Home  5  Books  5  GBEzine  5  News  5  HelpDesk  5  Register  5  GreenBuilding.co.uk
Not signed in (Sign In)

Categories



Green Building Bible, Fourth Edition
Green Building Bible, fourth edition (both books)
These two books are the perfect starting place to help you get to grips with one of the most vitally important aspects of our society - our homes and living environment.

PLEASE NOTE: A download link for Volume 1 will be sent to you by email and Volume 2 will be sent to you by post as a book.
Buy individually or both books together. Delivery is free!


powered by Surfing Waves




Vanilla 1.0.3 is a product of Lussumo. More Information: Documentation, Community Support.

Welcome to new Forum Visitors
 Join the forum now and benefit from discussions with thousands of other green building fans and discounts on Green Building Press publications: Apply now.




General: front garden path, driveway and hardstanding materials ?

Bottom of Page

1 to 18 of 18

  1.  
    • CommentAuthorzak99
    • CommentTimeMar 26th 2023
     
    Hi,

    We need to replace our broken concrete driveway and also provide a separate hardstanding for parking/working on a vehicle etc

    Other than the usual concrete, block paving, slabs, gravel are there any other lowish impact surfaces I may not be aware of please?

    Permaculture garden designer suggested gravel and sleepers for the drive or gravel with random planting in the gravel but she is hard to nail down on the details. Like will a wheelie bin or wheel barrow pull through the gravel or how do I do low nutrient random planting with type 1 sub base or will the sleepers be slippery in winter. My wife would like to break up the gravel expanse with some sparse slabs but designer feels gravel will always end up on top of slabs.

    For the hard standing beside the garage I may possibly be able to reuse some old slabs but wondered if there are other lowish impact materials for a new surface?

    Whats your experience please?
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeMar 27th 2023
     
    In terms of longevity and repairability I like tarmac! Seen it last 50 years

    Grasscrete using plastic formers works if you give it a good base

    Weeds are a BIG problem with paviours

    Re-using slabs sounds best

    I also like road planeings they can go hard like tarmac but are porous

    Whatever you do do a good well compacted base
    • CommentAuthorborpin
    • CommentTimeMar 27th 2023
     
    Resin bond seems to work well and has the major advantage of being permeable. Not used it personally.

    As ever, preparation is the key. Get the T1 in and use it like that for a while so it properly compacts. No amount of roller/vibrating plate will truly get it to compact properly.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 27th 2023
     
    The go to site for possibilities and advice is https://www.pavingexpert.com/

    Whatever you choose should be permeable - techniques vary with materials.
    • CommentAuthorphiledge
    • CommentTimeMar 27th 2023
     
    For low impact anything reclaimed is the way to go and set the fall to run off into your garden as a surface water soakaway
  6.  
    Posted By: tonyGrasscrete using plastic formers works if you give it a good base


    You can also get precast grasscrete blocks as a SUDS measure for areas of parking.

    Here is one example: https://www.tobermore.co.uk/professional/products/block-paving/turfstone/
    • CommentAuthorrevor
    • CommentTimeMar 27th 2023
     
    I used this on a well prepared base recycled from hardcore rescued from our building work. You do not want to use loose gravel as difficult to stay in place and not very wheel friendly. If you are on a bit of a slope if you do not contain the stone in something like this then it ends up at the end. You need to choose the size of stone 12mm chippings is best too small gets into treads of tyres to big and can be painful if walking with thin soled footwear. This system lends itself to DIY and is SUDS friendly other surfaces you are into specialised contractors.

    https://www.contractorsyard.com/product/bodpave-85/

    In my previous house I used clay paviours they looked good red contrasting with blue but them being clay varied more is size than concrete ones so more prone to weed less so on concrete ones.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 27th 2023
     
    We've got gravel constrained by plastic honeycomb. The version we have now is from Jewson and is working well. We had to get the whole lot done again because the first time we used a product called Coredrive I think which broke up after a few years. It broke up because the contractor used the wrong type of hardcore - it was not angular enough - so maybe the honeycomb is OK, I don't know. But the new version is working well - angular sub-base and stronger honeycomb.
  9.  
    We used these
    https://britishrecycledplastic.co.uk/products/recycled-driveway-grids/
    the base is the important bit that gives you the weight bearing, the filling is decorative. We used soil seeded with grass and mowed the drive/parking area like a lawn. I would use it again in a heartbeat. If you chose grass but park a car in the same spot all day every day then grass will probably not grow very well under it, if at all.
    • CommentAuthorzak99
    • CommentTimeMar 28th 2023
     
    Thanks all

    I hadn't realised resin bonded was permeable

    Re plastic grid pavers
    - Does the plastic grid tend to visibly grin though the gravel after a while ?
    - I saw red plastic grids with light grey gravel in chelmsford park embracing the grin through !! (I must admit it did look ok)
    - We will usually have one car parked long term, Would it be feasible to use gravel on the main drive area blending into a grassed grid paved area for over spill parking, I guess the gravel would migrate to the grassed area.

    These were the two designs the garden lady came up with, I guess she specced wooden sleepers in the first to keep the gravel contained but we questioned wether the sleepers would become slippery and also about dragging a full garden wheelie across the gravel and asked about perhaps a few sparse slabs but then designers being designers the rule of not more than 3 materials in the design cropped up. It got more complicated from there.
    A local contractor that has done some nice jobs felt that with a good base and just the right amount of decorative agg its doable without plastic pavers but I note here in the comments that they are a popular choice.
    He also spoke about routing channels in oak sleepers, to reduce the slip risk.
      Front draft 1 - small.jpg
    • CommentAuthorzak99
    • CommentTimeMar 28th 2023
     
    Apols for poor quality. The second design was just gravel with low nutrient planting here and there, I was puzzled how that would work with a type one base. I guess it would be a case of deciding where and putting a pot below the gravel within the type 1.
      Front draft 2 - small.jpg
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 28th 2023
     
    The sleepers in the first one just look silly, to me, and possibly dangerous in the wet. Yes, you can see the plastic rings where the car is regularly driven; it doesn't look bad to my eyes. Yes, you can mix gravel and grass and yes the gravel will slowly migrate given wheel traffic or even foot traffic. Dragging a wheelie bin across the gravel is OK. Note that gravel without the plastic honeycomb doesn't meet Part M regs as I understand it. With it does.

    Stuff just grows in the gravel; poppies etc. Regular pulling of grass and thistles keeps it under control. If you wanted a larger plant I've thought about digging some gravel out and sinking a big pot in; I can't see why that wouldn't work.
    • CommentAuthorArtiglio
    • CommentTimeMar 28th 2023
     
    My patents had their yard done about 30 years ago, the loose existing top layer was removed, hollows filled with type 1, it was rolled firm but not hard, geotextile , thin layer of about 25mm crushed granite, rolled then a thin layer of about 10mm crushed granite , rolled again. Still looks very good, needs a bit of weeding each year and a rake over patches where people turn their wheels whilst stationary.
  14.  
    Posted By: zak99gravel on the main drive area blending into a grassed grid paved area for over spill parking


    As mentioned above there is no probem with this. I think you can even get push-in plastic marker units to delineate specific parking spaces (useful for larger car parks etc.)
  15.  
    The only downside that I would draw your attention to with grass-filled grids is that if you fall over on them they are not as forgiving as a lawn and can hurt knees or elbows if you're unlucky and land directly on the thin edge of the plastic cell.
  16.  
    If there are trees around the gravel then the dead leaves get mixed into the gravel and turn it into gravelly compost. The previous owner of our place did this, and after 10 years it just looks like mud, though still firm enough to drive on.
    • CommentAuthorrevor
    • CommentTimeMar 29th 2023
     
    Posted By: WillInAberdeenIf there are trees around the gravel then the dead leaves get mixed into the gravel and turn it into gravelly compost. The previous owner of our place did this, and after 10 years it just looks like mud, though still firm enough to drive on.


    Perhaps enough compost in there now to sow some grass seed?

    Mine has been down about 3 years now and not showing this problem but it is one I am concerned might happen. Fortunately it is pretty windy where I am and leaves do not stay around long enough but I do collect up in the autumn as much as I can and do not drive over them. Think drives are like kitchen worktops there is no one best solution.
    My previous house had paviours and round the back of the house and where little sunlight fell it got very mossy and slippery, and around the front weeds would grow and become a sticky mess due to a very mature lime tree which attracted aphids.
    •  
      CommentAuthordjh
    • CommentTimeMar 30th 2023
     
    Like revor, the leaves from the large cherry tree overhanging our drive seem to blow away rather than compost much. We get a few weeds in the drive but not as many as grow in our self-binding gravel paths. I've even put salt on the paths, which has slowed the weeds down a bit but hasn't eliminated the issue. Gravel does have the merit of being relatively cheap for large areas and is what most houses near us use.

1 to 18 of 18

  1.  
Add your comments

    Username Password
  • Format comments as
 
Back to Discussions Top of Page
   
The Ecobuilding Buzz
Site Map    |   Home    |   View Cart    |   Pressroom   |   Business   |   Links   
Logout    

© Green Building Press