Anyone gravelled their own driveway? Top tips needed please!!

[foxcub]

We have applied to have a vehicular crossing and have been shocked that our council want to charge us £1,450 for the privilage (over 3 times what it cost 3 years ago!! .

Ths means that the only way we can afford off street parking is to pay the council to drop the curb, and then do the driveway ourselves.

Has anyone atempted this?

We want to put gravel down and have no idea how to treat the soil etc underneath.

Any tips?

Help please!!

dunno but I can find out the size gravel you need from a colleague who used to sell it. I think consolidted gravel is worth getting - think it is mixed with earth and packs down firm rather than having bits of gravel flaoting everywhere.

I will give you one tip.

DO NOT UNDER* ANY CIRCUMSTANCES be tempted to google 'hardcore'.....you will not get teh answers you want!!!!

www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/Drive.htm

You can buy a weedproof membrane to go under any hardcore you lay. Very highly recommended. Ours misses a corner and it is noticeable.

I think it is personaly choice as to whether you go for 10mm gravel or 20mm gravel. I think 20mm is the 'usual' stuff. We were warned against 10mm as the stones are small enough to get stuck in the tread of tyres and although they are unlikely to puncture they won't do the tyre any good.

Oh and my second biggest tip (after the google one) is that you should hire a skip twice the size of what you expect to need!!!

Thanks kew - would love to know which gravel to get

aviatrix - did you put a membrane down?

Spider - what is the skip for - bits of topsoil? [thick and clueless emoticon]

is your quote for the council workmen themselves to do your kerb? Round here private firms are also listed by the council as approved contractors to do the work so you might find you can get it cheaper - it sounds v.expensive to me.

I would recommned slabs for regular vehicle access. We have gravel as well as slabs and its ok for occasional use but not for everyday, it moves about and compacts, especially if not done professionaly. Y

You will ned serious amounts of the stuff laid very deep on a membrane to stop the weeds coming through and water to drain through.

It may be worth checking with the council if they are planning any highway maintenance (kerb renewal/resurfacing) in your street in the near future. If so they may be willing to do your crossing at a lower rate as part of that job.

Millie - the council won't allow anyone else to do it and its such a rip off . Me thinks its a punative charge as they like to think they're eco friendly, whereas in fact they are just a crap incompetent council .

OK, rant over...

Is it just earth, covered in membrane, covered in gravel or am I missing something crucial here?

I had my drive gravelled this year - cousin did it for me, he put hardcore down first and then compacted it before laying the gravel down. He also edge the area with bricks and cement, this stops the gravel going onto the grass. At the edge of the drive he used curb stones and it creates a lip to stop all the gravel going onto the pavement.

Most of the equipement he hired, wacker plate for compressing the hardcore, cement thingy.

The hard core will stop the car sinking in the winter when its wet, He never treated the soil as the hardcore went down and formed a layer between.

Telephone the council and find out when they have plans to resurface your road and pavements. My road was done a year previous and I asked the workmen to drop the curb an extra 4 foot to allow for me to eventually have a double drive - they did this and there was no charge. So it is worth asking if work will be done in the next year or so as it could save you a small fortune.

The skip is for the waste topsoil.

We planned to do
dig a hole
weed membrane
hardcore (broken bricks & slabs and suff)
Gravel

We did
dig a hole
weed membrane
lay slabs which were actually mostly whole and stick up above hte gravel in places because the bedding layer wasn't flat and DP got bored of digging and couldn't be bothered/didn't think we needed to break up hte slabs
Gravel

foxcub, councils only pass on the actual cost, and there are liability issues to consider, they can't let any old person dig up the public highway. Off street parking will surely add value to your house?

Don't do it - kids can't cycle on gravel!

But it deters burglars (a bit)...

Esp the burglars on bikes!

fox - I have my notes on laying gravel from the horticulture course I did a few years ago which I can look out for you in the morning.

Ooh yes please sazzy!

PMSL at the vision of burglars on bikes trying to creep up without making crunchy noises!

Bump

Gravel grovel

Sex

[sorry, just trying to attract attention to my thread]

have given all teh info I know on gravel but if we're going to move onto sex I'll hang around

Ok, we have an unsinkable drive. This is the crap bit, it costs. In order for it all not to sink we put 20mm hardcore down, then iron cross bars then sand & cement, and then on top of that sand and block paving rather than gravel. Could have used gravel.

If you are doing it as a very short term thing, it would be ok, but if the bits underneath are not stregthened, you will end up with a very uneven front.

I would pay the council (which I think is a dreadful rip off for a kerb slope, but apparently everyone has to have it done by a council approved person in case someone trips on it rip off] and bung a few slabs to park on whatever you have there until you have the dosh to do it properly. Only my opinion of course, but the fellow up the road had his block paved without the reinforcements done (DH warned him) and his now looks a dreadful state and is a tripping hazard as all of the blocks are up down and all over the place.