To put spikes in my front driveway flower bed.

[PurpleBugz]

I live on a road where very few houses have driveways. This means there are cars parked both sides of the road. Cars regularly pull into my driveway to allow other to pass/turn around.

I used to have a gravel driveway and the constant cars turning made a massive dip. It was filled in periodically but a reoccurring problem. I saved up and block paved my driveway. it’s got sort of decorative raised brick along one side and I’ve planted nice flowers down the other side. Before it was set people turning on it messed up the brickwork on one side and they have just repeatedly driven over the flowerbed and ruined it.

Every morning I watch one particular taxi turn on my drive and most days he hits the bricks amd they are getting loose. I’ve gone and stood there when I know he’s due and point to what he's doing to make it very clear I’m not happy. This took courage for me as it’s a neighbour from down the street and I don’t cope well with confrontation. He has continued to to it. I’m having the day from hell for other reasons and I just watched another neighbour churn up the flowers with his massive van- he lives in the house opposite and does it every day too. I stood angry at the window with my arms up in a gesture of “what the?! I can see you” he looked directly at me and just carried on and unashamedly parked on his own drive opposite. I’m scared to speak to that family as they are loud and agressive regularly vandalise cars that park near their driveway and I think they were raided by police for drugs a few months ago or it may have been next door to them.

Probably bimonthly on bin day my bin gets knocked over by cars reversing onto my drive and knocking it over. Not so bad when it’s empty but if it’s before the bin lorry has been I’ve had to deal with rubbish bags soaked from rain missed by binmen/ripped open by cats.

Would I be unreasonable to put spikes in my flower bed and on the bricks at the other side? If I do this I will probably damage at least a couple car tyres a day as it happens so much each day. As the main culprits are the taxis work vans and Amazon/delivery drivers it will impact their income.

OP, are you worried they’ll be vengeful?

Spikes would be a problem due to possible injury. Maybe bollards or large plant pots, big enough to damage a car rather than the pot. As a deterrent, not actually to damage a car.

I can't afford a gate unfortunately. Would be months saving up for it. Also think my lease has something about not putting in fences at the front not sure if that would mean no gate. No one els on the road has a gate

Looking at getting a couple big rocks and again it's out of budget 😔. But I think that's the next thing I will be saving up for

See if anyone is getting rid on freecycle or Facebook. It is the sort of thing I see on there sometimes.

You wouldn't have to cover the path with the chain (or gates) - just have it across the drive fixed to two posts. Meanwhile, tie a piece of rope or washing line across.

Yeah I posted in anger spikes is a bad idea. Some of my neighbours are really nasty there are regular incidents with wing mirrors knocked off and cars keyed over the parking. Opposite made my upstairs neighbour move after they kept parking too close to his drive making getting his massive van out difficult. They installed cameras and had the police out a couple times then moved.

This is what penguin bollards are for op!

Or a deckchair and a megaphone.

Many years ago I had a problem with people reversing into the end of my fence and breaking the post. I repaired it a few times then replaced it with a steel post set into concrete. I bought the post for a few pounds from a scrap yard
I saw a few people reverse into that post and drive off with a badly damaged car.

I guess the best way you can get around it then, without making it obvious it’s because of them, is to get gates. It can be taken you just want a more private drive. Problem is, they’re expensive and it’s maddening you have to do stuff like this to appease arseholes.

Round my way people edge with jagged rocks and paint them white so they are easily seen. Because they are so mishaped they have sharp edges without being quite as aggressive as spikes

Chain it. I agree. So simple yet effective. Not a spike in sight.

Check freecycle and eBay for gates, or make one out of a pallet.

what pricks!
This would fuck me off badly. There is no need to damage the borders at all.

I would honestly buy a bollard (electric if I could afford it)

I'd put something like this.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1190461408/rectangular-grey-textured-concrete

Hard enough to hurt their car, impossible to move once filled with soil. And not using up too much space and you can still have flowers

@PurpleBugz don't expect it to do much good but at least, puts them on notice?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/no-turning-signs-driveway-spike/s?k=no+turning+signs+driveway+with+spike

What about some oversized pots, but fill them with concrete? Leave space on top for soil and plants? Could look lovely, as well as being functional. Nobody will be lifting those!

This, put a large white boulder, something solid and tall enough to catch a bumper on the corner on each side.
You can grow flowers that trail over it, but they won't be able to drive over it.

Yeah I did think about doing something like that but unless I put a post up it will be on my house so they will be on the drive before they see it. Plus they see me gesture not to do it and do it anyway so would be pointless. Also my upstairs neighbour and next door neighbour turn on my drive too and while it posses me off they are careful and they are nice people I don't want them thinking the sign is aimed at them 😂

Someone earlier posted a like to big rocks and I saw there was that Karla payment option so I think I will look for a couple big white balls with the same payment option and hopefully that will fix the problem. Just infuriates me the selfishness and unashamed mess of some of my neighbours

100% behind this suggestion.

Gates can be opened to allow pedestrian access but can be kept closed without impacting on the actual driveway. When you need to leave your driveway, open the gates, drive your car out and then get out (or if you have a passenger, get them to do it) and close the gates behind you.

Yes it will be a faff but better that than big boulders which may impede your own access or get stolen. Gates should work.

Alternatively, sit and wait for cars to do their turnabout in the driveway and spray the windscreen with something like silly string or something. Better yet, get a motion activated garden hose and position it so that it is directed at the driver windows of cars - as the weather is supposed to be getting warmer, more likely for drivers to have their windows down and they'll get a soaking! (only somewhat messing with this suggestion).

We had terrible issues with this at our work parking area. In the end we got 2 really cheap plastic bins and filled them with gravel so they couldn't be moved easily. It stopped people from being able to turn round and we clipped a chain between them from each handle. Whole thing cost under £40.

Add huge rocks, nobody will fall on them and get injured but it will take a chunk out of his van. Not your problem.

Lots of people put massive boulders to prevent this from happening especially on School roads

Also can you park your car on the road to prevent them from doing this ?

A DIY option can be quite cheap. I see a lot of gardens near me with home made concrete blocks, usually something like postcrete moulded in large plant pots, buckets or plastic bowls. Pour in the mix, let it set and then turn it out like a sand castle. Paint white so it can be seen.

A bit like this; https://playvolutionhq.com/diy-concrete-blocks/

You might think about stopping everyone using your drive to turn - including your nice neighbours. It’s your private property - not a turning space. A chain seems the simplest and cheapest solution.

Big rocks and paint white