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No, pattern imprinted concrete shouldn’t be slippery. Most good driveway installers will add a special anti-slip agent to the sealant before they brush it onto your driveway, so it will stop it from being slippery.

It’s important to ask a driveway company how they will seal your driveway when you get a quote from them. If an untrustworthy company seals your driveway badly, it can cause a thick and extremely slippery surface, so it’s vital that you ask any contractor what their procedure is before you engage them.

It’s also important to remember that pattern imprinted concrete isn’t a ‘non-slip’ surface – it’s just not slippery. You could still slip over on a concrete driveway, just like you could on tarmac or a block paved driveway. Also, once you’ve walked and driven over your driveway for a few months, its skid and slip resistance will increase as it weathers and builds up tiny specs of dirt on it. Pattern imprinted concrete is often used in high footfall areas in places like shops, fast food restaurants and theme parks, so if there was a significant slip risk these businesses wouldn’t use it.

You might think that you could ask your contractor not to seal the driveway to make it less slippery, but it could actually do the opposite. By sealing pattern imprinted concrete, it means that moss and algae is much less likely to grow, which can be extremely slippery to walk on if it’s left to its own devices. If moss does form on your driveway, the sealed surface is much easier to clean as you can simply pressure wash it away; this is not as easy to do on a non-sealed surface.

Tarmac is a material made up of broken stone and tar, used for surfacing roads, driveways and other outdoor areas. It’s actually a registered product trademark, but many people use ‘tarmac’ interchangeably with ‘asphalt’. Asphalt is similar to tarmac, but is now more commonly used, and is made from bitumen instead of tar.

Cleaning block paving is a fairly straightforward task, although you’ll want to be careful to not use any chemicals that may cause damage to the surface. Use a simple household soap, mixed with water, and brush this across the paving with a stiff brush. Then, simply rinse off with clean water. Alternatively, use a pressure washer – but be careful not to use it on a powerful setting, as this may damage the joints and can cause slabs to come loose. Using the pressure washer on a medium setting and at a 45 degree angle is recommended.

As a homeowner, your home is your haven where you can control things and add more value, however that doesn’t give you the license to go around digging up your driveway as you deem fit. Replacing your old driveway with a new one comes with its own unique set of rules which are put in place to ensure that your personal preferences doesn’t pose long term issues such as flooding or poor visibility on any adjoining road. You should however note that it’s not every time you would need a planing permission for your driveway.

Below are the circumstances whereby you’ll need to submit an application before commencing your driveway paving project.

• In the event whereby you are to pave a driveway of over 5 square metres and/or a permeable surface is not available for its drainage. If the later is not available, there’ll be an increase in the flood risk. As a result, there’s the need to take into account permeable paving for your project.

• In the event whereby you’re changing the visibility on your road. These situations include removal of trees, gates or walls and the like. So far your changes negatively affects drivers’ visibility, you’ll need a planning permission.

• In the situations whereby you need to include a drop kerb. You may plan to add in a drop kerb if you’re thinking about expanding your driveway. Therefore, since residents can’t change the roads or pavements at their first fanciful impulse you’ll need to consult your local council before submitting your application.

• In the situation whereby its a listed building. Planning decisions are also greatly affected by the need to protect historic building. So if your building is a listed one, you’d have to submit an application before making changes.

Is there a hole in your asphalt driveway you feel you can repair yourself? If it’s something you know you can confidently do then this step by step guide is just for you. If otherwise, then we’d recommend you hire the services of a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results while also saving you some time and extra money that could result from possible errors. In this article, we’d go over the reparation process of an asphalt driveway with a hole in it.

✓ Get the necessary tools. You’re going to need a broom ( to clean the area), caulking gun ( to fill the hole), a hand tamp a plate compactor or a hammer ( to level the filled in hole) and a weeding glove (just in case there are weeds growing in the hole).

✓ Prepare the area. Do this by weeding the plants or weeds that might have grown inside the hole and identify your asphalt filler.

✓ Wet your soil, if necessary. It’s important to note that this is only necessary if your soil is dry to help the filler stick properly.

✓ Fill in deep holes. If the hole goes down about 3 to 4 inches or more, simply fill it with any material like rocks, clay etc.

✓ Apply the asphalt filler. Fill the hole with the asphalt filler to about half an inch higher than the surface of the driveway.

✓ Level the filler. For a large hole, make use of a plate compactor or a hand stamp, but a hammer will be sufficient for smaller holes.

✓ Cover the hole, if necessary. If your home isn’t level, covering your hole with a piece of plywood is advisable.

✓ Clean off the seal. After the asphalt looks done and in place, simply brush away the debris from the seal to finish off the project.

Some paving projects require you to cut paving slabs to make them fit into a smaller space. To do this, firstly you need to measure the slab and draw a line in pencil or chalk where you want to cut.

There are then several different ways you can cut the slab – you or your professional can choose the one you or they are most happy with. A hammer and chisel can work well, or a handheld saw. You can also use an angle grinder fitted with a stone-cutting disc.

Creating a tarmac path or driveway is a tricky process. It’s a job best left to professionals who know what they’re doing, as there are plenty of opportunities for it go wrong. However, even if you’re planning to hire someone to do it for you, it’s worth knowing how it’s done.

Firstly, you’ll need to remove any existing path or driveway and excavate down to formation level – about 175mm below paving level. Then, a membrane is laid down to prevent weed growth.

Next, a sub-base goes down, usually made of crushed rock or concrete. This is compacted and the tarmac is laid over the top. This is put down in two layers, and is rolled to make it compact and smooth.

It’s important to use edging when laying tarmac, to ensure that it doesn’t run off where you want your path or driveway to be. Tarmac paving and driveways also needs suitable drainage.

How to joint pave or grout paving slabs is a common question asked by several home owners. Most times they may have some existing paving and thinking its high time to have them re-pointed or laid some new pavings and wondering how to fill the gaps.

In the UK, patios don’t get much use especially during cold winter months. However even when not in use, the combination of wet weather and cold temperatures is capable of having the hardest outdoor living spaces looking a bit neglected. This may lead to cracked grouting which leaves gaps between stones making way to a place where weeds can grow and flourish during spring. You definitely wouldn’t want your outdoor living space looking this messy. Hence, there’s a need to get your patio back on track by grouting the paving slabs. However, if you lack proper training or experience, it’s advisable to employ a reliable professional who can guarantee the best results. In this guide, you’ll learn more about the paving slabs grouting process.

• Saturate the area that needs to be repointed with the help of a hosepipe and/or watering cans. Use a yard brush to distribute the water across the paving slabs.

• Pour a generous amount of your compound product over the newly soaked patio.

• Sweep the into the joints where it’s needed with the help of a broom. Do this carefully in order to make sure each and every joint is fully filled with the compound. If done right, this can help prevent premature cracking for a long period of time.

• Once the joints are filled with the compound, brush aside the exces product and strike it in. Ensure that the product is pressed firmly into each gap leaving behind no spaces.

• Sweep out the excesses which can be kept for future use.