The first stage is to remove your existing driveway with the use of a mini digger which we shall bring to site on the first day. This makes it easier and a lot quicker, it is normally completed within one day with all the spoil removed from site.

The minimum depth of spoil we will remove from your existing driveway is 225-250mm to allow for 125-150mm of hardcore, 50mm of sand and 50mm for your block paving or tarmac. Tarmac is laid in two stages, 50mm of base coat which is laid first and then approximately 25mm of wearing course.

The angle of the new block paving driveway needs to be a minimum of 1:40 fall, that 1” fall in 40” length. If it isn't possible to get the appropriate fall, we will put a camber onto your driveway.

Note:
If your driveway is falling towards the house then you simply reverse the fall and levels from the pavement towards an existing rain water gully or you might have to install drainage channels along the front of the property to catch the surface water which is then directed into a soak a way within your garden area, a soak a way or rain garden is now required in England to comply with the block paving planning permission that came into force in October 1st 2008

Depending on the driveway we can lay geotextile which would be laid on the subsoil with hardcore on top, however this is not always needed.

MOT type 1 hard core is laid to the total area of your new driveway to a minimum depth of 125-150mm, your hardcore now needs to be compacted to give a stable sub base for your new block paving, this can be achieved by us using either a vibrating roller or a vibrating plate.

On larger areas or where heavy vehicular access is needed we always use the vibrating roller to ensure the sub base is very well compacted

For smaller areas where the large roller can't access a vibrating plate is used to compact the hardcore. The compacting of the hardcore is completed when we are satisfied that the sub base of your new drive is firm and has no soft spots.

If any area is still soft it needs to be dug out and removed and replaced with more hardcore which needs to be compacted in layers of no more than 75mm - 100mm at a time

The area of the block paving must be surrounded by a firm edge restraint to prevent the blocks and the sand on which they are laid from creeping sideways, either the house walls, fence base panel or new edgings along any side which require the paving to be held in place.

Drainage channels are now required in England on any new block paving driveways to direct the surface water into a soakaway or rain garden, these may be across the pavement or garage or to the front of your property.

We will haunch both sides of the channels to hold them in place.

We will adjust any block paving manhole covers to the at the correct height and fall

We will the lay a 50mm bed of concreting sand to the entire area. It will be 20mm higher than the finished height to allow for compacting.

Once the entire area is covered with sand we will compact it with our vibrating plate, you will see the lines and your footprints going less and less after going over the sand 2 - 3 times. We will continue until there are no marks on the sand when walked over it.

Using a tight string line to get the screeding rails to the correct finished height prior to screeding the sand, they are checked for being level or falling towards any drains, 1:40 fall is required, that's 1" in height to 40" in length minimum fall to ensure any surface water disburses into your drainage system or soak a way

The next stage is to commence laying the block paving, the full blocks are laid first to a straight line either using a string line or an aluminum straight edge and then continue laying the blocks until the total area of your drive is completed.

The block can be laid either square to the house or on a 45 degree angle.

Note:
To ensure an even distribution of colour and texture mix and lay blocks from at least 3 packs of block paving

When you have completed the laying of your full blocks you need to cut in the edges, this can be completed either using a 2 stroke brick saw with a diamond blade or a block splitter

These can be hired from your local hire shop. Using a straight edge or string line mark the width of the border using a block as a guide and mark a line onto the full block, cut off the surplus and put the cut block in its place.

Continue cutting the block paving pieces until all the cuts are completed

When all the cut blocks are in place brush all the driveway to remove any broken pieces of block or dust to ensure they don't get down the joints between the block paving.

Brush kiln dried sand over the entire area making sure all the joints are full to the top prior to giving them the final compacting with the plate vibrator, you can leave surplus sand on top of the the block paving driveway so when the vibrating plate passes over it will spread it about filling any joint which may require more sand

The vibrating plate is run over the total area 2 to 3 times to ensure the blocks are fully bedded into place and any surplus kiln dried sand is now removed

The Block Paving driveway is now completed and ready for you to use.

Note
Some block paving contractors insist on the customers not driving on the new block paving for a few days after the job has been completed, trust me if you have followed these steps you can drive on your new block paving driveway as soon as you have compacted the kiln dried sand in-between the blocks, the joints are full and any surplus kiln dried sand is removed

You may have to add more sand a few weeks later to keep all the joints in the paving topped up

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