widening the driveway,on a slim budget, the centre part is concrete, either side is grass/rubble junk.

so,have just removed the grass side top soil,gone about 3-4 inches deep.

is this deep enough for a gravel surface ?

also,do i put hardcore down on the mud then put some of that sheet stuff on top to stop weeds then the gravel or the sheet down 1st,then the hardcore/gravel

cheers

With mine, I just put wed membrane down and then dumped gravel on top. I only went a few inches deep and also ran the gravel straight over the top of the existing tarmac.

I didn't bother with hardcore, just a load of 20mm gravel - any finer and it gets stuck in your shoes.

It sank a little after a year or so, so I just dumped another bag on top & it's been fine for over 8 years :)

dig out another foot and stick railway sleepers in there with plently of harcore, sand n cement ;) lol

realistically, a good base of sand, low mixed cement and some hardcore, (all bout 4 inches) then some gravel or bark trimmings will be fine, are u planning on putting weight on ur new part?? i.e will any part of a car be resting on it when done?

so far, i have dug about 4/5 inches deep, tried to mash as much rubble into the mud as possible, covered 3/4 of the area with the rubble (old slabs i had lying around)

the whole car will be drivin on and off the gravelled area

try breaking it up a bit more into pieces, and do bout inch n half of rubble if u can, then try ur best to flatten it (im gathering u dont have a whackerplate to hand) and then cover that with sharp sand bout another inch mixed with dry cement, not much, then flatten the sand, and then put whatever surface ur having on ontop....honestly tho i cant see that withholding that sort of weight unless u were putting block paving ontop of the sand...., unless u dig deeper and do all that.

its bit outdated but if u done the base solid, buy some pebbles the big ones, lay a surface of fresh wet mixed cement on the area and then place the pebbles ontop, that may withold th weight

before u do anything tho if ur driving on it ur gonna need kerbing around the edges, dug in about 2 inches deeper, cemented in. this will stop everything moving if there wasnt a kerb there. any edging will do, trying to find an example....

could do the kerb edging in something fancy, like this but ull need to place them together seperatly:
Wickes *–*Gardens and Landscaping*–*Paving and Walling*–*Paving - In-Store*–*Knightsbridge Splay Kerb (http://www.wickes.co.uk/Driveway-Blocks/Knightsbridge-Splay-Kerb/invt/153931)

or one piece ones which are quicker when u join together:
Wickes *–*Gardens and Landscaping*–*Paving and Walling*–*Edging*–*Path Edging (http://www.wickes.co.uk/Edging/Path-Edging/invt/220357)



personnally tho, id suggest u dig out 6-8 inches, fill up with what iv said, (u need to put little bit more in through the height) and lay these sort of bricks ontop:
Wickes *–*Gardens and Landscaping*–*Paving and Walling*–*Paving - In-Store*–*Block Paving (http://www.wickes.co.uk/Driveway-Blocks/Block-Paving/invt/221000)

if u put the blocks in ull need to have the screeding of the sand perfect (the flattened surface) so that the blocks sit flush with ur existing driveway. this can be done by getting some brightly coloured string, one end coming off ur driveway (layu a brick ontop to keep it taught) and the other end of the string off the edge of the driveway, then u know u only have to build the base (sand/cement/hardcore/rubble/soil) upto the height so that u have exactly the right measurement/space to lay the brick ontop, i.e if the brick is 2 inches high/thick, then build the base upto 2inches belowe ur drivewayline (to the string) and this should do ya. sprinkle dry cement on the flat sand surface before u lay bricks

if ur existing drive is concrete, and not block paved, id suggest breaking the concrete urself and getting rid of it, and getting a landscaper in to jus block pave the whole lot. look for recommendations and certified ones in yellow pages, check at the website for their efficiency/that they hold the certified approval etc and dont let them rip u off! £40-£50 a square metre is a good quote, that should include labour, and all materials needed

ive done the kerbing along the grass edge,well,finishing it off,ran out of kerbing,but its all on a budget, of £85 ha ha so the ton of gravel will eat the rest of that !

i used these

Wickes *–*Gardens and Landscaping*–*Paving and Walling*–*Edging*–*Path Edging (http://www.wickes.co.uk/Edging/Path-Edging/invt/220357)

if it does sink, then,well, i`ll prob get some more gravel to replenish the sunken bits,then the sunken gravel will be acting as the hardcore base ha ha ha

but if its not level and packed properly mate it will keep sinking :confused: ull be surprised how much a dodgy base will sink! ive seen loads

done a driveway once, finished it late evening, and we told the bloke....DONT park on it till tommoro evening to be safe, thinking he would only be parking his wifes little car on it the next day, happened to drive past it later that night, hes only a call out recovery truck driver and had it parked on the driveway! AHH! the next morning looked like the drive had sunk below the house, the idiot, lol. fresh driveway cant take that sort of weight, maybe after 42 hours, not an hour! lol but id realy pack that base hard mate., try in friday ads and classifieds ull sometimes see adverts from people who have broken up their concrete paths etc and offering the hardcore free to a collector, always handy

Ash

but if its not level and packed properly mate it will keep sinking :confused: ull be surprised how much a dodgy base will sink! ive seen loads

done a driveway once, finished it late evening, and we told the bloke....DONT park on it till tommoro evening to be safe, thinking he would only be parking his wifes little car on it the next day, happened to drive past it later that night, hes only a call out recovery truck driver and had it parked on the driveway! AHH! the next morning looked like the drive had sunk below the house, the idiot, lol. fresh driveway cant take that sort of weight, maybe after 42 hours, not an hour! lol but id realy pack that base hard mate.

Ash

Interesting, you can park on a drive as soon as it is finished. I'm wondering why you think you would you have to wait?

POC

As for the DIY drive widening, dig out for a proper sub-base, we go 200mm on the base, this should be filled with type1 or type2 crushed concrete, compacted very well with a wacker (these can be hired for £15). This will take the weight of a car with ease.

Am I missing something here...... I'd agree if it was paving, but it's gravel - who cares if it sinks a bit - chuck a bit more gravel on.

jus wat iv always been used to saying to people after finishing. better safe to be sorry. but he parked that monstrosity on the drive less than an hour after and day after it had sunk, he even complained about it to higher authority, and they came out to check it and said our base was fine and dug out correctly, packed correctly and made him withdraw the complaint due to not listening to our advice

i aint here to argue poc.... but some people tell the customer they can park straight away, some people tell them to wait. either way as long as its done to standard and is perfect then it really dont matter. and anyway in our defence as to why u thought ud comment on what i said, the edging of the job was not finished, and due to be done and finished paid th next day. also a small pattern he asked for on the drive had to be completed aswell, due to him changing his mind on the block colour at the last minute, which is y we said NOT TO PARK on it.....plus did u read that he parked a 3tonne recovery truck on the unfinished driveway???

Ash

jus wat iv always been used to saying to people after finishing. better safe to be sorry. but he parked that monstrosity on the drive less than an hour after and day after it had sunk, he even complained about it to higher authority, and they came out to check it and said our base was fine and dug out correctly, packed correctly and made him withdraw the complaint due to not listening to our advice

i aint here to argue poc.... but some people tell the customer they can park straight away, some people tell them to wait. either way as long as its done to standard and is perfect then it really dont matter. and anyway in our defence as to why u thought ud comment on what i said, the edging of the job was not finished, and due to be done and finished paid th next day. also a small pattern he asked for on the drive had to be completed aswell, due to him changing his mind on the block colour at the last minute, which is y we said NOT TO PARK on it.....plus did u read that he parked a 3tonne recovery truck on the unfinished driveway???

Ash

As seen on Rouge Traders :D

rogue traders? in all the time i was working on landscaping, not ONCE did we have any complaints oi anything. plus each job we had, recommended to the next person, so we never had to hand out leaflets or anything, phone used to ring off the hook with people who have seen the driveways weve done or a friend of an old customer. not once has mine or anyone i worked with's work been not to standard! Ive moved on from that game now and am in college also a qualified decorator now, bugger working outside!

jus wat iv always been used to saying to people after finishing. better safe to be sorry. but he parked that monstrosity on the drive less than an hour after and day after it had sunk, he even complained about it to higher authority, and they came out to check it and said our base was fine and dug out correctly, packed correctly and made him withdraw the complaint due to not listening to our advice

i aint here to argue poc.... but some people tell the customer they can park straight away, some people tell them to wait. either way as long as its done to standard and is perfect then it really dont matter. and anyway in our defence as to why u thought ud comment on what i said, the edging of the job was not finished, and due to be done and finished paid th next day. also a small pattern he asked for on the drive had to be completed aswell, due to him changing his mind on the block colour at the last minute, which is y we said NOT TO PARK on it.....plus did u read that he parked a 3tonne recovery truck on the unfinished driveway???

Ash


Relax fella, I wasnt having a go :) Unfinished is unfinished, the bloke was obviously a tool!

Ha ha had a knock on the door today,well,the missus did, guy trying to give her a quote for the driveway, cheeky git, it aint that bad, just needs the gravel the one side ha ha

lol, i wouldnt say just a tool, id say the whole bloody hire shop!