As title suggests we are looking to replace our awful driveway (paving slabs, crooked concrete etc) with something a little more presentable.

I have seen a lot of block paved drives and they look very nice but they do seem a little expensive. I have the money to do it but I'd prefer not to spend that much if possible.

A few people have mentioned concrete imprinted drives - has anyone had this done or have any pics of it as I'm not to sure what it is. Also whats's the price difference compared to traditional block paving?

Cheers guys

:)

printed concrete will usually be cheaper. this type of material has come a long way in the last 15 years or so. my parents have an early example, so cracked now (this was before fibre reinforcement was used for strength) and covered with gravel instead.
personally, i prefer block paving. we block pave all driveways and car parks on new houses we build

Blockl paving is not that tricky to do yourself either, if you have the time and inclincation. If doing a big area, hire a mini jcb and a BIG skip for the day to dig out to a suitable depth. Spend a day with a £30 from B&Q laser level and some straight wood to get the area flat. Hire a vibrating plate or similar compactor, buy several tonnes of Type 1 sub-base. Compact the ground flat, put in a suitable depth (probably 6-8" for a driveway) of sub-base. Compact that, Add a few tonnes of sharp sand, compact that too. Lay the bricks (hire a block splitter if you need one, diamond angle cutting disk can come in handy too). Compact them in, sprinkle some fine sand (jointing sand, fine kiln dried stuff) on top and brush it in. Compact again, top up the kiln dried sand. Job done.

If you have a "free standing" edge - i.e. not against a wall/kerb or whatever, you do need to concrete in the last brick or two. Make a concrete apron up from the soil upwards - i.e. encircling the sub-base and sand, and stick the blocks in that.

May sound awkward, but it isn't really that difficult, just fairly hard work (several tonnes of soil, sub-base etc to move). I did 35m2 of small cobbled patios (2 of them) and paths in fairly intricate patterns, did it over 2-3 weeks of evenings and weekends, only had help on one weekend. Hardest part was lifting an 80kg compactor into a scooby boot without damaging anything! Hire costs are still noticeably lower than paying someone to do it, IMHO.

Block Paving a driveway is far cheaper than concreting. 1m3 (2.5tonnes) of type 1 subbase laid 150mm thick will cover an area of just over 6.5m2 and costs 28-30 quid. When using block paving you can use a lesser quality material for the sub base, such as road planings or crushed hardcore and this costs 10-15 quid.

Sand laid over the hardcore needs to be min 50mm thick, therefore 1m3 (approx 2 tonnes) will cover an area of 20m2.

Blocks can be picked up for less than 10quid/m2.

Concrete costs approx 110quid /m3 wich covers an area of 10m2 when laid 100mm thick making in my opinion concrete drives expensive, especially when you still need the subbase.

Have you considered tarmacing over the existing drive, with a thin 30mm layer?

Regards,

Roger

im in the middle of havin my drive done, ive been thinkin of what to have done for months but after lookin at all the different options i have finaly decided to go for the marshalls block in cotswold and heather with a circle in the middle and a deco block round the out side. i personaly dont like printed concrete im on a slope and it can be slippy. i will post you some pics next week when its done, its an area of 129m2 so it should give you a good idea. by the way theres 70 ton of earth come out of it and 40 ton of hardcore gone in plus 15 ton of sand and 12 pallets of blocks all this and i live on a main road ''NIGHT MARE''. this at a cost of £8000.

djliveasy - seems abit steep on the price i could have done it for about £5000-5500

everyone said that until they came to have a look then it was a different story. i had one price at 17 grand. its a mate doin it and i no how good his work is, i had one price about a grand cheaper but as ive learnt in the past you get what you pay for. djliveasy - seems abit steep on the price i could have done it for about £5000-5500

17 grand ,makes you wonder were people get there prices from

Unless you've got a massive area to pave then 17k is way too much. Block paving is not hard if you get the right equipment. Unlike Imprinted concrete it can be easily fixed and altered and the blocks will still be useful if you decide to plough it up.

Unless you've got a massive area to pave then 17k is way too much. Block paving is not hard if you get the right equipment. Unlike Imprinted concrete it can be easily fixed and altered and the blocks will still be useful if you decide to plough it up.I had quotes for block paving ( Cotswold) Yorkshire Cobbles or Marshall paving slabs.I went for the paving slabs in the end for 1 reason. Both the suppliers of the block paving advised not washing the cars on it as this washes away the pointing sand and also every 6 months the blocks will need re pointing. I'd go for the no maintainance concrete.

I had quotes for block paving ( Cotswold) Yorkshire Cobbles or Marshall paving slabs.I went for the paving slabs in the end for 1 reason. Both the suppliers of the block paving advised not washing the cars on it as this washes away the pointing sand and also every 6 months the blocks will need re pointing. I'd go for the no maintainance concrete.
IME that hasn't happened. Unless you're working deliberately with a pressure washer to dislodge the sand there aren't any problems. Otherwise rain would do the same thing. During the first x weeks of newly laid block paving you'll need to top up the sand as it settles and some washes away. After that it will normally set fine.

gsm1 - would agree with that. plus you could always brush a little cement (dry) with the sand if you're really concerned about loss of sand.

Block paving. All the rage at the moment. My view is that if you want your drive to look the same as everybody elses then go for it. But after a few months the weeds will start showing though. And parts will start to subside.

Half of Reading is done in block paving and it looks a right mess.

If I was you I'd get the thing tarmac'd .... I've still got 20 year old *not very well put down* tarmac and it looks as good as 3 year old block paving. Or get red tarmac - about the same cost as block paving when I had a quote for the drive.

Just don't go for the *herd* option ...... :D

Dave

got my drive done in concrete about 6 mths ago. excellent job. more expensive than block but less maintenance. no weeds or moss, isn't slippery when wet(is coated with sealer, that has ground up glass in it-anti slip) has expansion joints cut into it, so if you need to redo a section for any reason you can without digging the whole drive up. the mother in law got hers block paved at the same time and has weeds and moss. concrete top job IMO:)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/codie247/DSCF0138.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v240/codie247/DSCF0139.jpg

haven't got any without the car:p

Lee

when you have finished the blocks with kiln dried sand you should put key bond on the area that is blocked as this turns the sand into a rubber type solution and also seals the blocks therefore stopping the weeds and the moss and staining of the blocks

We went for Bomanite - Imprinted Drive etc.

Dogs Danglies IMHO

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y287/scooby_blue_1966/DSCF0198.jpg

Block paving is actually not that difficult to look-after.

As long as it`s not too big a driveway, powerwash it once a year, then brush some sand back into the cracks to keep it solid.

Once a year, again, apply some weed killer with a spreader or watering-can, and the weeds stay away, and it stays looking good (at least, that`s what I`ve found with mine, anyway).