrete missed. :)

booked time off work ,so i have friday sat.sun and monday to finish edges give sub base final going over and get blocks down.just a couple of question to help me on my way, the wacker i am using hasnt got a rubber plate is it a bit risky using it on blocks? when i lay the main area should i set them slightly higher than the edges to allow for wacking and if so how much higher?.fingers crossed the weather will be kind to me this weekend and i can finally get it done.

cheers
paj