We have just finished building an extension to the side of our house, and with all the heavy machinery which has been onsite in the last six months, our slabbed driveway has turned into crazy paving with at least half of the 2ftx2ft slabs cracked and now about as level as a scottish hillside!
So I am in the market for laying a new driveway.
Over the past few winters, we have had a lot of trouble with frost heave on the slabs, so I'm looking to find out what the best type of driveway is to continue looking good for years to come.
My wife particularly likes the finish of a tarred driveway (area would be about 10m wide by 7m deep), but I have experience of things like axle stands etc sinking into tarmac on a hot summers day. (I do a lot of work on trolley jacks and axle stands on the driveway so I'm not sure if this is suitable).
My dad's tarred driveway has already started deteriorating (potholes etc) after only about three years (I guess that's what he gets for taking a load of tar off a cold-caller). I want to make sure we don't end up with the same situation.
So the things I want to consider when selecting a driveway material are:
1: Nice looking when new.
2. Nice looking in 5-10 years
3. Susceptibility to frost heave, and "returnability" after heave without cracking or going out of level.
4. Safety in Snow / Ice (slippery?)
5. Durability for axle stands, trolley jacks etc. (eg. in hot weather)
6. Clearability (with a snow shovel - eg not easy to shovel snow off gravel)
any thoughts would be appreciated.
thanks
Guy
So I am in the market for laying a new driveway.
Over the past few winters, we have had a lot of trouble with frost heave on the slabs, so I'm looking to find out what the best type of driveway is to continue looking good for years to come.
My wife particularly likes the finish of a tarred driveway (area would be about 10m wide by 7m deep), but I have experience of things like axle stands etc sinking into tarmac on a hot summers day. (I do a lot of work on trolley jacks and axle stands on the driveway so I'm not sure if this is suitable).
My dad's tarred driveway has already started deteriorating (potholes etc) after only about three years (I guess that's what he gets for taking a load of tar off a cold-caller). I want to make sure we don't end up with the same situation.
So the things I want to consider when selecting a driveway material are:
1: Nice looking when new.
2. Nice looking in 5-10 years
3. Susceptibility to frost heave, and "returnability" after heave without cracking or going out of level.
4. Safety in Snow / Ice (slippery?)
5. Durability for axle stands, trolley jacks etc. (eg. in hot weather)
6. Clearability (with a snow shovel - eg not easy to shovel snow off gravel)
any thoughts would be appreciated.
thanks
Guy