Been thinking for a while now having my driveway down - and being the tight g*t that i am i need to know whats the best economical route to take without having to resort to the bloke knocking on the door with some 'spare tarmac'

basically i need my front lawn ripping up and replacing with my new drive. the drive at the side of my house could possibly fit 4 cars on.

Anyway not sure if i want to go down the block paving route due to the expense. but i have thought about having red tarmac laid instead. what about this??? has anyone had this done. recommendations greatly appreciated

Cheers:thumb:

i would expect a coloured surface to be more expensive than black top. there are reputable tarmac surfacing companies out there, so why not ask for a quote - beware though, my neighbour picked someone out of the yellow pages a few years ago and they laid tarmac over where his lawn used to be. he loved it, but with 2 weeks it had completely sunk and there were weeds growing through! how i laughed - the guy came back and said "oh, a base is extra"!!

Had a quote for red tarmac and it came out the same as block paving. Which I didn't/don't want as everybody has it!!!! The reason given was that to get red tarmac they have to stop/clean the machinery after producing black (or the colour is messed up) and with the demand being low it gets expensive. When I do do my drive I'll get normal black tarmac down. But properly laid.

It also needs less maintenance than blocks. Spot the number of blcok paved drives with depressions and lots of weeds. In fact the whole block paving thing hacks me off. You can hardly visit a town centre now without most of it being block paved - with tarmac *fillings* where holes have been dug!!!

Dave

PS: just to add that I only got the one quote and that is for the Reading (ish) area.
PPS: oh, when I looked at it my brother was trying to get me to do all the prep. work myself. Just involves a lot of digging ..... but thhis is where all the labour goes into a drive - the preparation - as with most jobs.

Thanks for the replies - much appreciated:thumb:

i have a ne whouse and its a Black topp drive looked really nice when i got it done wa stold 3 weeks and it be fully hard.. A year later i jackted the car up and i mean a proper jack none of thsi .5 tonn crap and the jack sunk into the tarmac, my mates bikes kick stand sunk in too, im really not impressed, gettign soem one else to do it next year

where abouts are you chief

What about that Concrete Printing stuff - have you had that priced?

I have to say that some I;ve seen some that look OK, but some look crap. The colour is said to fade also, but not seen an examples of this - all heresay.

Best to find someone who can make a recommendation.

where abouts are you chief

Oldham GTR Manchester

What about that Concrete Printing stuff - have you had that priced?

I have to say that some I;ve seen some that look OK, but some look crap. The colour is said to fade also, but not seen an examples of this - all heresay.

Best to find someone who can make a recommendation.


Is concrete printed a lot cheaper than Block Paving????:wonder:

This is what I am lead to believe.

I used to be an Asphalt plant manager. If you're looking at asphalt(tarmac) then you should really go for SMA (stone mastic asphalt). Normal wearing courses can ruck up when the car's wheels are turned when stationary.
SMA costs more but withstands the above.

I have seen the red stuff fade to pink over time, ooooh suits you sir! :lol1:

imprinted concrete that looks like stone cobbles are really smart looking but i havent a clue as to cost over block or tamac

I have seen the red stuff fade to pink over time, ooooh suits you sir! :lol1:

Or it just fades and looks the same as faded black tarmac after a few months .... I'll just be getting the black stuff ...

Dave

Pretty much agree with most of whats been said above (Civil Enginner for a developer):

ie Red tarmac is indeed more expensive and probbably not worth the hassle as it generally fades to a pinky red. Shows oil and tyre marks more too.

Blocks can go off colour and get weeds/move etc etc (depends how good the person is laying and what they put underneath), costs more than tarmac for a good job.

SMA does indeed do whats said on the tin and but is more expensive than "normal tarmac". It depends exactly how many turning movements, how heavy the vehicles are (vans etc) and again the construction underneath whether the "normal tarmac" will deform TBH. We use SMA for shared drives say 5 or more houses, which may get a bin lorry up and down it etc

Imprint Asphalt (concrete patterned stuff) - depends on whos laying it again but be warned it is very easy to set yourself up with a franchise for the stuff and have no expierience.

Which brings you round to "normal black tarmac".

The reason I use the quotes is thats its so complicated to understand all the types etc it confuses me !!

Try this site for some info for a start and once you know what you want you can get people to give you prices:
Paving Expert - AJ McCormack & Son - Paving and Drainage Advice - Home Page (http://www.pavingexpert.com/home.htm)

Edited to say this particular page gives you ideas of the construction depth etc required:

Paving Expert - AJ McCormack and Son - Tarmac, Bitmac and Asphalt - Construction Layers (http://www.pavingexpert.com/tarmac03.htm)

round the leeds area imprint concrete is the same price as blocking

I'm a tight git too - gravel is the answer :)

Put a weed membrane down, then tip gravel on top - if you go for bog standard 20mm gravel it's really cheap.

My next door neighbour had his brick paving removed, and imprint concrete fitted (he asked me did I want mine doing as well at the same time)

His looks good, mine does when the weeds are removed ( I still have the brick paving) it cost him 2,500 about 2 years ago, its big enough to fit 2 cars on comfortably (to give you an idea of size)

Steve