Paving - can anyone tell me where to start?

[maggiethecat]

We are looking to re-pave our drive - about 12ft x 9 ft and not sure what the various options are.
Currently there is just concrete finish (not slabs) that got wrecked when we had some works done to the house and a skip was parked up - left it all cracked.

What do you have and what's good about it?

Be careful as there are rules for drives in front gardens due to flooding.

Really? how do i find out more?

Your local authority.

I think you can pave on top of concrete so that you don't have the expense of taking it out. Maybe someone will come along and confirm this for you?

Paving on unstable cracked concrete is probably not a good idea. You need a suitable base, not a damaged one. A decent landscape contractor can sort it all out for you.

You could also look at Tarmac with a granite sett edging. We have this and it is really smart and does not crack. It also does not show any oil marks! You do already have a drive so I don't think there will be a major issue regarding drainage. Your drive is pretty small too so it won't produce much surface water. You can drain it into the house water drainage system if possible. We do, but our drive is much larger and we have a private soakaway system. I think councils are concerned when front gardens are turned into parking, not replacement of an existing drive, but do check. How do you park a normal car on a 12 ft drive? That is really short!

I think it depends on what you want to replace it with - we are having ours gravelled next week for three reasons: it doesn't need planning permission as it's water permeable, we like the look, and gravel is good for security (you can't walk on it silently!). It's also cheaper than having it paved.

We have gravel too.