Jointing Block Driveways With Slurry, Using Clay Block Paving, Using
Concrete block paving stones, particularly the smaller, brick-sized pavers, have become amazingly popular in the last 20 years. This is largely because specialist firms have focused on delivering just block driveways and paths and nothing else. The concrete blocks have taken, by some estimates, over 80% of the UK home …
If you’ve decided that a hard patio surface is right for you, then your choices are down to material, size, colour, texture, and cost. There’s a wide range of stone, clay or concrete paving available for patios. For this article we’re going to assume that wet laid surfaces, such as …
Edging is important for a long-lived drive. If this isn’t done right it can lead to cracking, distortion and broken blocks at the extremities of the driveway. A course or two of edge blocks doesn’t just give the drive a professional finish, it also has to contain the sideways pressure …
Whether you’re laying concrete blocks (or flags) or clay bricks (or pavers), the process is largely the same. Any key differences with foundations and the like for the different materials will be covered below. We’ll use the phrase ‘block’ throughout this article to refer to all the different materials that …
The number of products that fit into the category ‘stone block’ is huge, so you need to think hard about what you’re looking for if you don’t want to make an expensive mistake with a new driveway at your home. Why is Stone So Popular? Although the traditional sources of …
Clay block pavements have been around for a very long time. In fact, some are still in use in the UK that were first laid over 400 years ago. They are used in driveways and pavements today and their installation is essentially the same as the cheaper Concrete Blocks that …
Algae, moss and eventually weeds can take over a newly laid drive unless you keep an eye on the situation. Regular applications of weedkiller and path clearing products will keep them under control, but many people don’t like using these chemical products because of the damage they can do to …
Replacing individual blocks in paving is possible, although the success of the repair does depend on some extent to the problem that you are trying to solve. If a block has cracked because the substrate below is not even, for example, then replacing the block without levelling the substrate will …
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, …
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 …