New drive, gravel or block pavers

[JulietteHasAGun]

Obviously if money was no issue then block pavers would be better. But there’s a significant price difference of a few thousand.

is gravel ok or am I going to regret not paying the extra? Will have a thick membrane underneath, block paved edges to help contain the gravel as well and compacted down

i think anything will be an improvement on our broken up patchwork of concrete and gravel patches

I have gravel and cat poo is a big problem. I’m looking at resin.

@Wdutua Er? No they don’t sink if the sub base is appropriate! Cheap installation won’t last. A drive is like a road. Needs a sub base so it doesn’t collapse!

So that is why block pavers are no longer used in high traffic areas?

You could do a gravel driveway a lot cheaper if you do it yourself. I elongated and widened my gravel driveway a couple of years ago to accommodate 2 extra cars. Cost me well under £500.

Cleared area of shrubs and levelled ground (no cost as already had garden tools, just time)
Covered ground in heavy duty weed proof water permeable matting (probably £50 or less)
Ordered MOT type 1 hardcore (£160-ish delivered onto driveway) which I spread and compacted down by walking on it.
ordered 20mm gravel (£120 for 1.5 tonnes delivered onto driveway) which I spread over hardcore with metal rake

Didn’t need any specialised equipment or expertise. I used wooden railway sleepers to contain the gravel and provide the boundary between driveway and garden. Mostly done by myself ( Female, 50s) with a bit of help from my son.

Now had a block paving quote of £5600 from someone who was recommended.

theres no way im doing anything myself. Theres something like 50 square meters of concrete which needs Jack hammering up and removing. Then it needs levelling. That’s the hard bit though and I expect a lot of the cost. I’d argue that the hardcore needs better compacting than just walking on though i appreciate I could hire a whacker plate.

@JulietteHasAGun Just walking on the sub base with almost certainly not be good enough. Is the concrete you have not stable enough to use as the base for gravel if you could level it?

No it’s an absolute mess and all cracked and in bits. Needs pulling up for sure. I don’t want a bodge job. I’m happy to pay someone to properly excavate it and put hardcore down.

@JulietteHasAGunAh. Yes. Go for a proper job. You do want it to last.