Block Paved Drive |
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Block Paved Drive I considered many different methods of surfacing (concrete, tarmac, paving slabs and block paving) and decided on block paving because this is what people like As with most things I did not know what to do so started gathering information and talking to people. One of the best sources of information is the catalogues |
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The front garden before I started. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I hired a skip to take away the soil I dug out.
I had to dig out quite a lot of soil because I needed to put in a sub base (hardcore), sand and -----------------------------------------------------------------
The black bricks on the house are the damp proof course and the drive must be below ------------------------------------------------
While I had the garden dug up I decided to replace the lead water pipe with blue plastic. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I layed the blue pipe along side the lead then built a brick trench and filled it with sand and capped it with bricks. -----------------------------------------------------------------
One skip wasn't`t enough so I had to get another. All digging was by hand and the soil -----------------------------------------------------------------
Here the digging is nearly done. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I had to be careful not to disturb the fence. -----------------------------------------------------------------
The drive needed a drain. Fortunately there is a drain near the house that looks after the -----------------------------------------------------------------
Sorting out the levels of the drive was awkward. The road outside the house slopes downhill -----------------------------------------------------------------
Once the digging was done I needed a good solid sub base. This is 10.5 tonnes of -----------------------------------------------------------------
The sub base was spread around by hand using a shovel. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I hired a compactor and would spread some and compact it then spread some more. -----------------------------------------------------------------
I had too much so this was bagged up and carried through the house to be stored for future use. -----------------------------------------------------------------
This is the finished sub base. I spent hours compacting it. The water pipe is not yet -----------------------------------------------------------------
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The curb stones. Note how they do not go up to my border. This means I can have a small -----------------------------------------------------------------
The curb stones are then supported with concrete. As always the concrete is mixed by hand. -----------------------------------------------------------------
The drain in front of the house. This was cemented into position and carefully -----------------------------------------------------------------
The council will only drop the curb over 3 curb stones (unless I pay more) so I had to build -----------------------------------------------------------------
These are the edging stones for the new pavement and the security post receiver. -----------------------------------------------------------------
Friday PM. Next a base of sand is spread out. -----------------------------------------------------------------
This is the most critical job of the whole drive. It must be flat and consistent without hollows or peaks. -----------------------------------------------------------------
The sand is leveled and compacted. I spent hours getting the sand flat and sloping -----------------------------------------------------------------
Sat PM. The top layer of the sand is broken up. I dragged a rake over the surface to loosen it. -----------------------------------------------------------------
Sunday PM. Laying the pavers was easy once I got started. I ensured each one was tapped up close -----------------------------------------------------------------
This is the finished drive. Cutting all the small corner pieces was difficult as the cutter I hired did not make clean cuts.
The Council Problem I had big problems with the council getting them to modify the pavement to how I wanted it. The criteria was that So I had to get clever. I was sure that there must be actual rules and recommendations for slopes of pavements, The compromise was for me to angle the edge pavers upwards at the boundary. I did this but they still were not happy. -----------------------------------------------------------------
At last the council are dropping the curb. After months of waiting they actually did the work -----------------------------------------------------------------
The pavement ready for tarmacing. The job they did was poor but I was just happy to have a drive -----------------------------------------------------------------
The finished drive. (ignore the date in the photo). The main part of the drive is flat (side to side) -----------------------------------------------------------------
I added stone chippings down the side by the fence. The drive slopes up to the pavement. -----------------------------------------------------------------
This is the wall I build. My first attempt at laying bricks. -----------------------------------------------------------------
The wall from the other side. In the future I may dig out more in this corner and make a little |
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