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Your next step, if you do elect to forge ahead with installing a driveway will be make a choice about what type of driveway is going to be most suitable for your circumstances. There are many different types of driveway available, as I'm sure you will be aware, but these may not all be right for you. If you're on a tight spending budget you could be to some degree limited in your choices. The configuration and dimensions of your property's garden may also affect your final decision.

You might say "a driveway is just a driveway", however that simply isn't true, given that there are many different designs and types of driveway, and if you were to take a walk around your town, you will see what I mean. You should see shingle driveways, grass driveways, block paved driveways, tarmac driveways, resin bound driveways, asphalt driveways, concrete driveways, cobbled driveways, patterned concrete driveways and natural stone driveways, in various forms, however this will give you a perception of all the potential alternatives.

What Type of Driveway is Best? Before deciding what type of driveway is right for your property, there are a few things that you will have to take into account. A few details that you would be sensible to think about - 1. Local authority planning permission - is planning permission needed for your driveway? 2. How the land lies - is the area level or sloped? 3. How successfully does your garden drain - does water collect where you're wanting to build your driveway?

Although you may think that you can just stick a driveway anywhere you like on your land, this is not automatically true. The legislation that pertain to driveways aren't just laid down by the local authority, but are in reality enforced by government law. However, at this moment in time, these laws only affect driveways being laid in front gardens. This legislation, which is known as the Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) has been in force since October 2008, when it was first brought in.

If you are aiming to build a driveway having an area of more than 5m² and it's in your front garden, you are going to be affected by these SuDS legislation. You won't have to stress about this if you build your driveway from a porous (permeable) substance like shingle, permeable concrete block, porous asphalt, monoblock (grass) or resin, which will allow the water to pass through and naturally drain away. If you believe that the SuDS legislation will affect your planned driveway in the UK, you can see detailed information here - Sustainable Drainage Systems

Naturally it is quite feasible for you to build your own driveway in the UK, if you are fairly good at do-it-yourself and are not fazed by a touch of hard work. However no-one should think of this as an easy process, as there is a great deal of preparation work involved apart from actually laying the driveway, including doing waste removal, lugging materials and excavating. If you've got any concerns about whether you would be able to tackle a project such as this, it might be a good idea to hire an experienced driveway specialist.

With this kind of project, you've got to be wary about exactly who you pick, seeing as you clearly need somebody who knows precisely what they are up to. There are plenty of cowboys and rogue traders out there who will soon pocket your cash and do a lousy job. It's worth shelling out a bit more money to get a proper job done, instead of taking a risk with a substandard worker just to save yourself a couple of quid. Driveway and patio contractors who have been offering their services in and around the UK for a number of years would be the smartest choice.

When assessing these paving contractors, you should at the very least ask for some references from satisfied clientele, ask what warranties they offer on their workmanship, ascertain how long they've been in business, check that they have got insurance protection, ask if they are a member of a trade association such as ANTSCA (the surfacing trade association) and ask to look at a portfolio of past projects.

This doesn't have to be an inquisition, but asking these germane questions should give you an inkling of the sort of individual that you are going to be dealing with. If they are relaxed about answering all of these questions, you can assume that they are fairly genuine. You can deem that they're hiding something or being less than honest if they're confrontational or hesitant when asked such questions. If that occurs you would be wise to avoid them like the plague and try another tradesman.

If you are wary and pick a really good driveway paver, they will help you make all the most important decisions with regards to your project, including the recommended driveway technique, the favoured location and the best materials. And that is not the end of it, because they'll also take care of all the design, preparation and planning that's required for your new driveway installation to go like clockwork.

Gravel Driveways

When going over the various different kinds of driveway you may decide to plump for the ubiquitous most economical and easiest, which is gravel. In rural settings, gravel driveways are especially popular and can be very appealing regardless of their inherent simplicity. Gravel can be bought in a variety of sizes and shades, so you shouldn't have any problem locating one that looks great in your garden. For gravel driveways to be effective they need a good sturdy layer of hardcore, and substantial, well-bedded edging. If you want a really top quality gravel driveway, you must make sure that 3 or 4 separate layers are applied, with each and every one individually tamped and rolled and left to settle for a day before the next is laid. You'll not require planning permission for a gravel driveway, because it will be SuDS compliant no matter how big it is, or whether it's in your front or back garden.

Asphalt Driveways

An asphalt driveway, with its smooth, continuous appearance offers instant curb appeal to any house in. For the best results make certain you employ a skilled asphalt contractor who will provide you with a driveway that lasts a lifetime does not need much maintenance or after-care. It is even possible to install permeable asphalt solutions so that rainwater can soak away into a sub-base, rather than run off into highway drains, which can be attributed to localised flood risks.

Asphalt can easily withstand the freeze-thaw effects of TOWN winters, and is extremely good value in comparison with several other driveway options. It's also the simplest driveway substance to remove or repair due to its manufacturing process. It could be seen to be the most ecological of hard driveway surfaces since it is even possible for an asphalt driveway to be recycled and used in another project. (Tags: Asphalt Driveway Recycling, Asphalt Driveways, Asphalt Driveway).

Block Paving Driveways

Over the past decade or so dozens of driveways have popped up in constructed using the block-paving technique. These are built using hundreds of purpose-made block-paving bricks which butt together forming attractive and interesting designs. When the blocks have been put down, they are tamped down firmly, and kiln-dried sand is brushed into the exposed joints. It might be a good idea to have your block-paved driveway sealed after five or six months with Everbuild sealant or something similar. This is vital to stop weed growth. There are lots of patterns in which block paving is laid, including fan, stretcher bond, herringbone and basket weave.

SuDS Compliant Block Paving Driveways: Block paving driveways can also be made SuDS compliant, by leaving wider than standard spaces between the bricks, which can then be filled with very fine aggregate rather than the traditional kiln-dried sand. (Tags: Block Paved Driveway, Block Paving Driveways, Block Paving).

Natural Stone Driveways

The characteristics of natural stone means that it continually improves as it ages. This compact, dense material looks amazing on any driveway and will provide a whole lifetime of use for any cars or vehicles you might own. The depth of tone and natural colouring gives a distinctive appearance to every stone driveway, and offers a bespoke look to any property. It offers that all important curb appeal and WOW factor that every property owner yearns for.

Unlike paved alternatives, driveways made from natural stone are less susceptible to being damaged and are easier to look after and maintain. They are far easier to clean, and with smaller joints in between the stones there's less chance of seed and weed germination on your new driveway. A properly prepared and installed stone driveway is a sound investment which will add to the value and appeal of your home.

Driveway Cleaning

If your property has already got a driveway, and you are considering changing it because it's looking scruffy - why not give it a clean instead? For a lot of folks, it's not usually a priority to keep their driveway clean. Yet, cleaning a driveway is something that ought to be completed on a regular basis, and is crucial from both an aesthetic and maintenance viewpoint. Weeds and pernicious plant growth can weaken the structure of your driveway over the years. If your driveway has existing cracks and holes, these can be enlarged which might eventually lead to structural complications.

As soon as you discover stains, weed growth or dirt on your driveway, it's recommended that you get rid of them as quickly as possible. However, weeds and moss are more obvious on your drive in the spring and summer, you ought not wait until then pressure wash it. Diesel, oil and brake fluid stains from your car can ruin the appearance of your drive. To avoid unsightly staining of the surface, it's therefore essential to get them cleaned immediately.

To get your driveway thoroughly clean you will need to use a power washing machine, and you will also need a few other tools and equipment, such as a bucket, a scraper, a broom, a wire brush and detergent. A professional driveway cleaning service may be required if you haven't got the correct equipment, or are not certain about cleaning it yourself. You might even find that your driveway installer will be prepared to provide this service.

Tarmac Driveways

Because of its strength and durability, tarmac is an ideal choice for driveway surfaces. When laid by a proficient driveway contractor it looks terrific, is weather resistant and requires very little maintenance. A tarmac driveway can contend with larger vehicles, such as carvans and motor-homes, without damage to the surface or dimpling, and should remain looking pristine for many years to come.

If want a coloured tarmac, that is also possible, and it offers great value for money compared to other kinds of driveway. Tarmac makes it easy to go beyond a dull black surface and have it coloured to match your home. Tarmac driveways are among the simplest to install, and the vast majority of driveway projects are completed in a single day. Tarmac is truly a decent material for virtually any driveway, due to its straightforward installation, low maintenance properties and resilience.

Resin Driveways

One of the most popular styles of driveway recently, resin-bound or resin driveways are permeable (porous) and compliant with SuDS. Resin-bound driveways can be tailor-made to your exact specifications and can be installed in a host of different colours and designs. For much less hassle and mess a new resin driveway could be easily laid over a current tarmac or concrete surface. Resin-bound driveways are easy to clean, maintenance free, durable, permeable, and a terrific alternative to asphalt, gravel, concrete or block paving. Typically coming with a long guarantee when installed by a reputable specialist, a resin driveway should give you excellent service for years to come.

Concrete Driveways

Hard wearing, strong and requiring hardly any maintenance, concrete is an excellent material for building driveways. Being more expensive that asphalt or gravel, but significantly cheaper than some other alternatives (i.e. block paving or resin), concrete is an automatic choice for many homeowners. Many would concur that concrete driveways in general are rather uninspiring and drab. But this doesn't have to be the case, because it's possible to finish the surface off with a stamped or imprinted design which can be highly attractive. (Tags: Concreted Driveway, Imprinted Concrete Driveway, Concrete Driveways).

Driveway Tasks

If you pick your driveway company carefully they will have the skills necessary to help with painted driveways, tar driveways, the maintenance of gravel driveways, coloured tarmac driveways, monoblock driveway installations in the UK, the design of asphalt driveways, permeable driveway installations, the repair of aggregate driveways, bonded gravel driveways, resin driveway installations, driveways with pavers, paving a driveway, cheap driveway ideas, commercial driveway installation, driveway resurfacing, asphalt driveway recycling, driveway cleaning, driveway installation estimates, driveway drainage, driveway replacement, grass driveway installation, driveway culverts, the construction of flagstone driveways, the repair of concrete driveways, driveway markers, gated driveways, granite block driveways, pebble driveways, domestic driveway installations, stone resin driveways and any one of innumerable additional driveway related services in the UK. Listed are just a handful of the duties that are conducted by people specialising in driveways. Driveway providers will be happy to inform you of their whole range of services

More Advice and Guidance

By taking a look at YouTube videos you are able to discover how to put in a resin bound driveway. Social media is clearly the place where the majority of homeowners in the UK head these days when they are searching for ideas and images for products and services. If that is what you love to do and you're presently searching for information on driveway installation check this out. You should pay a visit to Rated People or the government backed Trustmark website, if you want to conduct a search for licensed local driveway contractors in the UK. The dedicated Wikipedia "driveways" page is the place to head over to for details of the purposes of driveways, the different sorts of driveways, the local legislation regarding driveways and the materials used for driveways. To read a useful article about how to choose a driveway check this out.

Driveway Questions

Over the last few weeks I have been looking through the questions homeowners in the UK ask regarding driveways. A number of our visitors have submitted justifiable questions that are relevant to this article. The ones I picked out were, "Where can I buy driveway gravel?" "When should you seal your driveway?" "Should a concrete driveway have rebar?" "How do driveway drains work?" "What happens if driveway sealer freezes?" "How much does the average driveway cost?" I hope nearly all of those questions have been dealt with on this page, and if some remain unanswered a driveway "Q&A" feature will be introduced in the near future. My gratitude goes out to the following homeowners in the UK for making the effort to pose their excellent questions; Kaiden Clarkson, Sarah Crawford, Tony Mcdonald and Jane Mcgrady. It was also fantastic to get offerings from Noah Weston in Newlands, Aaliyah Cowell in Hadleigh and Isaac Friend in Fobbing.

Skip Hire for Driveways

When you're carrying out a driveway installation project in the UK, or any other kind of home or garden revamp, it's likely that a certain volume of rubbish and waste will be generated that can't be disposed of in your regular household wheelie bins. Actually, in most regions, construction or garden materials must be disposed of in a controlled and eco-friendly way, in accordance with local authority legislation. Consequently if you are to stay safely within the law, you'll have to transport your waste materials to a recognised disposal and recycling site, generally a council tip. If you do not want to be carting waste materials back and forth to your nearby Domestic Recycling Centre, it may be better to look for skip hire in your area.

By using an established skip hire contractor, you'll be given assurances that all of your waste will be driven to an authorised site, and will be disposed of correctly and safely. Even so, it's crucial to establish the form of waste materials that will be generated by the driveway project, and you can go through this with your chosen contractor and the skip hire provider concerned. If there's a chance that asbestos containing materials might be involved, the skip hire company will need to divide the dangerous waste into a totally separate disposal system for health and safety reasons. Hazardous waste is best left to the professionals, and strict regulations cover it's safe disposal. To make sure all guidelines and regulations are addressed appropriately, both your driveway installer and the skip hire firm will work together.

The perfect solution is if you happen to have a space when a skip can be sited on your garden or drive. On the reverse side of the coin, if you do not have a suitable area, and you park your vehicle on the main road, you might need to seek the help of your neighbours, and see whether they can leave a space for your skip someplace close to the work area. A skip which is placed on a driveway or private land doesn't need a permit, but if it has to go on a public highway in the UK it will definitely need a temporary local authority skip permit, get hold of them to see whether you need one. This will guarantee there are no problems with regards to siting your skip.

Skip hire providers offer skips of all shapes and sizes, and you can rent anything from skip bags and mini-skips right up to builders skips and gigantic roll-on roll-off monstrosities. To hire a skip for your project in the UK, CLICK HERE for a quote.

Making the Most of Your Homes Curb Appeal

When a person references the curb appeal of a home, they are talking about the outside of the house and how it looks. So if you're trying to sell your home, you might want to consider outside home improvement projects that will make it look better. Regardless of your intentions, improving the outward appearance, the "curb appeal" of your home will make a huge difference to those that see it. This article will show you several ways to improve your home's curb appeal in several ways.

The initial thought when you are thinking about improving your curb appeal is to give it a paint job. Painting is a great tactic, but before you run out and buy new paint; check into other alternatives. Take a close look at the paint, and if it is not too weathered looking or chipping away, and you do not mind the color; you could always get a power washer and give it a thorough cleaning. As effortless as pressure washing us, it can certainly save you a bundle of money and your house appearance will shine. When the grime builds up as slow as it does, it is hard to imagine it until you see the difference after washing. There are many places that will rent the power washers, in a wide range of prices, or you may decide to find a person to do it for you. Be thorough and make sure to wash all washable things outside; like decks, outbuildings and such.

One fundamental section of your house that needs specific attention is the roof; if not just for the shelter it provides your family, it is also a key to good curb appeal. Your roof should take priority over any other home enhancing schemes; so if it needs attention, start there. One product you may consider to spruce up your roof would be architectural roofing shingles. These trendy roofing shingles are long lasting and nice looking; with the latest being made of synthetic slate. Even if your roof doesn't need repair, architectural shingles, which can be used to mimic many traditional styles of architecture, can make your home much more attractive and distinctive.

Instead of putting paint on the outside of your house, a consideration might be to put new siding up. Many choices are out there for it, in addition it could produce a more modern looking home. An improvement in your insulation is possible and additionally the improvement of your homes worth. You could give your dwelling the look of typical stone or stucco without the cost of it, with stone or stucco veneer. Assuming you would desire to put stone veneer on the exterior of your residence or new siding, you should examine the myriad of choices out there and make a determination regarding what you are drawn to.

It's amazingly satisfying to strive to advance the landscape of your residence. Every little action that you take, whether it's making your lawn look better, painting the deck or improving the driveway will make your home nicer and more valuable. However, each move you make, from the budget friendly and easy modifications to the major improvements, all steps will be an addition to the look of your home.

Doing a Search Online

It is considerably simpler to look for a tradesman or service right now than it was in the past, given that we've got the advantage of technology and can just do a search on the web. Immediate and pertinent results are the reward of searching with Bing, Google or Yahoo, which were created for this exact role. One drawback can be that the first page results displayed by the major search engines might not be exactly the ones you were after. Typing in "UK driveways", "driveways in the UK", "driveway installers near me" or "driveways" will normally be the process to use when looking for a driveway specialist in the UK. You need to know that the 4 top results are often PPC advertisements (which may or may not be on-topic), and lots of the remaining page one listings will likely be from large trade portals like Checkatrade, My Hammer, Rated People, My Builder, TrustaTrader or Bark or web directories such as Gumtree, Yelp, Scoot or Yell. Odd job men usually don't have substantial budgets to push their websites to the uppermost rankings, so you're liable to find these out-of-the-way lower down the listings perhaps on the second or third pages. Approved tradesmen websites like Rated People or Checkatrade are still handy though, and you will be able to make full use of their informative services to examine customers appraisals, obtain free quotes and read through reviews, since there are local driveway pavers on there who do not even have a website.

Driveway Installer Services

Find Driveway Pavers in the UK Here

• Block Paving Driveways
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More Tradespeople: Whilst you may just be looking for someone who can do driveway installation in the UK, you can also find garden clearance in the UK, a builder in the UK, a landscape gardener in the UK, a bricklayer in the UK, SKIP HIRE in the UK, a decking specialist in the UK, a garden designer in the UK, pressure washing in the UK, a fencing contractor in the UK, a gardener in the UK, an electrician in the UK, a carpenter in the UK, driveway cleaning in the UK, a tiler in the UK, a lawn care specialist in the UK, patio laying in the UK, waste removal in the UK, property extension in the UK.

Resin Driveways - Gravel Driveways - Residential Driveway Installation - Cheap Driveways - Concrete Driveways - Commercial Driveway Installation - Driveway Pavers - Driveway Services - Tarmac Driveways