DRIVES - replacing old flags with gravel

[The Medway Handyman]

???

Virtually zero. Odd weed hunting session, occasional rake. Maintenance virtually zero.

[The Medway Handyman]

What size gravel?

[Chris J Dixon]

In my area, they have an additional requirement that lose gravel etc. is not used within a specified distance of the road.

Chris

[The Natural Philosopher]

Dont use matting. Complete waste of time.

and then pouring the gravel on top?

More or less, yes. Consider edging strips to hold it in place.

Depends. Ive got 4"-6" of MOT Tyep 1 under mine and it will take a 30 tonne lorry and did, many times, delivering bulding materials, but thats on very wet clay.

What you may find with just gravel, is that it will eventually squish into the mud. And need anothe layer ading. But whether to use a total of

6" of gravel or 3" OT and 3 of gravel, is up to you.

If the soils is very wet I recommend about 3" of OT limestone type I well whacked down and run over by the heaviest vehicles you a muster. Leave that for a while and USE it and it will eventually settle down to a well crushed sub base: then pile gravel on top. About 3" is optimal. That itself will move around till its settles and finds its level, and you will need to keep raking a bit to get it back from where car wheels push it.

Not sure the pavingexpert site hasn't got chaper and verse..

Aha

I think I agree 100% with his approach. He recommends less gravel, more sub base. His drives are probably better than mine!

[The Natural Philosopher]

Why not water it with pathclear once a year?

That's all it takes..

>

[The Natural Philosopher]

The problem is not 'weeds coming up' its cars with mud on them and seeds blowing in ..the cars leave mud, the seeds blow in, and the weeds grow IN the gravel!

they are easy to pull OUT though.

Doesnt happen in garden settings just drives.

PATHCLEAR works 100% for me. Must give the drive its annual dosing.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Ditto.

[The Natural Philosopher]

I have yet to see a >5 year old pavior drive that isn't warped and bent by traffic.

If my gravel gets warped and bent, half an hour with a rake fixes it. Pathclear once a year keeps it weed free, takes almost 45 minutes to do. Gosh. High maintenance.

I have just as many of not MORE weeds growing out of the paved areas...

and when it finally gets worn too flat, another couple of tons and a rake sorts it all out.

[The Natural Philosopher]

No membrane. Doesn't stop weeds as they come down from ABOVE.. At best stop gravel sinking into soil, but sub base MUCH better idea, and if properly laid, stabilises everything and is free draining through.

[The Natural Philosopher]

what is lose gravel? I have never heard of it?

[Skipweasel]

All over the strawberries on our raised bed, here. And in the kids' vegetable plots at school.

[Skipweasel]

It's the gravel that you lose.

[The Natural Philosopher]

No, that's lost gravel....

[SS]

When my house was built 21 years ago the builder put something like 40 tons of hardcore down and then the gravel, I only levelled with 3 ton 2 years ago. Once a year I use chlorate and a other liquid weedkiller. The builder also done the slabbed path around the house one or two started to shift 2 years ago with the severe weather. Until then I dont think they shifted a mm out in all those years.

If done properly its easy to maintain gravel or slabs. Either will be a problem if done on the cheap.

[Chris J Dixon]

That's the trouble with the stuff - all the little oooooooo have a life of their own.

The actual wording of a typical planning decision notice is:

"...all drives and any parking and turning areas are surfaced in a hard bound material for a minimum of 5.5 m behind the highway boundary..."

Chris

[chris]

Thanks you to all for helpful replies. I have loked at the paving expert site. So, it looks like we need to do some digging, etc, to properly lay the gravel rather than just lifting flags and tipping the gravel on.

I've also looked at the monoblock pages on that site. Looks like the sub base etc would be cheaper for the gravel drive than for the monoblock, as well as the gravel being cheaper than the monoblocks. i.e. overall job would be a lot cheaper?

Thanks, all

Chris

[The Medway Handyman]

It would. 18mm gravel is cheap as chips.

[The Natural Philosopher]

not sure how up to date his site is, but yes, gravel is, even if done proper, the cheapest thing.

Consider the 'waling it in the house' issue and teh 'spilling it on the road' issue.

Her we have stone flags round the doors to stop the first. The standard approach for the second is a bit of wood separator at the top of the drive, lay sub base the same, then concrete or tarmac over it level with the gravel. Remove wood, and off you go.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Cheaper than chips, but I still got through 400 quids worth to make a drive..and another 400 quid of MOT type 1.

Potatoes are £100 a tonne*, gravel is £20 :-)

Or was. I suspect is nearer thirty now..**

• I actually looked it up in 'potato weekly, yes, it exists, and futures market is now over £200 a tonne for 2011 early crop. Yikes. Better sell em my surplus pink firs..

** yikes its insane. 20mm bog standard at 100 quid for a tonne bag (900kg) well we would be getting a 20 tonne lorry in of course but even so, used to be £30 for a tonne BAG.

Hmm looks lie abut 18-20 a tonne PLUS delivery and VAT in reasonable loads in Norfolk anyway