Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 7:19 pm
Hello all,
my first post, and it's a bigun! I've been reading the excellent resources on the main site for 3 or 4 years now but have only just joined the forum. I'm just a regular Joe, no real construction knowledge or DIY skills, but the amazing amount of information here made it possible for me to order in materials, supplies and know what was needed to do my driveway 3 years ago. I didn't do it myself, I got in a local crew in NW London, but as they tried to cut every corner going at least I had pavingexpert to put me in the picture and set things straight.
Anyway, fast-forward 3 years and my drive is looking in need of a refresh and has started to settle a bit so I'm going to tackle this myself. The same crew came back to finish the final rear quarter of the house last month, but after half a days work and £300 laid out I sent them packing as it was turning into a real horror show. I'm going to pull that section up and do it myself, after a bit of advice from you guys hopefully.
Here's the front drive, done in Brett Alpha Antique 50, Autumn Mix, with a standard charcoal block used for edging. As you can see it's a bit grubby with tyre and oil marks, tree sap and with weeds coming up. More importantly though, there are a few dips where drive has compacted under my car's weight.
It's not really too bad, but I'm wondering how big a job it is to level it out? Can I simply take up about a meter square around each of those car tyre dips and shovel in some more sharp sand? I'm guessing that it's not just compacting that's gone on here, but lateral heave forcing material sideways and up and raising the centre bit between the tyre tracks slightly. is that correct? If so it would suggest the whole drive needs to come up! Something I can't really do myself so I might have to get a contractor in after all.
What's the best strategy for keeping the block pattern correct? I was going to number each block before removing and then try and make sure they go back in exactly the same. Is a screwdriver sufficient for removing blocks, or do you need a block extractor?
The rear section of the house is a different story and has faired much better. However this was laid over a concrete base and there's very light traffic here anyway.
my first post, and it's a bigun! I've been reading the excellent resources on the main site for 3 or 4 years now but have only just joined the forum. I'm just a regular Joe, no real construction knowledge or DIY skills, but the amazing amount of information here made it possible for me to order in materials, supplies and know what was needed to do my driveway 3 years ago. I didn't do it myself, I got in a local crew in NW London, but as they tried to cut every corner going at least I had pavingexpert to put me in the picture and set things straight.
Anyway, fast-forward 3 years and my drive is looking in need of a refresh and has started to settle a bit so I'm going to tackle this myself. The same crew came back to finish the final rear quarter of the house last month, but after half a days work and £300 laid out I sent them packing as it was turning into a real horror show. I'm going to pull that section up and do it myself, after a bit of advice from you guys hopefully.
Here's the front drive, done in Brett Alpha Antique 50, Autumn Mix, with a standard charcoal block used for edging. As you can see it's a bit grubby with tyre and oil marks, tree sap and with weeds coming up. More importantly though, there are a few dips where drive has compacted under my car's weight.
It's not really too bad, but I'm wondering how big a job it is to level it out? Can I simply take up about a meter square around each of those car tyre dips and shovel in some more sharp sand? I'm guessing that it's not just compacting that's gone on here, but lateral heave forcing material sideways and up and raising the centre bit between the tyre tracks slightly. is that correct? If so it would suggest the whole drive needs to come up! Something I can't really do myself so I might have to get a contractor in after all.
What's the best strategy for keeping the block pattern correct? I was going to number each block before removing and then try and make sure they go back in exactly the same. Is a screwdriver sufficient for removing blocks, or do you need a block extractor?
The rear section of the house is a different story and has faired much better. However this was laid over a concrete base and there's very light traffic here anyway.
