Give me your opinions on driveways please!

[TheMotherChip]

We need a brand new driveway. Currently just have shingle spread on the soil and it looks messy. I really can’t decide what I like though. House is modern yet country-style, not in a conservation area so no restrictions. I need to know opinions on what’s naff and what’s nice, what is the most practical and what sort of prices should I expect? Any other ideas such as edging styles would be good to know.

I like the look of resin with stones in it. It also seems to be non slip. I dont know if it is hard wearing though. Sorry not to be of more help.

Illy neighbour has a resin driveway on a slope and it’s a total nightmare when it rains/cold weather. It becomes an ice rink for some reason, even the postman falls over.

We need to get our driveway done abd were erring towards a simple concrete driveway with a drain at the bottom. I do like those mock block paving ones though where they put the imprint onto coloured tarmac. They look pretty good when done well.

We have block paving because I didn’t like the other options at the time.

Our drive is quite high maintenance; north facing and overhung with trees - we are constantly bleaching it, scrubbing the weeds out and resanding.

However I think tarmac looks scruffy, and I don’t like imprinted concrete.

These resin drives look lovely. Our neighbours had one done two years ago, after I’d advised them against block paving. I wished I’d had the same, but I notice it’s discoloured and the weeds are coming through.

There’s no perfect drive.

We're about to get ours done - there's no "naff" or "right" - it really depends on what you want. We've had about 4 companies quote - standard 3 bed semi with drive for 1 car, looking to re-do that bit of drive plus take up half of lawn in front garden so we can park 2 cars.

Cheapest is tarmac - about £3.5k
Then imprinted concrete - £3.5 - 3.7k
Then gravel - £4.2k
Then block paving £5.9k
Lastly resin £6.9k

Manchester

All ex - VAT

I had block paving as it was straightforward. Not the rectangular all one size version, the one where there are squarer blocks of two sizes.

Seems practical. A few weeds in this first year but easily fixed. Not slippery in winter.

Gravel should be the cheapest by far... name change that price for gravel is ridiculous... others seem about right
Resin looks best but is by far the most expensive

Anyone know what the stuff is that is sort of half gravel half resin? It is pale yellow - looks solid but with very small pieces of grit (same colour as base) on top?

@Alexalee My understanding (and I may be way off) Is that there's a kind of grid structure underneath the gravel which keeps it all boxed in / stops it from moving which pushes the price up. Parents (in the SE) have had similar split of prices even though theirs is much bigger - gravel is more than tarmac or imprinted concrete, less than block or resin.

Imprinted concrete is awful.
If it bubbles, they try and fix it but it still looks bad. Ours bubbled a year in.

Have block now, it's beautiful.

Expensive but beautiful.

The resin drive I've seen and know it looked lovely when it was just done now has bare patches in quite a few places after about 4-5 years and looks dreadful.

Maybe the base wasn't prepared properly beforehand though.

I think cotswolds stone (loose) is a classic and clean look. Will need to be topped up every couple of years though. Worth it though IMO.

What is Cotswold stone ? Is that just a type of gravel?

Yes, à la: www.marshalls.co.uk/homeowners/view-cotswold-chippings

Be aware that if it is not a permeable surface for the rain to drain away, you may need planning permission.

I happen to write about driveways for a living... (among other things!)

resin bound (as opposed to resin binded) are by far the best. but are expensive.

As long as you get an excellent contractor who is experienced and attention is paid to the sub base for drainage, you shouldn't have problems with it being icy. You can expect it to last as long as 30 years - compared to around 10 years for most other driveways. Also resin is practically maintenance free.

That said, a nice brick paved driveway looks lovely and although it needs maintenance, is a nice stable driveway when laid correctly.

Asphalt and concrete will crack and crumble and they need to be sealed yearly to prevent stains and fading. But they are quick and cheap.

And you already know the drawbacks of gravel - stones disappearing into the soil and needing topping up, stones getting everywhere, needing to rake it regularly, rutting, and weeds.

Many people are going for the environmentally friendly approach of a simple soil driveway. it can look lovely but the soil needs to be topped up with Stone for stability.

there's loads of articles online about this (not just mine!)

yes - be careful about water drainage. if your driveway is over a certain size, you need it to be permeable (resin bound is). the council will get cross and ask you to rip it up otherwise.

Following!

I was planning to put an open block driveway into the house that I was planning to build. That's not happening now, but I might do it in this house and plant it with clover or grass.

We went with tarmac. It's a big drive and a little too non permeable for me. It's very well laid but lethal in ice. I fell on it last winter and had a massive shiner.

If I had my time again I'd go with the open block and grass. I love it. Reckon it takes a good bit of work to keep it looking well mind you.

Tr