Driveway options - Resin, block, tarmac?

[reserves]

Hey,

Thought I'd ask here as usually get some useful replies!

Having our driveway done (currently bumpy 30 year old tarmac).

Budget isn't huge, but also want something that looks smart.

Love the look of resin bound (smartest in my opinion) but heard it stains etc.

Blockwork looks ok, but everyone who has it on our road it's sunken.

Apparently Tarmac with a decorative border is the most practical, hard wearing.

Too many options!

Photo for attention (NOT my driveway unfortunately!)

 

[AlisonF]

I am looking at resin as well, but hadn’t heard it stains. Did read it needs resealing once a year to keep it looking fresh.
Like the pic of light coloured tarmac with the edging. I’m not keen on dark tarmac driveways..
Interested to hear what others have to say...

 

[wilburthewombat]

Be careful if you have services under your drive. If it needs digging up it will be an effort to get it looking nice again. This is where block paving (or cheap tarmac) wins.

 

[Vagophile]

The key to a good outcome in any of the materials is a good quality foundation.
Blockwork can attract weeds in the joints so needs regular maintenance.
Then there's "tarmac your drive sir" quality and proper tarmac, a quite different spec.
Edged tarmac is likely to give a pleasing, long lasting surface.

 

[Amarillo]

Block paving anytime. Make sure a decent foundation is laid: membrane, 3 x 50mm certified MOT type 1 foundation, each layer compacted down with whacker, 40mm of sharp sand also compacted.

We spray ours with weed killer in the autumn and spring and brush in fresh kiln dried sand in the spring after any dead weeds and moss have been swept away.

 

[willwander]

I have resin, it's not bad. They all have their faults.

 

[pjm-84]

Currently snagging Amarillo's drive......

 

[Vagophile]

Made a difference, didn't it?
One thing not mentioned is cost, I think that block paving would be the most expensive.
Block paving is used for parking/storage areas at container ports; the consensus is that it provides the most durable long term surface.

 

[AlisonF]

Made a difference, didn't it?
One thing not mentioned is cost, I think that block paving would be the most expensive.
Block paving is used for parking/storage areas at container ports; the consensus is that it provides the most durable long term surface.

And on a different tack... if you ever go cycling in the Netherlands or Belgium on the back roads... lock block all the way...

 

[andyinluton]

Made a difference, didn't it?
One thing not mentioned is cost, I think that block paving would be the most expensive.
Block paving is used for parking/storage areas at container ports; the consensus is that it provides the most durable long term surface.

Block paving machine laid to large areas is a lot cheaper than tarmac / resin bound gravel. Also has the advantage of being water permeable which a major consideration when large areas are being covered.

 

[Whistler]

We have a imprinted concrete driveway but that probably falls into the too expensive category. Basically a 20 cm thick concrete slab with a pattern stamped on to it. Ours needs a clean and reseal but it has been down for 8 years


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Velma's Dad]

Block paving machine laid to large areas is a lot cheaper than tarmac / resin bound gravel. Also has the advantage of being water permeable which a major consideration when large areas are being covered.

Completely agree. After looking at this a few years ago we went for permeable blocks which perform even better than normal ones in allowing water to drain almost instantly. You just need a properly-specified, compacted and levelled sub-base under the sand bedding layer - NOT just some old hardcore you have around - put in by someone who knows what they're doing not a cowboy.

The website www.pavingexpert.com is an excellent resource, by the way.

Coincidentally I've been amazed in the last few days to see a near-neighbour whose front door is a metre or more below the road level, putting in a solid cement driveway. Have to assume they've given no thought to the increasing incidence of extreme rainfall, or maybe they don't think climate change is an actual thing.

 

[BeagleMum]

Hey,

Thought I'd ask here as usually get some useful replies!

Having our driveway done (currently bumpy 30 year old tarmac).

Budget isn't huge, but also want something that looks smart.

Love the look of resin bound (smartest in my opinion) but heard it stains etc.

Blockwork looks ok, but everyone who has it on our road it's sunken.

Apparently Tarmac with a decorative border is the most practical, hard wearing.

Too many options!

Photo for attention (NOT my driveway unfortunately!)

View attachment 68748View attachment 68748

We had a new drive a few months ago, was a toss up between resin and PIC (pattern imprinted concrete) we went for PIC. Seen a number in our area they look smart and are long lasting. It replaced 20 year old block paving. The B P did it’s job but even with testing it still needed to be weeded a couple of times a year. Have also seen neighbours B P sink over time.

 

[Wongo]

Looked at Grasscrete? Eco friendly and hreen.

 

[BeagleMum]

We had a new drive a few months ago, was a toss up between resin and PIC (pattern imprinted concrete) we went for PIC. Seen a number in our area they look smart and are long lasting. It replaced 20 year old block paving. The B P did it’s job but even with testing it still needed to be weeded a couple of times a year. Have also seen neighbours B P sink over time.

Treating not testing

 

[Amarillo]

It replaced 20 year old block paving. The B P did it’s job but even with testing it still needed to be weeded a couple of times a year. Have also seen neighbours B P sink over time.

20 years for a block paving driveway is rubbish. The concrete driveway our block paving replaced was ~85 years old.

A good sub base should prevent most block paving sagging. The initial cowboys I had to install my driveway tried to fob me off with crushed concrete as a sub base, even though I’d specifically specified three layers each of 50mm of MOT type 1 in the job sheet. The blighters also broke the gas feed to my house leaving me with court action from Southern Gas Networks for the repair.

Having our driveway done was a real saga, but nearly four years later I still look at it with affection.

A drive fit for a Cali

My drive is in a lamentable condition The concrete is cracked, and the retaining wall is at an angle of about 8 degrees to the vertical. The subsoil is London clay. See photo below We have taken the decision to have a new driveway built which will be sufficiently wide for the van and a car...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[PIERPO]

Hey,

Thought I'd ask here as usually get some useful replies!

Having our driveway done (currently bumpy 30 year old tarmac).

Budget isn't huge, but also want something that looks smart.

Love the look of resin bound (smartest in my opinion) but heard it stains etc.

Blockwork looks ok, but everyone who has it on our road it's sunken.

Apparently Tarmac with a decorative border is the most practical, hard wearing.

Too many options!

Photo for attention (NOT my driveway unfortunately!)

View attachment 68748View attachment 68748

Tree roots can lift resin drives

 

[andyinluton]

Any more than 5m2 of impermeable paving ie solid concrete in the front garden and you need planning permission.

People paving front gardens in London in particular has caused huge problems with the drains not being able to cope with sudden torrential rainfall.
Any large areas of roof or hard landscaping & we have to put in attenuation tanks which reduce the flow to the drains or if practical a green roof where the soil soaks up the water & it drains off slowly later.

 

[willwander]

The concrete driveway our block paving replaced was ~85 years old.

It was probably cracked for 75 of them.

 

[BeagleMum]

20 years for a block paving driveway is rubbish. The concrete driveway our block paving replaced was ~85 years old.

A good sub base should prevent most block paving sagging. The initial cowboys I had to install my driveway tried to fob me off with crushed concrete as a sub base, even though I’d specifically specified three layers each of 50mm of MOT type 1 in the job sheet. The blighters also broke the gas feed to my house leaving me with court action from Southern Gas Networks for the repair.

Having our driveway done was a real saga, but nearly four years later I still look at it with affection.

A drive fit for a Cali

My drive is in a lamentable condition The concrete is cracked, and the retaining wall is at an angle of about 8 degrees to the vertical. The subsoil is London clay. See photo below We have taken the decision to have a new driveway built which will be sufficiently wide for the van and a car...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

We chose to have it replaced as we wanted a change, it wasn’t that it needed replacing.
We much prefer the new drive.

 

[pjm-84]

You're be lucky. Probably cracked for 84 years and 11 months.

Green field run off rates for all developments these days. Exception to that was one development which was the head of the run and Southern Water wanted full flow into their large diameter sewer

 

[Ting Tong]

If you go for blocks then don’t get ones like ours that have chamfered edges as the gaps fill with crap and become a weed magnet. Some bloke in an estate near us has had his 70s 3 bed rendered in white with grey pvcu windows and a speckled white resin drive. (Drives a white Range Rover Sport): looks chav and the RR has dripped some fluid on it. The nice thing about blocks is you can move them around if that happens.

 

[andyinluton]

It was probably cracked for 75 of them.

And wouldn't have had a 3 tonne van driving over it for at least 70 of those years.

 

[Amarillo]

And wouldn't have had a 3 tonne van driving over it for at least 70 of those years.

Circa 1960



Screen grab from the film "Girl on Approval".

 

[Velma's Dad]

Looked at Grasscrete? Eco friendly and hreen.

Yes that's well worth looking at for a driveway as an alternative to traditional types, and fully permeable of course. The 'original' Grasscrete - ie the concrete grid 'tiles' - can look slightly garden-centre-carpark-ish (apols to anyone who has gone for this) but there are alternatives that use a plastic grid that is virtually invisible once the grass has grown through it. We went for that for a longish driveway up the side of our house that goes up a slope to an outbuilding, and I'm really pleased with it, five years on. BUT you still need a good base excavating and laying for it, so it's not necessarily a cheap option.