New Drive Way - Sub base and seperating fabric question

Discussion in 'Landscaping and Outdoors' started by kiteboy, Sep 15, 2021.

  1. kiteboy

    kiteboy Member

    Hi all

    After I had a barney with the guy doing our drive we are in a hell of a mess outside now and so I think Im going to at least do the sub base myself for new drive - at least that will be compacted and fairly tidy

    We were going to have imprinted concrete but im thinking that we may go for blocks now - probably tobermore ones - jsut to get it tidy more than anything

    We do have a clay soil here and my plan was - as part of the cost of getting a digger in we may as well replace the lead pipe while we are at it - however the ground is very very wet so I cant see us being able to dig down enough to replace it - I maybe wrong but as soo as a hole is dug you get water in there

    Anyway thats a seperate issue - the main query I have is the fabric to provide a separation layer - theres lots on the market and I have no clue if one is better that the other - I take it they are all a much of a muchness but just wanted to check really

    I was looking at DriveTex - seems to be made for the job

    Thanks for any advice - oh and there will be two cars on the drive too if that makes a difference
     
  2. stevie22

    stevie22 Screwfix Select

    here are 100s of different fabrics around. Different types of plastic used, different methods of manufacture, different thickness.

    You'll be best off with a non woven fabric on clay as it will hold the fines down better than a woven fabric and try to get a wide roll as that will give less waste on laps which want to be 300
     
    WillyEckerslike likes this.
  3. kiteboy

    kiteboy Member

    Brill - thanks - will see what I can find - thanks for the tip
     
  4. stevie22

    stevie22 Screwfix Select

    Use crushed concrete rather than conventional type 1: it is cheaper and works better.
     
  5. WillyEckerslike

    WillyEckerslike Screwfix Select

    Glad you're not having the imprinted concrete. It's only my opinion of course but I think it looks about as fake as a thirteen pound note and actually devalues a property. Just to reiterate - only my personal opinion.
     
    ramseyman likes this.
  6. kiteboy

    kiteboy Member

    Well Im not completely gone off imprinted yet to be honest - but yeh I know what you mean - its not the first time Ive heared that it looks fake too - not sure on devaluing mind - I hope not!

    Ive been going from block to imprinted quite a bit - theres no perfect drive as far as I can tell all have pros and cons

    Crushed concrete - I think the stuff they take away in skips will be sold back to me!! Will see what I can get hold of once we have the required depth - we had a problem of a drive on top of original drive so theres quite a bit of material to take away
     
    WillyEckerslike likes this.
  7. stevie22

    stevie22 Screwfix Select

    Type 1 only describes the grading, not the material. Traditionally it's limestone or granite though we used a lot of blast furnace **** when I worked in Kent many years ago.

    More recently we used the proper stuff on a road construction job in very wet conditions and it didn't stand up too well. Crushed concrete did (it was graded and sold as type 1) and it was considerable cheaper. Even 50mm down straight out of the crusher, ie ungraded, will do you well.

    I agree with Willie about the appearance of imprinted concrete!
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice