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There are several effective ways to clean paving slabs. It’s important to pick a method that suits you and your paving material.

Whatever method you use, start by removing all weeds and loose debris from your paving. Then, if you have a pressure washer, you can simply use this to clean away any dirt.

If you don’t have a pressure washer, you can try using soapy water or watered-down bleach. If you use soapy water, mix a mild detergent like washing up liquid with warm water. Then pour it onto your paving, work it in with a brush and rinse it off with clean water.

If you use bleach, first make sure that the water won’t drain off onto any plant life, as this can kill it. You should also avoid using bleach on concrete slabs, as it will cause them to fade. Mix one-part bleach with five-parts water, pour it onto your paving and work it in with a brush. Then leave it for 15 minutes and rinse it off with clean water.

Being a fantastic alternative to slabs or block paves, gravel drive way slowly becoming an extremely popular driveway surfacing option in the UK. Not only does gravel driveway value adding investment to a home, but also allows you to be very creative and can make a beautiful addition to your home.

It’s normal to think that having a new gravel laid is a herculean task but when the necessary tools and materials are within your reach then it’s a fair simple task for the competent DIYer. So if you’re about to lay your new gravel driveway option of your home and wondering how deep to dig the driveway, then you’ve come to the right place. There are times, however, that the best option would be to hire a reliable and trustworthy professional who can guarantee the best results while also helping you save time and additional expenses which could result from costly mistakes. However, in this guide, we offer some handy tips on the appropriate depth of a gravel driveway in order to put you on the right path from the start. So let’s take a closer look!

Normally, it’s required to lay a a 10 mm aggregate on a depth which should be within the range of 30 mm to 40 mm. However in the case of driveway, this structure must be at least 50mm deep. As a result of this requirement, you’ll require to dig a minimum depth of about 50 mm to 60mm on your driveway. If you’re using a larger aggregate, it’s going to settle and bond together more easily than the smaller alternatives. Therefore, the depth of your driveway will mostly be determined by the size of the aggregate you opt for as well as how you intend to use the surface.

Do you want to know the level of thickness a driveway concrete slab should be? Well, you are not alone! So many other home owners ask this question on a regular basis and reasonably so. In order to prevent cracks on your concrete over time, it’s crucial to ensure an even thickness across your driveway concrete. To determine the necessary thickness of your driveway concrete, there are some questions that must be answered. These includes:

• What’s the number of vehicles you expect to have on your driveway?

• Do you plan on parking heavy, industrial vehicles on it?

For a standard passenger vehicle driveway, you’d have a driveway spanning 8 to 9 feet in width as well as 15 to 18 feet for double width. The thickness for this type of driveway concrete is usually 4 inches of non-reinforced pavement. Ultimately, this enables you to park everyday family cars on it without having to worry about it cracking due to the car’s weight. Also in order to prevent cracks, it’s expected that the driveway should be sloped towards the street as this would make sure that there’s a run off of water especially for areas that experience lots of flooding. In addition, there’s also the need to install joints to prevent cracking. For the standard 4 inch thick driveway, these joints should be positioned about 10 feet apart.

Finally for parking heavy industrial vehicles, your concrete driveway is expected to be thicker in order to cope with the added weight. Typically, the concrete driveway will require a thickness of about 5 inches. The additional one inch may not sound much, but the fact is this can increase the load carrying capacity of the concrete driveway by up to 50 percent.

Resin bound driveways are known to last a long time without the need for repairs, but sometimes accidents happen. You also need to make sure you regularly maintain your driveway by sweeping and power washing it to prevent damage. But if it does get damaged, how do you repair your resin bound driveway?

If you notice a crack in your resin bound driveway, it’s important to repair it as soon as possible. If you leave it to erode, you could end up with a difficult repair that will cost much more money.

To repair a crack, you’ll need to carefully chisel it open slightly so you can apply a primer then fill in the crack with a matching-coloured resin and aggregate mix. While there are variations in colour and size with all stone mixes, usually it’s easy to find a batch that matches almost perfectly. And once the crack has been repaired for a while, it will blend in seamlessly with the rest of your driveway.

To prevent cracking in your resin bound driveway, it’s best to tackle the issue at initial installation. Speak to your installer about whether it’s possible to add fibreglass mesh to the base. You should also ask your installer to add expansion trims as these will significantly reduce the risks of cracks.

So the best way to repair resin bound driveways is to prise open the crack and fill it in. It might seem simple, but getting the right colour match is something that should be left to the professionals, so get a few quotes to ensure you get the best finish.

Pitting, also referred to as spalling is the event whereby “pits” or small holes start showing on the surface of your concrete driveway which makes it appear both worn and uneven. Concrete driveway pitting is a common but highly frustrating problem for most homeowners. You’ll see some concrete driveways that’ll only start to pit after a couple of years, but this is not true for all concrete driveways as others will start to show signs only after a couple of months. So how do you tackle this issue? Well, it’s relatively simple to tackle, however if you’re not confident or lack the necessary skills, we’d recommend you get in touch with a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results for help. In this guide, we’ll take you through the concrete driveway pitting repair process.

✓ Prepare the pits by cleaning the area, clearing out all debris and more. The small pits can be cleaned with a stiff brush while a sturdy broom will do a good job for larger pits.

✓ Make use of a hose to spray the concrete pits and flush out all remaining bits of waste.

✓ If you’re tackling series of small pits, simply use a caulking gun filled with pre-mixed epoxy and specially formulated for concrete to fill the pits. Clear off the excess eproxy ensuring that its level with the concrete surface. Once done, simply leave for at least 24 hours before the application of a concrete sealant to prevent the wear and tear of the new concrete.

✓ Chisel out a little concrete and clean with a pressure washer. Once done, apply a concrete resurfacing compound mixture into the holes and use a trowel to level off.

✓ Ensure that the repaired concrete driveway is protected from rain and foot traffic for at least 6 hours (or 24 hours for vehicles).

There is a variety of methods available to ensure that your paving drains properly, for example draining into a lawn or soakaway. Correct drainage of paving is a requirement for planning permission. See our guide on planning permission for paving for more information.

1. Prepare the base If you want your resin bound driveway to last a long time, you need to ensure that you prepare the base properly. Remove any block paving, grass or soil and dig down until you hit solid ground. Lay a sub-base of asphalt for good permeability. If you’re laying over the top of your current driveway, make sure that all cracks are increased into a ‘v’ shape with a saw and ensure the surface is dry and weed-free.
2. Mix the resin You must follow the instructions on the materials you have to the letter if you want the curing process to work. Usually batches come in ‘Part A’ and ‘Part B’. Keep the resin container secure and on a protective surface to avoid splashing, then mix Part A for 10-20 seconds at a slow speed with a helical bladed mixer. Add Part B and mix thoroughly at a slow speed for about 2 minutes until it’s blended together.
3. Mix the dried aggregates and sand with the resin Place a quarter of the aggregates into a mixer, then add the pre-mixed resin and start a stopwatch. You should then add the rest of the aggregates before slowly adding the sand. When you’re happy with that mix, stop the stopwatch. That time is the time that you need to spend mixing any other resin and aggregates to avoid colour variation.
4. Lay the mix on the surface Transfer the mix to the work area then plan a laying route. When the mix is laid out, use a very clean trowel to spread the mix. Clean it regularly during the process to avoid dragging aggregates out of place. Once the aggregates stop moving in a fluid movement and become solid, stop trowelling. Then you can polish the surface to give it an attractive shine.

Can You Lay Block Paving On Top Of Concrete?

The replacement or improvement of your driveway is unarguably one of the most expensive projects you can undertake in the exterior of your home. When done by a true professional the results can be impressive and visually appealing, however you’d have to pay huge bucks to have this done. This is exactly the situation with block paving as it is not only time consuming, but also a lot more expensive when compared to other types of driveway.

A large chuck of this cost is associated with the removal of the existing driveway. So assuming your old driveway is concrete, can you simply pave over the existing concrete? If yes, will it save you money? The simple and short answer is yes. It’s in fact advisable to pave over concrete as this will not only add around 20% to your home’s value, but also make it look a lot more attractive and pleasing to the eye.

However, there are some problems associated with block paving over concrete. It may be better to remove the concrete in situations whereby the base is substandard. For instance, if the ground underneath the concrete is failing, there’ll most definitely be problems.

Also, there’ll be some issues with settling (not even the cracks). If your concrete is dropping little amounts every year, these can affect the blocks and ultimately lead to dropping of some sections of the block paving in such a way that they’ll no longer be on the same level as the other blocks. Giving a rise to the possibility of drainage issues, tripping hazard and lots more.

Other issues that may crop up can be triggered as a result of using the wrong size block height as well as totally ignoring or overlooking the undulations of the concrete.