Which driveway ?

K

kittypat

Guest
I am thinking of putting in a new driveway and would like anybodies advice on this issue. Would you suggest cobblelock,tarmac,cement or something else. All opinions welcome as well as potential pitfalls to watch out for. If someone has had a good or bad experience i would also welcome their views and recommendations.
 
If you have the money I would go Tarmac, cobblelock gets weeds and IMHO just doesn't look as good, ditto for cement for the look. Get a few inches, not just a bare skim, or some heavy rain could just lift it on you
 
IMHO is definitely 'in my honest opinion' . Google will give you these abbreviations.

If you run the search option there is plenty of discussion on driveways. IMHO :) imprinted concrete is the best option for maintenance free as compared to the other options. We have cobblelock and its a pain with weeds and needing cleaning every few years with high pressure water cleaner.
 
I've only ever had one driveway and it's cobblelock (was done before my time, does have a few weeds, but nothing scary) and one thing I would prefer about it is if it was a warmer colour. The front of my house faces north and looks quite cold. I would prefer a warm mustardy/orangey colour rather than the cool dark red/burgundy it is. Somebody on my road has the mustardy/orangey colour and it looks great. Just something to bear in mind. IMHO ;)
 
We have small pebbles. I wouldn't change them for anything. They soak up the rain. Oil spills, no problem just give them a rake. Good as security, crunching sounds and all that. No problem with weeds. They really look nice. If you have draincovers in your garden as I have you just add an extra layer of stones on top and they become invisible.
Great fun adding a handful of white stones from the beach (probably illegal?) to make them glisten when it rains.
 
We have had cobblelock down for almost 10 years and have had no problem with weeds. If you get cobblelock, make sure you get someone really reputable to do it (or you will have a weed problem) and NEVER let casual callers steam clean it (ditto).

And IMHO, IMHO means 'in my humble opinion' - usually used when the opinion being offered is anything but humble...
 
I am considering a similar situation.

Have already decided that the back of the house will be nicely concreted. Both sides, front and driveway now need a solution. I have considered cobblelock or Paving as it is called. I looked at some new installations and they look good, but older jobs can look 'grubby'. Also, some of the 'best' contractors work would not please me.

I had tarmac at my last house and it attracted dirt and moss in places, also was easily damaged. I spoke to a tarmac contractor re ashphalt and he said it gets slippy around a house when it is wet.

The crunch stones seem to have less issues and is much cheaper. It will not be damaged by machinery, or oil lorries etc. My only concern is will it hold dirt which may be constantly carried through the front door.

Hope this is food for thought.
 
kbie said:
The crunch stones seem to have less issues and is much cheaper. It will not be damaged by machinery, or oil lorries etc. My only concern is will it hold dirt which may be constantly carried through the front door.
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In my experience of smaller stones, they get dragged into the house and scratch wooden and tiled floors.

A well fitted cobblelock driveway that's treated once or twice a year with Pathclear won't give you any problems. A neighbour gets them power-treated but that seems to remove any residual sand and makes exposure to weeds even greater.
 
Staples said:
In my experience of smaller stones, they get dragged into the house and scratch wooden and tiled floors.

A well fitted cobblelock driveway that's treated once or twice a year with Pathclear won't give you any problems. A neighbour gets them power-treated but that seems to remove any residual sand and makes exposure to weeds even greater.
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All true. If you get cobblelocks, theres a higher grade of stone thats slightly more expensive then the common red ones that a lot of people have, it has a smoother side that lets it lock tighter. 4-5 weeks after laying when rain has washed off residual dust and scrapings from the whacker, seal it with any of the common sealers found in most hardware stores. Its relatively inexpensive and depending on wear and tear youll get 2-3 years out of.

If you have power washed it and removed some filler sand, purchase a couple of bags of sand, brush over, wait a couple of weeks for the rain to settle it and then seal again. There should be no reason why weeds would be coming up if it was laid right with a good base, sealed regularly and is looked after properly.

Its like anything really, maintain it and youll get good life out of it.
 
tarmac, just make sure you get it well laid as cheaper companies cut corners. brilll for kids, clean etc. our down five years powerwashed once last year as moss beginning to grow as we are under neighbours trees. few dandellions where tarmac meets kerbs, nothing a cheap spray from tecos clears with a few squirts.
 
kbie said:
Yes it will be a concrets section of about 20 Feet out to kerbs and then grass behind these.
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I just can't visualise this. It sounds disgusting but maybe I am wrong. Would you not re-consider the pebbles, maybe even the sandstone coloured type. We have them for years and you do not bring them in to the house on your shoes.

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