relative costs of tarmac and concrete

In message , Dave Fawthrop writes

There might be guide costings on Paving Expert

We live at the end of about 1/4 mile of "private drive" and have a large area of hard standing, so I've looked into this at length.

Very roughly, concrete is about half the price of tarmac. We were quoted GBP26K to tarmac the drive and GBP12K to concrete it. Needless to say, it's still gravel.

Yup.

That was my take too.

Slap down Type I and drive on it a few years, then slap down shingle, and Pathclear it every year, and add another 1/2" every 5 years or so.

The message from The Natural Philosopher contains these words:

I need to do something shortly about my much more modest private drive (a mere 60 yards or so and up to 12 feet wide in places). A couple of lorry loads of quarry waste should be enough but the question that is exercising my mind atm is whether it is worthwhile hiring a plate vibrator to compact it or just to rely on gravity and whatever traffic it gets. Any thoughts?

I think I would be inclined to whack it. Something like Type 1 does compact down very to make a reasonably well consolidated surface when you whack it.

Whackers are pretty crap IMHO. Ok for a gravel path, but NOTHING beats weight. Hire a road roller..30 tons and steel wheels will smack limestone down into a decent road. Whackers will not cut the mustard.

Or just rely on time and gravity. Addition of sand helps a lot by the way..it finds its way to the bottom and fills the gaps..otherwise you have to wait for usage to grind the type I into powder..

If you get your quarry waste in a tipper truck, get him to lay it up the track, then rake it roughly level and ask him to drive up and down for half an hour. Beers and coffees are suitable inducements. Then get all future builders merchants supplies delivered on a truck. I raher like a track made out of unmodified Type I..in the end the grass grows over it, but there is always grip..and you get white ruts where the wheels polish the grass off again..

not IME

Yes, it goes level, but its still gouge-able and rake-able by car wheels.

A lot depends on how much fine material there is. Whackers will settle it, but not smash up big lumps.

We rolled our drive using a hired Bomag vibrating road roller. Never had a problem with it after using that.

That is true... the stuff I have had with a good mixture of sizes - including the fines - will whack down to a very solid surface. I have had some type 1 that lacked much of the fine stuff. That would not produce a solid surface in the same way, you could rough it up just by shuffling over it.

Sounds like a nice piece of kit. Maybe I should hire one for the bit of gravel that never gets traffic.

They are extremely efficient. The one we used was like this one:

I used on like that (although about half the size with one roller) on my drive when converting a grassed area to extra parking. (only had that because the hire company had no smaller ones in at the time). It did do a very good job though, and compacted to refusal in about two passes!

Well sir, if it's tarmac you're after I'm your man, so I am. I just happen to have some left over from a job around the corner so I do. I can give you a fine price to be sure, if its cash you'll be paying.

ROFL! The previous owners of the house we just moved into must have employed your distant cousin!

Needless to say 1/2" of Tarmac over what was a gravel driveway!

What hasn't broken up already is coming up soon :-)

Steve

|!Dave Fawthrop wrote: |!> Still planning how to add an old road to my garden. |!>

|!> I will have new garage which needs a concrete base. Next to it and |!> *level* with it will be an area to park the caravan. The caravan |!> area can be tarmac or concrete, what are the relative costs of the |!> two? |! |!Well sir, if it's tarmac you're after I'm your man, so I am. I just happen |!to have some left over from a job around the corner so I do. I can give you |!a fine price to be sure, if its cash you'll be paying.

I want it doing *properly*.