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Gravel driveways, when properly installed, can be a very cost effective way of surfacing all driveways including both the big and the small ones. As a result, it has grown to become a common choice amongst homeowners in the UK. It does a great job at giving a property a more natural look than other driveway surfacing options which includes concrete, block paving or tarmac.

Are you planning to install a gravel on your driveway? If yes, then you’ll most likely be interested to know exactly how much it’s going to cost. Well, to get started you’ll have to decide whether you’ll be doing this yourself or perhaps you’d be hiring a specialist. The project could be much more effective if you decide to tackle it on your own as you’re only going to be worried about the paying for the materials without any labour costs. However, installing a driveway is in no way an easy task even for the competent and more experienced DIYers. So if you choose to carry out the project on your own, you should also get ready for a longer completion time than it would have been if you hired a tradesman which is usually around 48 hours. If you have all the tools and materials in place before commencement, then it’s possible to complete the project over the weekend. However, there are many risks involved such as the possibility of misjudging the amount of base layer and gravel required etc.

Here, we’ll look at the various material costs of gravel driveways, as labour costs largely varies from one tradesman to the other.

The material cost of a gravel driveway of about 20 square metre should range between £1100 to £1200, 40 square metre should cost between £1600 to £2000 and 80 square metre gravel driveway should cost between £2800 to £3200.

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.

Driveways usually sink because they haven’t been laid properly. They may not have been dug deep enough, or the installer might not have used the right materials. This will need to be corrected at the earliest opportunity, although in extreme cases, the driveway may need to be completly be relaid.

Driveway work is usually done in the warmer half of the year. This is partly to avoid bad weather. If you want to get ahead and avoid waiting for a contractor to be free, you should try getting in touch with a professional in the early spring so a date can be booked for install as soon as practically possible.

One thing you should know about block paving a drive is that it can be very expensive depending on a number of factors such as the materials to be incorporated, block paving pattern, labour cost as well as the size of the drive in question. However, before you get started it’s always a good idea to obtain multiple quotes to compare the prices and select the most reasonable quote. Here, we’ve provided a breakdown of the block paving cost to ensure that you’ll not get ripped off.

There are three main types of block paving which includes clay blocks, concrete blocks as well as natural stone. If you were to go for complex block paving patterns and extras such as drainage solutions and edging, you may have to pay a significantly higher price. The size of your drive is also a major determinant of your block paving cost. What’s more? The materials you need as well as the contractors you select will all play a key role in the final cost of block paving your drive.

The material cost for the three types of block paving includes: Clay block £70 to £100 per m2, concrete blocks £20 to £60 per m2 and natural stone £50 to £105 per m2. To calculate your total material cost, you’ll need to determine the size of your drive.

The cost of labour for installing block paving is usually within the range of £50 to £100 per square metre. In certain cases, you may also have some waste removal needs. If you’re going to hire a specialist that’ll take a day or two of labour to get the job done, it’ll cost about £150 to £200 per day.

Other additional block paving costs include: hardcore £300, blocks and edgings £1,700, sharp sand £250. kiln-dried sand £250 and skip hire £500.

Being a strong and durable product requiring little maintenance and expected to last over 2 decades, it’s little wonder resin is now a popular material amongst homeowners in the UK to build their driveways. However, there’s always the issue of the driveway fading, cracking or even becoming worn and tired. So is it possible to repair resin driveways? The answer is yes, a resin driveway can be repaired, however the best approach to use largely depends on the issue being faced. As a confident DIYer it’ll be very easy to do, but if you lack the confidence then calling in a professional for help would be a better option. So let’s take a look at how you can repair your resin driveways.

For cracks, the best reparation approach would be to chisel it out. Once done, then you can proceed to breaking the stones to form a rough edge. It’s important to make sure that the matrix of the stone remains unaffected. Make a new mixture of resin bound stone and pack it in tightly to the gap. While doing this, we’ll recommend making use of a plastic trowel to avoid burnishing. This fresh mixture will then create a smooth and perfect surface by interlocking with the edges. You can follow similar procedure for patches but these are larger holes or damages than cracks and as the name suggests are mostly likely to remain noticeable but will prevent further crumbling of your resin driveway.

For homeowners, who aren’t so keen about the patch repairs, you can opt for an overlay especially in the event whereby the majority of the surface has failed. Although many usually shy away from this approach because of the perceived high expenses, but the fact is that the approach is actually cost effective as you won’t have the need to spend more money in the long run.

Is Block Paving Permeable?

Back in 2008, there was a regulation introduced which comes with a requirement guiding the pavement of front gardens. It requires homeowners to incorporate the conventional impermeable driveways which makes for an uncontrolled run off of rainwater into sewers, roadways, local watercourses etc. However since then, new systems have been established which complies with the legislation and permit driveway laying of block paving without requiring planning permission while still providing the same visually appealing features as the conventional systems. Therefore, a short and simple answer to whether block paving is permeable is yes.

A permeable paving driveway (unlike the conventional ones which quickly diverts rainwater towards the edges to local drains) purposefully diverts rainwater into the built paving structure which oversees a controlled release of the rainwater into the environment. Permeable block paving comes with a wide range of benefits which includes the following:

• No Planning Permission Required

Unlike the traditional system, permeable block paving requires no planning permission as it oversees the driveway draining by ensuring that the surface water passes directly through the joints which makes sure the drains are not over worked and minimizing the risk of flood.

• Puddles Reduction By Natural Drainage

A permeable block paving minimizes puddles as well as standing water which helps to boost natural drainage. This is due to the laying process which features little voids that permits the passage of water.

• Natural Filtration

A natural filtration occurs when water is allowed to return to the ground by permeable block paving which helps assists in getting rid of any pollutants from the rain water.

• Flood Prevention

Permeable paving can help to prevent flooding as it absorbs water rather than directing it to the local drains or leaving it to build up on the surface’s top.

• Natural & Sustainable Materials

Natural and recyclable materials can be incorporated in producing permeable paving which is an excellent choice especially if you’re seeking a more sustainable driveway.

Removing oil from block paving can be tricky, and a professional clean and re-point is often the best option. However, for small stains, especially recent ones, it’s worth attempting to clean it yourself. To do this, you can purchase oil remover or driveway cleaning solutions – although be careful, as some may stain or mark certain kinds of paving stones. In general, stay away from acid based cleaners.