The Brew Cabin

Hi, I am considering (with the help of your web site) block paving my driveway. One potential problem that I can see is that there is a raised drain cover (rectangular) that sits at a compound angle to the drive. The support and cover appear to be sitting at least 40mm higher than the level of the drive when measured from the start of the drive which is only 350mm away. How do I go about overcomming this obstacle? Thanks.

A compound angle? Wossat? I know acute, obtuse and reflex, but 'compound' is a new one on me!

And can you be more clear about this 'drain cover'? Is it a manhole cover or a grating to a gully? A pic would be ideal, but, failing that, a fuller description, including approximate sizes and type of material will help me understand your problem.

Tony,
Thanks for your reply. Its a concrete manhole cover, (foul), which measures 540mm x 695mm. The cover sits inside the outer surround which externally measures 625mm x 785mm. So effectivly there is a 42mm- 45mm wide rectangle of concrete surrounding the actual lift off cover. The whole structure is sitting at approx 10 deg angle to the front of the house and slopes downwards at the same angle of the driveway but also runs at an angle across the driveway, hence the term "compound angle". Perhaps its used more in Mechanical Engineering (my line) than in Civil Engineering (your line). I will forward you a photograph next week as I am abroad for the next few days and over the week end. The type of tray covers I have seen on your web site seem to be a metal surround in which the tray sits, these seem a neater option than just sitting a tray in the existing appature as I would be left with this 45mm concrete perimeter which is also standing proud of the level of the drive.

Is what you've got summat like this....

Yes, .......

Well, you're in luck. I spent last Sunday photographing that cover being replaced by a recess tray, which included reducing it's existing level and re-aligning it to be square with the paving.

I'm planning to build the sequence of photos into a step-by-step guide to the procedure, but it will prob'ly be next week before it gets uploaded, if you can wait that long.

If not, I'll see if I can let you have a 'draft' version asap.

Great, no problem with waiting. Thanks again. Will look out for the instructions when posted.

Ooops! I forgot to post that I uploaded the page on Sunday - you can find it here.

It's an image-heavy page, so it might take a miniute or so to load, but it should be worth it. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it and whether it helps with your question.

Tony, Just read your new section, it's exactly what I needed. Thank you for your help. I will keep a log of my project and let you have the details.

Regards, Des