| Non-motoring > Driveway tarmaccing | Miscellaneous |
| Thread Author: Bobby | Replies: 13 |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 08:33
Driveway tarmaccing - Bobby
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Our driveway is red stone chips. It was meant to be a temporary measure after we Llifted a load of broken slabs maybe about 10 years ago. Neither the missus nor I like it. Her for the look, me because the stones get stuck in the treads of the car tyres and then either get deposited on the road or sometimes down the back of the brake discs. Brick driveways look nice but having spent a few full days every summer at my dad’s driveway clearing weeds and moss from his, I don’t fancy giving myself the same issues down the line. So we are thinking tarmac but I know nothing about it. Is tarmac, well tarmac, or are there different kinds, depths, durability etc etc? As cars pretty much go in the same place in the driveway each time I would hope not to end up with tyre grooves as a result? There are 3 main driveway contractors around here. All 3 have lots of recommendations on Facebook pages including my own page for our estate. But all 3 again come from the travelling community which I discovered once I checked with addresses on companies house etc. But all 3 been around here for well over a decade, it’s not that they have just appeared in a camp for the weekend. So what do I need to know about tarmac? And what questions should I ask when getting quotes? |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 09:42
Driveway tarmaccing - bathtub tom
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>> Brick driveways look nice but having spent a few full days every summer at my >> dad’s driveway clearing weeds and moss from his, I don’t fancy giving myself the same >> issues down the line. I've brick pave and solved the weed problem by getting some agricultural grade glyphosate (5L, £40, eBay). Dilute at the rate 25ml/1L water and spray any growth a couple of times a year. |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 10:34
Driveway tarmaccing - Fullchat
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I have a brick driveway. It's the spawn of the devil. Pros - Any remedial work such as drainage or sinking etc can be completed and everything reinstated. Cons - weeds etc. Its a full time job trying to keep it looking something like. Ive quite a big drive with side by side parking infront of the garage. This year I've been on hands and knees and scraped around every block where all sorts of growths have developed including Liverwort. Re sanded and sprayed with Wet and Forget cant use Glysophate weedkiller yet as we have a foster dog at present. Its looking good but already there is evidence of regrowth. Thing is I only did the same thing two years ago. :( Tarmac is nice but is very dependent on a really good foundation. Likewise resin drives. However if there is any call to be underneath then a repair is going to be so obvious. Last edited by: Fullchat on Sat 11 Oct 25 at 10:35
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Sat 11 Oct 25 10:50
Driveway tarmaccing - sherlock47
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Be aware of the planning requirements for new (or refurbished) driveways. Planning permission is likely to be required, and not granted for conventional tarmac. See... www.gov.uk/government/publications/permeable-surfacing-of-front-gardens-guidance/guidance-on-the-permeable-surfacing-of-front-gardens |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 14:08
Driveway tarmaccing - Bobby
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Not sure if conventional tarmac in this definition is still a thing? But can guarantee of the tens of new driveways in my estate over the last few years, no one will have sought planning permission. |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 16:53
Driveway tarmaccing - Ted
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t we had our resin driveway installed just about a year ago. Been superb, it was laid on 3inches of very rough concrete for drainage and water never pools on it. I made sure that the three services had been renewed in the last few years. The brick edges were supposed to be black but are battleship grey, I do have a spare and last year I sprayed it with Halford's matt black and left it out. To date, it's still black so I may do the rest if lethargy doesn't get me ! I think the RAV drips a bit of oil but there is no evidence on the resin. Tarmac was a consideration as it was original, !00 years ago but swm wanted resin and what swm wants, swm gets ! Anyway, I was allowed to buy my convertible as a reward, although I had to throw in a new lounge suite and carpet plus a bit of a refurb for the kitchen and diner ! So get your hand in your sporran Bobby ! Ted |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 17:45
Driveway tarmaccing - Bobby
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| The resin does look good but seems to be much pricier than block or tarmac. |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 20:58
Driveway tarmaccing - Manatee
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I like tarmac, it can look very good and lasts years if done properly - best hot rolled I believe. When we demolished and rebuilt we had to have a permeable driveway/parking. I used Marshall's Argent Priora IIRC. They are concrete blocks with granite in the top layer; they have bumps on the sides that create gaps between the blocks. They are installed with small chippings filling the gaps. There was a lot of digging out and I think there is 300mm ish of 20mm aggregate topped off with 50mm of smaller stuff for screeding under them. It's held up well so far and it's incredibly effective at draining water, the heaviest rain just disappears. Of course it needs somewhere to go. In theory this is absorbed by permeable subsoil. Mine has the advantage of being adjacent to a soakaway and a roadside ditch. It's expensive stuff to install, I have about 180 sq m. of it and the blocks were about £40 a metre +VAT (which I recovered on a new build) but there was a lot labour/machinery/muck away, plis all the kerbing that they need to be laid up to. I didn't really count the cost, the groundworkers were doing other bits as well but I imagine there was about £20,000 altogether so well over £100 a metre. Dirt gets in the gaps and little weeds pop up. I spend half an hour with a weed burner maybe every 3 or 4 weeks and it's fairly easy to keep them down. Overall I'm happy with it. The cheap way to do permeable is just gravel. |
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Sat 11 Oct 25 23:02
Driveway tarmaccing - Ted
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The resin is permeable and shows no sign of weed growth. There is a small gap on the outer edges of the bricks which traps leaves and is susceptible to weed growth,but it's not very much and is easy to clear. I have an unopened tub of some concoction for grouting paving so I'll probably seal all round with a fairly liquid mix of that in Spring. I think I estimated the rough cost at the time of about £12 per square foot...£5750 in all. It transforms the property. Fawn/beige in colour as the house is red brick. Ted |
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Tue 14 Oct 25 11:33
Driveway tarmaccing - Falkirk Bairn
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Son 1- Tarmac drive when he bought brand new house 20+ years ago. Breaking up/crumbling and was replaced by resin drive - all dug out, widened new hardcore, 3 years and no issues. Son 2 - New house 2010, brick driveway. Bricks lifted, drive widened and re-laid. Too narrow when laid originally and uneven in places after 13 years. My own experience - Driveway is 35 metres long and widened 3.5 metres wide. Still slabs which have been relaid twice. Relaid because of slight movement and a few puddles when there is a downpour. Nearly 20 years since last relaid and no movement. Dug out, new hardcore, sand + Stone chips - no appreciable movement since. Only one spot of flooding when very heavy rain and drains away when the rain stops. Nearly all neighbours have bricks and the Cowboys have stopped canvassing. Nearly all of the neighbours have gone bricks (much shorter driveways, I am on a corner). Most have suffered sinking + brick movement not just where the car sits) Most neighbours all seem to flood even with average rain apart from 2 - their brick driveways look pristine even 20 years on Next door had his done 15+ years ago, hexagonal bricks, weeds, movement of bricks, movement of edgeing - puddles in even modest rain. He had the worst area relaid but it is as bad as ever after 6/7 years |
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Mon 20 Oct 25 20:13
Driveway tarmaccing - MD
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It's all to do with the groundwork and correct drainage. MD |
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Tue 28 Oct 25 16:15
Driveway tarmaccing - John F
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| It's all to do with the quality of the tarmac....or asphalt, and the amount used. Modern binders (the black gunge which holds the grit together) contain plastic (polymer resins) but it's more expensive. I live in Northamptonshire which allegedly has the worst roads in the country. From my extensive experience of avoiding potholes on my bike and observing how quickly some repairs need redoing I am convinced the unmonitored delegated outfits that the Council indirectly employs to maintain them use the cheapest possible tar in the most minimal quantity they can get away with, even on main roads. I have seen sections of the A14 where lengths of the surface have just peeled away from the next surface down leaving shallow potholes several feet long. |
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Tue 28 Oct 25 17:11
Driveway tarmaccing - smokie
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Our council has talked about a policy of re-dressing roads, and how it is cheaper than a full re-surface. I quite liked the sound of it and it made sense. They did the very minor road (no buses or heavy lorries, purely residential) parallel to my place over the summer. The old surface had some fairly minor cracks which have soon replicated in the new surface. This isn't a unique experience if local social media is to be believed (and I usually don't!!). Anyway, I am less impressed now. I get outsourcing this kind of thing but surely there should be some oversight of quality. Hardly tricky to just do a drive-by after a month and confirm all looks well. |
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Sat 15 Nov 25 22:15
Driveway tarmaccing - Bobby
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Tarmaccing with a block edge due to start end of this week. Guy was round today just finalising details. He suggested doing brick on the access path to my front door where I currently have slabs. I mentioned the maintenance aspect of block with weeds etc and he said the secret is to spray it and seal it and never use a pressure washer on them. Anyone know anymore about this stuff? |
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