Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2008 7:35 am
Hmm - starting this post again as it seems to have vanished while I went away to get some background info. This time I'll copy/paste as I compose it!
This is my first post and I'm a 'customer' not a paver or DIY-er, so my question may turn out to have an embarrassingly simple answer.
A year ago I had my drive block-paved. I understand they are 'Marshalls' on hardcore plus 'membrane' plus sand. They replaced mainly the original concrete slabs, and a small stretch of lawn. Here's a photo:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums....341.jpg
Overall I'm pleased with the job. But after a long enough dry spell early this year I noticed that a score or so of the bricks seemed to have dark patches, as if they were permanently damp. Most of these were near the garage entrance, just in front of the drain, as shown here:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums....cks.jpg
Note that the marks remained identical, not varying at all. (That photo was taken about 2 months ago, yet that area looked exactly the same yesterday morning.) So I have been assuming that the bricks were flawed.
To cut to the quick, it's taken me until yesterday afternoon to get the paver to replace them with new bricks. ("Next week, I promise..." etc, since April!) He rushed it and missed 3 that needed replacing, but as he left me some spares I replaced those myself afterwards.
However - and sorry for taking so long to reach my point - I now see that the sand in this area is very wet. Despite having had a few days without rain. So could it be that that's the main cause, not any significant flaw with these particular bricks? Are there perhaps always some porous areas in these bricks that allow moisture to seep through, and darken the top surface in specific patches like this?
If so, presumably this means rainwater is not draining away sufficiently at this small area? So how should I fix that please? Frankly, I don't want the hassle of getting the paver back yet again, so want to do it myself. Can I just remove a few bricks and puncture the membrane in a couple of spots? Would I need to first remove the wet sand and replace it with dry, or would it eventually dry out anyway? I doubt my skill at getting it level again if I do so!
Any advice would be much appreciated please.
This is my first post and I'm a 'customer' not a paver or DIY-er, so my question may turn out to have an embarrassingly simple answer.
A year ago I had my drive block-paved. I understand they are 'Marshalls' on hardcore plus 'membrane' plus sand. They replaced mainly the original concrete slabs, and a small stretch of lawn. Here's a photo:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums....341.jpg
Overall I'm pleased with the job. But after a long enough dry spell early this year I noticed that a score or so of the bricks seemed to have dark patches, as if they were permanently damp. Most of these were near the garage entrance, just in front of the drain, as shown here:
http://i154.photobucket.com/albums....cks.jpg
Note that the marks remained identical, not varying at all. (That photo was taken about 2 months ago, yet that area looked exactly the same yesterday morning.) So I have been assuming that the bricks were flawed.
To cut to the quick, it's taken me until yesterday afternoon to get the paver to replace them with new bricks. ("Next week, I promise..." etc, since April!) He rushed it and missed 3 that needed replacing, but as he left me some spares I replaced those myself afterwards.
However - and sorry for taking so long to reach my point - I now see that the sand in this area is very wet. Despite having had a few days without rain. So could it be that that's the main cause, not any significant flaw with these particular bricks? Are there perhaps always some porous areas in these bricks that allow moisture to seep through, and darken the top surface in specific patches like this?
If so, presumably this means rainwater is not draining away sufficiently at this small area? So how should I fix that please? Frankly, I don't want the hassle of getting the paver back yet again, so want to do it myself. Can I just remove a few bricks and puncture the membrane in a couple of spots? Would I need to first remove the wet sand and replace it with dry, or would it eventually dry out anyway? I doubt my skill at getting it level again if I do so!
Any advice would be much appreciated please.
