Driveway Advice

3 years ago

Looking for driveway advice please. I have quite a big driveway that goes all the way to the side and then the front of my house. At the moment I have tarmac which has been down for years, way before I bought the house. It looks hideous and I hate it. I know to have block paving or resin would cost a huge amount which I can't afford at the moment. I wonder if I can put gravel on top of the tarmac, without any other materials being required, which will look better than just the tarmac. This will be a cheaper solution to improve things for now. Would really appreciate any advice and photos. Many thanks.

Featured Answer

keiblem

3 years ago

You cannot lay loose gravel over tarmac. It would be a slip hazard and it would drift all over the place.

I had a similar tarmac drive that was a substantial size and did nothing for the house. I hired a pneumatic chisel and dug it all up. You will need a skip or two to have it removed. I was lucky because underneath was a good sub base of what I believe was crushed lime stone chips so I didn’t have to excavate that. I simply ran a compactor over it. I dug down at the edges and laid a brick edging on top of concrete all around the perimeter where it met the lawn and flower beds. They were haunched half way up with concrete on both sides to stop them moving. The edging is important to contain the gravel. I then laid approx 40 to 50 mm of buff coloured 20mm pebbles (to compliment the sandstone house) over the sub base and ran a compactor over that. Any smaller than 20mm gets stuck in car tyres and any deeper than a few inches and it feels as if you are walking on quick sand. As with any drive it is important that it slopes away from the house and finishes 150mm below the damp proof course. Another bonus was that when it rained the water permeated down whereas before it ran off onto the pavement. I had a lot of mature trees which seemed to thrive better after I had replaced the hard surface with permeable.

Twenty years later when I sold the house it was only just beginning to need a little top up. In all those twenty years all it needed was a bit of raking over once a year and some moss killer in the shady parts. I have to say it was the best thing I did and compared to block paving was as cheap as chips. I continued it around to the rear terrace where it filled the spaces between York flagstones and acted as a mulch around the plants. It saved a lot of labour because it suppressed the weeds.

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Comments (16)

Wumi
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
You wouldn't be able to just lay gravel over it. You'd need to excavate.

If you can't afford to change at the moment, why not refresh with some tarmac paint?
tgross39 thanked Wumi
Angie
3 years ago
Gravel can look lovely but it can also gradually disappear as it gets picked up by tyres pulling off the drive. 6 years ago our house had a generous layer of gravel, today it has very little! I think laying it over tarmac could be problematic as Wumi suggests.
tgross39 thanked Angie
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Ricky Watkins
3 years ago
pressure wash it regularly
tgross39 thanked Ricky Watkins
sarh123
3 years ago
You can get bags of tarmac to do small repairs-I saw our builders use it and it looked straightforward. Then I’d just get some lovely pots planted to take the eye away from the tarmac.
tgross39 thanked sarh123
Sonia
3 years ago
I don’t know about you, but I need a lie down after reading keiblem’s driveway makeover! 😂 Tarmac can be repaired and if it’s too much for you, I’m sure a decent builder could fill in the gaps for you.
tgross39 thanked Sonia
tgross39
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks all for your advice. Pressure wash does not work. I did it again at the weekend. It would not get up the moss and was just pulling up the tarmac.
88wj88
3 years ago
I would just another layer of tarmac to make it all the same colour. Actually just moving the bins towards the garage would be a huge improvement and replace with a planter and flowers.
tgross39 thanked 88wj88
carocat24
3 years ago
Could you dig up the section in front of the house and plant a garden there, you’d have something nicer to look at than just tarmac then.
tgross39 thanked carocat24
tgross39
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks, I have a big front garden with lawn and borders with lots of plants and flowers already at the front of the house. I just hate the tarmac. It seems to have got so much worse this last year with all the rain and moss which I am struggling to get off the tarmac, tried both salt and jet washing. I will try some other things now and then maybe repair some tarmac sections and then paint it.
Wumi
3 years ago
I’ve seen loads of videos of people stencilling their drives and patios, some even with brick patterns. Worth a look.
tgross39 thanked Wumi
pjdklm
3 years ago
Hi- if you are keen on gravel, it might be worth investigating gravel grids. They can be laid over tarmac and will keep the gravel in place. I used them in my own garden 5 years ago to create a base for loose laid porcelain tiles and they were dead simple to use DIY. Have a look at this website’s FAQs... it is very informative... it even explains how you can deal with elevation changes so you can open your garage door. https://www.nidagraveluk.co.uk/gravel-stabilisation-grid-faqs/.
tgross39 thanked pjdklm
keiblem
3 years ago
Without going into too much detail putting gravel grids over tarmac is only possible if the tarmac is in good condition, which it isn’t. The finished level is below the DPC, the tarmac already appears to be at that level (the black strip under the brickwork). There is sufficient fall for runoff, vital because the rainwater will have nowhere to go except sitting where it is or flowing sideways. I am afraid these are just some of the reasons why, in this situation, it would not work.
tgross39 thanked keiblem
keiblem
3 years ago
If jet washing is breaking up the tarmac as easily as you say then it sounds as if it might not have been laid correctly in the first place. I would be inclined to dig down in an out of the way corner to find out what you are dealing with before you throw any money at it.

I know you say you hate it but perhaps if you just relocate the dustbins and invest in some potted plants for now and revisit it at a later date.
tgross39 thanked keiblem
tgross39
Original Author
3 years ago
Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate your advice. The tarmac has been done for many many years to be fair so likely needs replacing but I'm trying to find a cheaper fix for now rather than replacing with resign or block paving which would be very expensive and not something I want to pay out for at the moment. I already have lots of borders with plants, a number of potted plants and everyone seems to be obsessed with where my wheelie bins are ;-).
keiblem
3 years ago
I think it’s a national obsession where to put our wheelie bins and the multitude of other boxes we are required to use today! 😩

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