HELP!! New block-paved driveway worries!

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Hi all,

I may just be having a good panic over nothing, but I thought I would check this out with people in the know.

I am having my driveway re-done at the moment, under contract (yes, I have signed a contract!). It was previously covered with concrete and tarmac and I am having it widened by about 3 feet (into the front garden a bit) and block paved.

I've been looking on the "how to make a driveway" websites and I've seen pictures of membrane being laid in a trench dug really deep, then various layers of stuff put down on top, then block paving.

Now, the guys doing the job have just finished work for the day (at 3pm??). They've spent the last couple of days digging up the old driveway and have just taken the digger and gone for the day. The chap doing the job told me that he's dug down now as deep as he needs to go and can start compacting, then put down the sub-base and compact again, before putting down sand, compacting and then laying the pavoirs. I asked him about membrane, he said it wasn't necessary. The soil underneath is very thick clay.

I'm really concerned because what he's done doesn't seem to be nearly deep enough compared to pictures I've seen on the internet. I've attached a link to a few pictures to show work in progress so far.

Here are the pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30771515@N02/

Do you think I should let him carry on as he is (i.e. is it fine?), or tell him to dig deeper, or just tell him to stop and take his stuff and go? I don't know a lot about driveways, just what I've read, so I really don't know what to do. I haven't paid him any money yet.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Mike.

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It doesnt look very deep to me 50cm?, and also the finished level is going to be very close to your DPC, which could be breached if rain splashes back off the paviors, I would hope there is going to be some sort of gully along the wall where it is so high, filled with shingle to prevent this splashback.

Tony
 
gauging by the finsihed level he will have to achieve at the threshold of the garage and the difference in levels around the gulley, then no i would say he is no where near deep enough. It looks like all he has room for is the bedding layer and the blocks themselves.

What has he actually quoted for?

what depth of sub-base is he proposing to put down , and where is his finished level going to be?

You dont need membrane, provided the ground underneath is solid, or there is a sufficent thickness of sub-base. We did one recently on heavy clay and put down a compacted layer of 300mm minimum.
 
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Hi guys, thanks for your replies.

I've got to say that now I know my worries were well founded, I've looked over the site and I've found where he's cracked the concrete surround for the drain and I think he may have actually cracked the pavement outside the house too.

I'm going to talk to him tomorrow morning about it and I may well tell him to just take his stuff and get off the site if he quibbles about digging lower.

Anyway, thanks again and right now my stress levels are through the roof! I've carefully and dilligently saved the money for this project for a good while, I've been looking forward to having a nice, well-presented driveway for ages, and what's happened so far is the very last thing I need! I feel awful!
 
the key to a good driveway lasting is a good sub-base. Time and time again i see driveways that look great when laid, but after 6 months they have sunken areas in them.

It looks as though the driveway slopes down the hill towards the garage. What is he proposing to do about the surface water running towards the garage?

With regards the surround to the drain, i assume you mean the manhole cover in the middle of the drive? I wouldnt worry about that as he should need to lift that and replace it with an inset one or alternativley set it at the new height of the paving level anyway (i hope he is changing it though!)

Im not a great one for saying show him the door, but you are paying the money and have to have confidence in what is being done, and how it is being done. Before he starts ask him to go through exactly what he proposes to do. If you are still not happy then it is a decision that only you can make.

feel free to ask away if you have more questions.
 
Indeed good advice from Thermo, the block paving bit you see is merely the "decoration" and is usually the quickest bit to do, the majority of the work is underneath and if done properly permanently invisible.

Certainly allow the guy to explain what he proposes to do, but I have to say I'm not entirely hopeful that you're gonna get a good result.

If the drive slopes towards the house, then you are going to need drainage, probably using a linear drain into the existing system.
 
Thanks for the continuing advice and info :)

As regards the slope, it slopes down towards a point just in front of the garage where there is a drain that goes into the foul drain. To give him his due, he did say that that was entirely inadequate as it was (pipe too narrow) and so he as put a new bit of pipe in there and a new drain cover, etc - if you look here you can see it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30771515@N02/2882515730/sizes/l/

As regards the bit that now slopes towards the corner of the house (about 3ft wide if you look at the pics), would it be sufficient to have a "turn up" as the drive approaches the house there so the water flows away from the house? Here's a big pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30771515@N02/2882514196/sizes/l/ (note that the bit of concrete you see there to the left of the chalk line has now been dug away).

I have a load of questions to ask him; he was supposed to be here at 8am, now it's 9:30am, still no sign of him and no answer on his phone ...

... this is turning into a hellish nightmare - the last thing I need!
 
Sorry to say this mate, but it looks like a total balls up now, there should be a channel or acco drain across the garage entrance, and that could be run into the main drain. As I have already said it is still way too high.
Are the lumps of tarmac there from a previous driveway or have they brought them in to use as a sub-base?


Tony
 
XmisterIS,

How did you get on with your new driveway worries? I'd be interested to know if they did a good job or not. Hope it all went well.
 

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