The Brew Cabin

Posted: **Thu Apr 12, 2007 9:23 am**

Hi,
I'm about to start construction on a new dirveway. At the entrance it has a sharp right turn then a sharp left (both extend over about 9m) followed by a 9m straight. the wife says that she wants concrete block pavers laid in a 1/2 stretcher bond arrangement. My question is that if I start this on the staright at 90 deg to the edge of the drive then as i work round the corner the bond will become parrallel to the drive and then return back to 90 deg. Is this acceptable as I thought that the blocks should always run at 90 deg to the direction of travel. If not, how do I go about turning the corner? the outer radius is 10m and the inner is 5m on both turns.

paul h

Posted: **Thu Apr 12, 2007 8:21 pm**

1/2 stretcher bond is not recommended for vehicles,too many straight joints,45 or 90 degree herringbone is the only pattern where cars are involved
regards LLL

Posted: **Thu Apr 12, 2007 11:06 pm**

And parallel to the house

Bob

Posted: **Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:50 am**

Yes I know that the stretcher bond is not normally recomended, but if you check out the marshalls cat, most of the block paving they do is shown in a stretcher formation of one kind or another -so it can't be that bad! her in doors doesn't want the herringbone layout that everyone else seems to have plus I don't think that that style is in keeping with older victorian houses ???

Posted: **Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:51 am**

not sure what you mean by parallel to the house. Surely the drive orientation is not governed by the house and hence neither is the block work ???

Posted: **Fri Apr 13, 2007 6:22 pm**

lay stretcher bond at your peril on a driveway
there are too many straight joints and when you use your power steering the lateral force will cause movement
suck it and see
LLL :;):

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 3:40 am**

Drive orientation is ALWAYS governed by the house. Subservient.

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:30 am**

you really have lost me, the drive could point to the house or be at some angle to it as is mine. the drive goes to the garage and as the garage is not part of the house then the house does not govern the drive orientation!

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:39 am**

A quote from the Homebuilding and Renovating site on block paving ''Where vehicles brake or accelerate regularly or make repeated turns, stretcher bond should be used. ''

comments please

:p

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:49 am**

thats very rude to ask questions then make fun of answers. no one is making you take the advice. it is peoples opinion... you take notice or you dont. as lll says "sias"

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 11:46 am**

Here's a comment on that quote from HB&R - bollocks! I've forgotten more than they'll ever know about block paving. Which eejit came up with that nonsense? If it was a time-served paving contractor, I'd be appalled!

Where there are exaggerated forces on a segmental paving, a fully interlocked structure is required. Stretcher bond is not fully interlocked; herringbone is. The only way to create an interlocked stretcher bond is by using dentate blocks, where the shape of the block creates two vectors of interlock (three in some of the very latest blocks) despite the laying pattern being uni-directional.

However, if you want stretcher bond at your home, you can have stretcher bond. You can have basketweave, random, stackbond or whatever - it's YOUR property. While we might recommend a herringbone for trafficked areas, that's all it is - a recommendation, not a regulation.

In your scenario, I would suggest summat like this...

...which keeps the longest paving joint transverse to the direction of traffic, which is about the best you can do with a stretcherbond arrangement.

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 12:48 pm**

like i said ,marshalls show the majority of their wears in stretcher formation, in fact most of them will only go down in that way! so does that mean then that they are not suitable? my local shopping centre carpark is laid that way (marshalls drivesett traditional) as are the new sleepling policemen in my town centre (standard 200 x 100 concrete pavoirs) If its good enough for the biggest block paving manufacturer in the country then its good enough for me

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 5:09 pm**

You're not right to say that "most of them will only go down that way". Any rectangular block, by which I mean a block that has sides in a ratio other than 1:1, can be laid in a variety of patterns.

Further, it's highly unlikely that your local shopping centre carpark has been laid with Drivesett. These are only 50mm deep and unsuitable for commercial traffic. The car park will have been paved with Tegula, probably the 80mm version, which is often laid as transverse broken bond (stretcher course-ish) but can also be laid in a variety of other layouts, including a number of different herringbones.

Now, have you come into the Brew Cabin to pick a fight or were you actually looking for help? You seem to have completely disregarded my previous comments. If you mock time-served tradesmen and their wealth of experience, don't be surprised if they tell you to bugger off.

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 7:58 pm**

<Now, have you come into the Brew Cabin to pick a fight or were you actually looking for help? You seem to have completely disregarded my previous comments. If you mock time-served tradesmen and their wealth of experience, don't be surprised if they tell you to bugger off. >

i've not come to pick a fight but when you tell me that I shouldn't use a stretcher bond on a driveway when i've actually seen it in use in various ways -drives ,roadways and carparks, then forgive me if I don't agree with what you are saying. As for mocking, when did I do that?
As for the carpark, I know what tegula looks like and it wasn't that. What ever it was it was laid out in straight lines made up of 3 different length blocks giving anything from no bond in places to 1/4, 1/3, and 1/2 bonds. From what you have been saying, this shouldn't have been the case. Now i may have this all wrong, but if there is a substantial restraint around the whole perifery of the drive, the blocks are laid hard up against each other, wackered down to refusal and then the joints fully filled with sand , where on earth can the blocks actually go once laid? it should not make a difference what pattern they are laid in

Posted: **Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:13 pm**

are you for real paul?
you come here looking for advice now your telling us how to do it?
lay your drive stretcher bond mate
LLL

The Brew Cabin

Changing direction?