Morning all.

My drive is an enormous concrete slab that various idiots have added to over the years, so it now bridges over the damp proof course to the render of the house. I was trying to cut away around the house yesterday, and came to the conclusion that it would be much better to just get rid of the lot.

I have the next couple of weekends free, and I am thinking of hiring a hydraulic breaker to get rid of the slab and then laying a new drive. I was thinking block paving, but as I've never done it before I don't know if this is sensible to attempt. Is there a better choice than block paving? I don't want tarmac as axle stands sink into it, and I'd rather avoid concrete again as I don't like the look of it. If I did go block paving would it need a concrete bed underneath to stop it sinking? I was thinking aggregate/sand/blocks but then I don't really know what I'm doing.

It looks like I'm going to have to do it myself as I can't afford the approx £3.5k it would cost to get someone in. Any advice greatly appreciated!!

Craig

The key is a good hardcore bed then sand wacked down to give a firm base
It's not the easiest to get right if you've never done it

Don't know about a pain in the backside but I'll put money on you having backache after doing the job . Was looking at doing the same on my driveway at one time and found you could get the blocks at a better price if you had a full lorry load, not sure if that is still the situation now. Plenty of info on the net on doing the job , you should have plenty of hardcore after breaking out the concrete although it may need breaking up into smaller chunks . I didn't do my drive, the thought of any oil leaks on to block paving put me off , for some reason oil leaks onto a concrete drive don't seem as bad to me

Be prepared for hard graft if your doing it yourself and the pain won't be in your arse more like everywhere!
If your digging it out hire yourself an excavator with a breaker attachment.
It's all in the prep plenty of compacted hardcore then a layer of sharp sand, I added cement
To my sharp sand to prevent it moving and washing out.
The hardest part is setting out the edges so a it looks right and to keep
Cuts down to a minimum.

Good luck

its all about preperation good solid base of compacted subase level screed of sand and pavers will go down a treat will need wacker plate and still saw - 9 inch grinder dimond blade are there any changes in grade levels etc would recomend digger with breaker you can also use it to load concrete away concrete may look knackerd but will take more breaking up than you think any more advice just ask
Cheers Ali

You could always put a screed of granolithic concrete as an over lay 25 mm would be strong enough

A block paved drive done badly will look worse than your current concrete one!

Even if you get the base down correctly the blocks look awefull if they are not spot on.

suppose it all depends what your experience in groundwork/big jobs like this is?
Planning where your cuts will be, setting up your lines for levels etc

Don't under-estimate the volume and weight of concrete! I replaced mine for the same reasons - badly enlarged, and too close to the damp course. I got a company in to do it, and after seeing what they had to deal with I was very grateful that I did.


Drive 1

Drive 2

Never mind backache - I simply wouldn't have had the ability to deal with all that waste concrete.

Also check drainage routing first - they don't get on with breakers and wackers!

[Edited on 16/3/14 by scimjim]

I've done a fair bit in various building trades, and I found paving very difficult. I'm planning on building my own extension this year but wouldn't contemplate doing my own drive. There's no way you would get a perfect lasting result with no experience.

As mentioned above it 99% prep and 1% the paving laying.

It's not easy to get the ground work done right.

I tried it once but hiring all the stuff to dig up the old and wacker plates etc and long spirit levels etc cost me nearly as much as the builder would charge.

You could dig up the drive and buy the materials then get someone to do the ground work and you lay the slabs as this does take a lot of time.

Experience? None! It's starting to sound like a bad idea... I'll price stuff up bearing in mind what you guys have said and see where I get to. Are there easier surfaces than blocks worth considering?

Nothing could look worse than my current drive by the way, it's fecking awful!

I was looking at the COREdrive mat+gravel thing from http://www.coregravel.co.uk/ to replace an old tarmac drive, but I doubt it would be good with axle stands (without a spreader board) - and I've done nothing about it yet.

As said if the concrete's more than a couple of inches deep it'll be a lot cheaper and less effort to get someone in for at least that bit of the job.

Block paving is good, if done properly. But I've seen a lot of poorly prep'ed ones that look good for a year and then the weeds start coming through and they start to sink in patches. Ask to see their work going back a couple of years - the good ones won't have a problem but will probably not be the cheapest.

Wouldn't recommend block paving, even if you get a pro in to lay it. It looks great initially but the maintenance is a nightmare, especially if you have trees nearby.

SWMBOs uncle priced up block paving for his drive and it was a bit pricey. He then priced up reclaimed stuff and it was almost the same!! I'd seen a company laying coloured and patterned concrete so we gave them a ring. Bloke turned up, tugged his chin and produced a few brochures. His blokes arrived a week later, dug out and removed the old stuff, set the pin curbs, put down the hardcore and levelled it. The next morning they came and layed the concrete. They laid it thicker than for a normal drive as uncle has a gas tanker and coal wagons delivering stuff. Usually gas and coal. The gaffer came back a couple of days later to cut in expansion joints.
At first glance , it looks like Yorkshire Cobbles. Only the expansion cuts give the game away. It cost less than the price of materials for the block paving!!

I did a block paved patio last year, 50 square metres of it. It was a lot of work to do manually by hand took me just under a year to complete, mainly because it was so knackering and I'm not a puny or very unfit kind of bloke. I reckon I must of man handled 25 tonnes or material with my shovel and barrow. Never again on that scale, I'd just pay someone if I had the money.


[Edited on 16/3/14 by ctwv50]

You've convinced me- I'll give this one a wide berth and get someone in. Thanks for the advice!

Ive moved 21 tons of clay and concrete then replaced that with hardcore...... serious hard work.
to finish I'm getting a help from a professional who happens to have a couple of locosts in my drive and garage. The problem is the sheer weight of the material your handling requires manpower and machinery. two tons of material only just made two temp ramps into the garages..... don't under estimate the moving and handling this stuff requires.