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How To Repair A Pothole In Gravel Driveways

When the integrity of your gravel driveway is impaired not only does it have a negative impact on the curb appeal of your property, but also makes your driveway a danger zone. If your driveway needs to be repaired, you’d simply have to grab the bull by the horn and get it done - the sooner, the better to avoid the problem getting worse and to have your beautiful gravel driveway back as soon as possible.

The major cause of potholes in driveways is usually water, when it gets trapped beneath the surface of the driveway. Therefore, you may also want to enhance the drainage in the area as part of your repair. The repair process is quite simple for confident do-it-yourselfers, but if otherwise, then calling in a reliable professional will save you some time and extra money that can result from possible errors. So how do you repair gravel driveway potholes?

✓ Prepare the area. This involves removing all forms of debris from the pothole. To achieve this, you can rake, shovel or brush the loose stones, soil and other debris from the pothole.

✓ Fill the pot hole. Make use of a coarse gravel to fill up the pothole to a depth of about 3 inches beneath the driveway’s level. Upon the filling, simply tamp down the coarse gravel using a commercial tamper or any available homemade option. Once done, the final 3 inches to the surface of the gravel driveway should then be filled up with gravel which perfectly matches the colour and texture of the remaining driveway.

✓ Compact the patch. To achieve this in an easy and fast way, simply run your car’s wheel up and down over the repaired spot gently a couple of times. This will be enough to compact the patch and seal the pothole.

Do you want to beautify and increase the value of your home? If yes, a refurb and house extension is definitely a great option to consider. Depending on your home extension project, the value that’ll be added to your home’s resale value varies. However, the cost of completing a house extension project can be huge, so you just might want to consider your financing options. Fortunately, there are various options through which your house extension project can be funded with each having its own pros and cons. Your specific circumstances will determine the one that’s going to work best for you, so let’s take a look at some of the best options to help you fund your project.

• Home Remortgaging

The process whereby a mortgage is transferred from one provider to the other is known as remortgaging. This is usually done to generate funds for a project by entering a more lengthy repayment term commitment when switching. If you want to raise your funds in a quick manner, this process works best.

• Savings

This is a good reason to cultivate a good saving habits. If you’ve been able to save up some mega bucks then you’d probably won’t have to borrow money to finance your house extension.

• Unsecured Loans

If you do not buy into the idea of borrowing more against your property, you may just be able to apply for an unsecured loan especially if you have a good credit record. A secured loan makes use of collaterals like a car or house to serve as a cover for the lender, meanwhile an unsecured loan is based mainly on the credit managing history of the borrower.

• Credit Card

There are some great benefits that comes with financing your small or medium scale extension project with your credit card. Not only does it offer some real lifeline if problems arise during the project, but you can also avoid paying excessive interest on the investment by ensuring your deal has a 0% introductory rate.

When it comes to laying of bricks, it is essential to get the right mortar mix. It is vital, be it for construction or maintenance projects, so far mortar is required. There are several materials incorporated in getting mortar which includes both cement and sharp sand, soft sand or plasterer’s sand and lots more. Here, we are going to look at the right ratio for cement and sand mix in bricklaying.

Cement include ingredients such as iron, aluminium, as well as silicon and it is mainly used for mortars like aerated cement mortar, Portland cement mortar and gauged mortar. Sand, on the other hand, comes in different forms such as sharp sand, soft sand and plasterer’s sand. The sharp sand consists of a larger grain size than the others and is usually incorporated in the construction areas that requires more strength as well as flexibility. Soft sand is the most common one used in mortar and it’s also referred to as bricklayers’ sand. These are used to make all types of mortar. Finally the plasterer’s sand which neither has the sharp sand’s coarseness nor the fineness of the soft sand, but can also be used for any form of mortar.

Cement and sand mortar is used for a plethora of bricklaying jobs serving as a glue for bricks, walls and pillars, while also repairing or maintaining old listed buildings. The preferred ratio here is 1:3 to 1:5 of cement and building sand. Meanwhile, to get a sand cement mix, essential materials that are required includes water, soft building sand as well as cement. However, you must also note that a sand and cement mortar is not used for structural projects, rather a concrete ratio is used.

Do you know about 25 percent of heat that escapes from an uninsulated house are lost through the roof? Fortunately, roof insulation is something that can done by all DIYers irrespective of their experience levels. However, if you happen to lack the confidence necessary to pull off this, then it’s strongly recommended that you hire the services of a professional who can guarantee the best results and also save you time and money that could arise from potential cost mistakes. Let’s take a look!

• Clear out all clutter. This involves taking out all the rubbish and clutter from the loft. In order to work effectively, you’ll need a totally clear and empty loft space.
• Ensure that there’s sufficient insulation. The importance of a good ventilation cannot be overstated. Poor ventilation will result in forming of condensation and this condensation can make the roof timbers rot and compromise the structural integrity of the entire roof. If there are no roof windows which is the easiest way to provide a loft ventilation, the next best option would be to follow the loft floor along to the point where the roof comes down to meet it. There should be a gap at this point, also referred to as the eaves, between the outside wall and the underside of the roof.
• Measure your loft area. Take a measurement of the loft space in order to calculate the amount of insulation as well as the type you need. If you’re not sure, always get more that it’s required as skimming on the amount you use will only back fire in form of increased energy costs
• Check for water pipes.

To get started, simply make sure all cracks and gaps in the ceiling are filled using a standard filler or decorator caulk. Once done, clean the gaps in the joists and even to the point of hovering all the dust up. Finally,check for the hazards that can cause you problems before laying the loft insulation.

Do you want your house to be built using brick? Or perhaps you just require the professional services of a bricklayer. Regardless of your bricklaying needs, the cost charged depends on each job as every job is unique. Bricklayers generally look at each task individually and charges based on the complexity of each. We’ve put together this guide to give you an idea of the costs charged by bricklayers. Let’s have a look!

Generally, bricklayers charge either based on a daily rate or a fixed price for a particular amount of bricks ( usually a thousand bricks or 10 - 12 metres square). On the average, an experienced bricklayer can charge within a range of £150 to £200 daily rate and if a labour is needed for the job, an additional £60 to £100 may be included to get the job completed in a quick and fast manner. If the quoting is done based on the number of bricks to be incorporated, then a thousand bricks will be quoted in between £350 to £450 which should be completed in a couple of days.

You should however take note that most times, the bricklayer’s cost will depend on the amount of work involved in the project. As a result, a more tedious and challenging project will most definitely cost more than a simpler one. Examples of some difficult projects that’s likely to cost more are hard to reach areas, difficult sites as well as second storeys which are considered to be more challenging than single storey buildings. What’s more? The complexity of the project is also a great cost factor. While some projects are basically direct and straightforward, others involve curves and more complex designs which will ultimately make the cost jump up.

When your driveway is suffering from depression, it becomes unsafe for driving (a danger zone) and ugly - no homeowner wants that! Unfortunately, most driveways won’t hold flat for long as they tend to develop cracks and potholes pretty quickly. Here, we are going to take you through how to fill asphalt driveways’ depression so as to ensure the sinkholes in your driveway poses no threat to you or your loved ones, while also beautifying your property. The approach to be used depends on the intensity of the depression. If its only a few cracks and holes, this can easily be repaired with some equipment. But if otherwise is the case, then calling a reliable professional will be your best bet. In this article, we’ll show you how to repair dips in your asphalt driveway relatively quickly.

✓ Pick a date with warm and sunny weather. This is because if you work in a cold weather, chances are the materials will freeze and hence, unusable. So find a day when the temperature will over 50 degrees Fahrenheit and below 80 degrees Celsius and when there would be no rain. We’ll advise a day between May to October.

✓ Prepare the area. Remove all loose stones, soil, dirt as well as vegetation from the holes. Once done, you can then proceed to washing the area with a pressure washer or sweep with a broom.

✓ Apply a thin mixture of asphalt to the area. Use a flat stirring stick to coat the low driveway area with a thin mixture of asphalt.

✓ Tamp the asphalt repair mix. Purchase the right kind of asphalt to repair the driveway. Fine aggregate asphalt mixture is more suited to filling small holes, whereas the coarse aggregate is more suited to filling larger holes. Apply layers ( about 2 inches each time) of the asphalt repair mix to the sunken area and use a shovel to give it a smooth finish. Once done, simply make the area smooth and protect it with a piece of plywood. Do not walk or drive on the area for a couple of days.

There are two main types of cladding. The first is material cladding, which refers to layers of a material that are attached to the external walls. The material used could be timber, PVC, stone, or other materials. The second type of cladding is rendering, where a coat of plaster is applied to the wall.

So you’ve identified the type of garden room you’d like to construct in your property, chances are, you’ve already worked out where to put it and can’t wait wait to start spending valuable time on it. It’s very understandable to be a little impatient with the whole idea considering the numerous benefits provided by a garden, but just before you proceed with your plans there’s the need to first check whether or not you’re going to need a planning permission.

Factors determining whether you’ll need a planning permission includes where you intend to place it, the size of the room, how it’s going to be used as well as your location.

Generally, most garden rooms do not require a planning permission as they are categorized as outbuildings. In other words, you’re permitted to construct one so far you comply with some specific rules and have permitted development rights at your home or in your area.

If you want to build your garden room under permitted development, you have to comply with the following rules:

✓ The garden room shouldn’t be in front of your home or property.

✓ The total area of your extensions, sheds and outbuildings ( which includes your garden room), must not go beyond 50 percent of the total land area surrounding your property.

✓ It must be a single storey that’s less than 3 metres high ( 4 metres for a dual pitched roof). And it must not go beyond 2.5 metres in height if the structure is within 2 metres of your boundary.

✓ The eaves must not go beyond 2.5 metres above ground level.

✓ It must not feature a balcony, veranda or any raised platform

✓ It must not be a self contained living accommodation.

You should note that if your home is a listed building or you happen to live in a designated area, then you might not have permitted development rights.