Paving problems solved

GOOD FOUNDATIONS: ensure your foundations are solid and about 260mm below the driveway surface with standard block pavers

On our experience, people rarely allow for enough height when digging out at the start of the job. We’ve seen this when we’ve been called in to help rectify DIY installations when we’ve seen it in driveways fitted by some other fitters.

Put simply, if you don’t dig enough out, you lay yourself open to several potential problems. You are likely to encounter a problem with drainage, you may end up with a nasty or difficult ramp causing difficulty getting onto the driveway with a car. Without the proper foundations you also risk sinkage or slippage. Ask us if you’re not sure.

Groundwork is the most important part of laying the driveway. All South West Driveways groundwork is carried out to British Standards (BS). This takes into account damp-proof courses.

ROCK SOLID: With good footings and a well-designed driveway slope, you won’t have a problem with flooding.

As a rule of thumb think of digging in terms of roughly 260mm below the surface of the drive that you want. It depends on the thickness of the block pavers you intend to install. Call us for advice on available sizes.

Bear in mind that the National House Building Council (NHBC), to whose standards South West Driveways conforms, insists on 150mm between finished driveway height and damp-proof course. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall.

LIGHT WORK: Hiring a mini-digger with driver is a cost-effective way of clearing large amounts of ground and ensuring you have the basis for good foundations

It really depends on the site in question but, if it’s of any size, we can’t recommend highly enough hiring a plant mini digger excavator.

This is by far the best and quickest but only attempt to use one with the correct training and guidance as they can be very dangerous.

At South West Driveways, we use our own mini digger that we bring to site. To hire one would generally cost around £200 a week (2010 prices).

Hand digging is of course an option and this will be especially useful around awkward or delicate places such as gas, water and electricity services. The standard depth at which you’ll find these services is 450mm. However, be careful, not everyone installs things to standards.

If you’re not sure if you need a digger or not, or think we might be able to help, just ask.

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PLANNING: A good plan will pay dividends when the build is under way.

It crucial to plan the work and it’s always the first thing that we do. When planning make sure you allow enough time for the work. We offer a free planning service for driveways we install.

Ensure you’re going to be OK to lose the use of your drive or garden for the time it takes to do the work.
Will the postman still be able to get to your door? Is there safe access for the dustman?

It’s going to be dirty, have a clear entrance to your house.
Where are the skips going to go? How will they be accessed?
Are your neighbours going to be upset? It’s worth telling your neighbours what you’re going to do and checking they are on your side.

Boundaries can be a very touchy issue so it’s worth spending time talking them through and marking them out prior to beginning. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

DESIGN NOTES: Many things are possible. Try to decide what works for you and your property. Leave out what doesn’t.

Decide if you like straight lines, patterns or curves. Some people like gentle slopes and curves. Others want everything in line and regimented.

Work out what you think works for your exterior space and what goes with your house. Leave enough room to get out of your car with shopping, comfortably and think where will the bins go?

South West Driveways offers a free driveway design service for its clients in Cornwall. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

FLOWER POWER: Incorporating raised beds or green borders can help your driveway to look more natural.

Cornwall is far from flat so there are often considerations to be made for uneven surfaces, dips and troughs.

Raised flowerbeds and small retaining walls are the best way to enhance a non-flat plot if you wish to have a space that is paved.

Retaining walls can be of any height, style or size. They should be planned in first because they will different footings from the driveway or patio. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

TRUNK CALL: A tree can add bags of character to a landscaped area. Think through all your options before deciding to remove one.

Trees can be an important part of the look and feel of a landscape so it’s worth thinking hard before deciding to remove a tree.

Always check if there are tree preservation orders, or if you are in a conservation area, because you will need to ask the local authority if removal is an option.

Paving circles around trees can look very attractive, they can be incorporated into a raised flower bed and finished in ornamental or decorative stone. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

RAINCHECK: Ensure your driveway plan allows for sufficient drainage of water through angling, design and/or soakaways.

A law came out in October 2009 about dispersion of water onto the highway which means that people can be charged for dispersing rainwater to the road.

Soakaways or porous blocks or drainage into flower beds are the main options to consider. Be wary about channelling rainwater onto your neighbour’s property. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

SOAKAWAY: Soakaways can be an important tool for removing water from your driveway quickly, safely and legally.

Soakaways can be reinforced but it’s not a good idea to have them where a vehicle is going to be driving or delivery drivers of oil or septic tank, etc will be going.

You can be clever about their location with a little underground engineering. Feel free to give us a call if you want more info on soakaways.

This is time-consuming. You can drain into a greywater tank to provide eco friendly water for the garden or washing cars. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

MANHOLES: Covers can be discretely incorporated into your driveway so there’s no unsightly manhole cover, while keeping the access open.

We’ve frequently discovered historically buried pipework or manhole covers that have been tarmacked over or covered with gravel. This is a potential hazard and not something we would recommend.

There are numerous ways of treating manhole covers to make them fit seamlessly with your driveway, patio or garden.

We have done some beautiful examples. Ask us for more info on manhole options. You can even get a manhole cover that can be turfed over to sit handsomely in the lawn. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

TIGHT FIT: There are several tricks to ensuring your blocks stay firmly together.

The trick is to start at the lowest point of the drive because this makes for a tighter fit, due to gravity, and a stronger bond.

The strongest pattern is a 45 degree herring bone. Laid correctly and with 200mm by 100mm stones, this also looks striking.

There is an infinite array of patterns available, depending on the block pavings you choose. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

GRAVITY: There’s no secret to what holds driveway pavers in place.

There are no great secrets here. There are nipples cast into the underside of most block pavers but the main thing holding your driveway to the floor is going to be gravity.

The next thing that ensures they don’t move at all, is the quality of their fitting to the stones next to them and the firmness and quality of the correctly-installed sub-base. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

ACCURACY: When the fit of the stones is right all that is needed between them is a little kiln-dried sand.

Many people ask us what’s going to go between driveway or patio block pavers to hold them in place.

We put kiln-dried sand in the joints which acts as a key. Kiln-dried sand has been carefully heated in an oven so that it’s fine and runs smoothly like the sand in an egg-timer. It penetrates the joint and holds the pattern firm.Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

COLOUR CORRECT: Take into account other elements of the look and feel of your home before making a decision on colour.

Colour is, of course, an important consideration. It’s worth trying to match the roof, windows or doors of the house.

If your house is made of Cornish stone or rendered and painted, this may have a bearing on the choice of colour and brick paver. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

STYLE GUIDE: There are so many styles available that we recommend limiting yourself early on to only a few.

There are literally hundreds of styles and colours available. But we recommend you limit your choices at an early stage to fewer than ten styles as the choice can sometimes hold you back from getting on with your driveway.

We keep samples of most of the drives, contact us if you’d like to see some.
We recommend having a look through the samples in our portfolio section. We’ve named each pattern and block so you can easily identify them. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

FEATURES: It’s possible to pave around many elements such as existing walls and flower beds. Make sure you plan for things you want to keep.

It’s possible to build around most things. It is important to think, at the outset, about the practicality of how you are going to live with your new driveway or patio.

You may need to think about a car turning area, play area for children, caravan storage, a place for a boat, bicycles or where your visitors will park. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

FOOTINGS: Good footings will ensure that you will not suffer from slippage, slump or creep.

With good, proper foundations you will have done everything you can to assure that the ground won’t move.

Our system of deep foundations offers the best protection against slippage or slump, indeed in the years we’ve been designing and installing driveways in Cornwall we have never seen a driveway slip or slump. We’ve had to rescue a few that have though. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall

SEALING: We recommend waiting before deciding to apply a sealant to your driveway.

You might think your new driveway will need sealing from the rain but it is not necessary and could lead to other issues such as excessive run-off.

Driveways and patios can be sealed either with shiny or matt finish. We recommend it’s left two to three weeks before considering this because any dust or debris will be washed away and you’ll have had time to see how the drive looks in its natural form. Click for more info on driveways in Cornwall