What Counts as a Permeable Driveway Surface? Is Tarmac Permeable

Many people are aware that the regulations in England for paving over front gardens for driveways have changed to persuade people to put in permeable driveway surfaces. The other countries in the UK have separate arrangements but are likely to follow suit. Permeable surfaces are defined as being permeable to …

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New Regulations For Paving Front Gardens

The paving over of front gardens for driveways, particularly in densely populated urban areas, has been a source of growing concern for some time, and the government acted at the beginning of October 2008 to introduce new regulations in England. Flooding and Other Environmental Problems The problem is three-fold, and …

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Formwork for Concrete Drives

Formwork is essential for making driveways, particularly if the concrete is to be poured on. Let’s face it, only the very shortest driveways are going to be constructed by shovelling on barrow loads of concrete by hand. What is Formwork? This refers to the barriers erected at the borders of …

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Mortar Techniques for Block Paving

When laying a block paving driveway or path you need to decide what way to fill the joins between each block. Essentially there are three methods: Loose Fill, Slurry and jointing with mortar. This last method, where mortar is applied directly into the gaps between the blocks of the paving, …

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Should I Use Reclaimed Or New Stone For My Driveway?

If you’re intent on using natural stone for a driveway, either in flags or smaller blocks such as setts or cubes, you can choose between reclaimed or new stone. This is partly driven by economics and partly by ecological issues, and the choice you make will depend on your personal …

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How I Avoided Cowboy Tarmac Companies: A Case Study

There are many good professional companies laying driveways today but there are cowboys, too, and a man in Dorset has managed to winkle out these rogue traders on both occasions that they have visited his home. Lucky Strike “The first time was more luck than judgement,” said Mark Paterson*. “I …

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Choosing the Right Driveway for Your Home

The number of different driveway materials that you can choose from is huge. Driveway Expert leads you through a host of relevant questions that will help you to pick the best driveway for your situation. 1. Are your neighbours’ driveways all paved in the same material? If you live on …

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Landscaping Around Driveways

Once your driveway is finished you’ll want to attend to the landscaping around it. Even if you take great care there will inevitably be damage to the areas around the driveway from Excavation For Foundations, vehicles and workers manoeuvring around the area, and possibly spillage of raw materials outside the …

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Safety and Driveway Laying

Safety is incredibly important when doing any DIY job and it’s even more important when laying driveways or paving. The materials can be dangerous and are often very heavy, so there are many hazards waiting for the unwary. We cannot, of course, give guidance for every occurrence but here are …

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Joint Block Paving With a Gun

Pulling out a gun to solve all your jointing worries doesn’t sound right, does it? Well, using a gun of that sort isn’t going to fix any driveway issues, unless of course you’ve been done by a Cowboy Contractor! Great Idea for Larger Paving Slabs No, the gun we’re talking …

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