Latest Updates

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

The easiest and cheapest of all the types is the standard gravel driveway. In rural settings, gravel driveways are particularly popular and can be very appealing despite their inherent simplicity. You shouldn't have any problem locating a kind of gravel that looks great in your garden, given that there are a whole host of sizes and colours on the market. For gravel driveways to be effective they need a solid layer of hardcore, and substantial edging. The best quality gravel driveways are the result of putting down 3 or 4 layers of stones, with each individual layer rolled and left to settle before laying the subsequent layer. Regardless of what size your driveway is, or whether it is in your front or back garden, if it's made from gravel it will not need planning permission, since it will be SuDS compliant.

Asphalt Driveways

An asphalt driveway, with its smooth, consistent appearance offers instant "curb appeal" to any home or property in. When installed by a reputable contractor, an asphalt driveway will provide years of reliable use with minimal maintenance. In high flood risk areas it may be required to have a permeable driveway, and there's a type of asphalt sub-base for rainwater drainage, which prevents excess water from filling up highway drainage systems.

Asphalt can successfully tolerate the freeze-thaw impact of British winters, and is outstanding value in comparison with certain other driveway options. It's also the easiest driveway substance to remove or repair because of its manufacturing process. If you're concerned about the ecological impact of your driveway installation, it's good to know that asphalt can be removed and recycled for re-use elsewhere.

Block Paved Driveways

Scores of driveways have sprung up in in recent times, created using the block-paving process, which can be extremely successful when done correctly. Forming a robust and hard wearing driveway, hundreds of purpose-made block paving bricks are butted together in attractive and elaborate patterns that can be customized to meet your specifications. As soon as the blocks have been laid and tamped down, the gaps are filled with kiln-dried sand which is then brushed into the exposed joints. To get the best service and longest life out of your block-paved driveway, you need to have it properly sealed after 4 or 5 months to stop weed growth. Block paving can be made very attractive and can be laid a lot of patterns, including herringbone, stretcher bond, fan and basket weave.

SuDS Compliant Block Paving Driveways: Block paved driveways can also be made to comply with SuDS, by simply leaving wider than standard spaces between the blockwork, which can then be filled with very fine shingle in place of the traditional kiln-dried sand. (Tags: Block Paved Driveways, Block Paving, Block Paving Driveway).

Natural Stone Driveways

Natural stone is a driveway material that never loses its beautiful appearance even as it ages. The natural stone option will give you a stable and strong driveway, for any vehicle, and will look fantastic for years to come. It can provide your property with a driveway that, because of the unique colours and shades of each individual stone, is entirely bespoke to you. It delivers that that vital curb appeal and WOW factor that every property owner craves.

Driveways made from natural stone not only look good, but they're low maintenance and less prone to damage than some alternatives. The narrower gaps in between the stones means that there is less chance of unwanted weed growth, and the smooth surface is simple to clean. You should think of a professionally prepared and installed natural stone driveway as an investment on your property's value.

Driveway Cleaning

If you've already got a driveway, but it's beginning to look a bit scruffy, you may manage to enhance it's appearance by cleaning it. For many property owners, keeping their driveway clean isn't always regarded as a priority. However, from both a maintenance and cosmetic perspective, cleaning your driveway is crucial, and this should be performed on a fairly regular basis, not just every now and then. The structure of your driveway can be severely weakened over time, by unwanted weeds and plant growth. Existing cracks and crevices can be enlarged which may eventually lead to structural issues in your driveway.

If weeds, dirt or stains show up on your drive, removing them as soon as possible is recommended. Although, the spring and summertime is when you most notice the growth of weeds and moss, you shouldn't wait until them to power wash your drive. If oil, diesel and brake fluid is spilt from your vehicle, the look of your driveway can be really spoilt. To prevent unattractive discolouration of your driveway's surface, it is therefore essential to remove them quickly.

To clean your driveway correctly you will need to use a power washer, and additionally you will need a few other tools and equipment, such as a bucket, a scraper, a broom, a wire brush and detergent. You could call on a specialist driveway cleaning service, if you aren't certain about doing it yourself, or don't have the proper gear.

Tarmac Driveways

Tarmac is a popular surface for driveways on account of its strength and durability. When professionally laid it requires very little maintenance, looks great and is weatherproof. Tarmac driveways can contend with larger vehicles, such as carvans and motor-homes, without damage to the surface or dimpling, and should look pristine for many years to come.

It offers fantastic value for money, and tarmac can be coloured to suit the surroundings or your house. Tarmac makes it easy to get away from a conventional black coloured surface and have it coloured to blend in with your home. The installation of a tarmac driveway is fairly straightforward and can be accomplished by a professional driveway contractor in a single day. This simplicity of installation, coupled with its simple maintenance and high durability makes a tarmac driveway a good alternative for any property or home.

Resin-Bound Driveways

There is very little doubt that in recent times resin driveways have become one of the most popular kinds of driveway. The fact that they are also SuDS compliant of course contributes to their attraction. Resin-bound driveways can be customized to your precise specifications and can be installed in a whole host of different colours and patterns. For faster, and simpler installation resin-bound driveways can be laid on top of a pre-existing asphalt or concrete base with far less hassle and mess. Resin-bound driveways are easy to clean, maintenance free, durable, permeable, and an outstanding alternative to asphalt, gravel, block paving or concrete. A resin-bound driveway should give many years of good service, and when installed by a trusted professional, come with a long guarantee. (Tags: Resin-Bound Driveways, Resin Driveways, Resin-Bonded Driveways).

Concrete Driveways

Strong, durable and requiring little maintenance, concrete is an excellent material for building driveways. When it comes to price, concrete is about middling for driveway construction, being dearer than asphalt or gravel, but less expensive than resin or block paving. If you find concrete driveways to be quite boring and dreary, it's possible to add a stamped or patterned design to make them look like pebbles or cobblestones. (Tags: Concreted Driveway, Patterned Concrete Driveways, Concrete Driveway).

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.

Boosting the Appeal of Your Curb

Curb appeal is an expression that real estate agents often use when they are talking about how to make a house look better to people who are shopping for a house. Whether your house is presently on the market right now or not, it's always a good idea to think about curb appeal. Frequently these will not be major fixes, but will add tremendously to the general look of the home. As you read on you will be given a few recommendations that may be helpful with making your curb appeal more attractive.

The way your windows look carries a lot of weight in terms of your homes attraction. Unmistakably, your windows cleanliness needs to take first priority. Very little can lessen the way a home appears to people than windows that are unclean. This is important for both the interior and exterior of your home. Windowpanes that are broken, regardless of where they are, need to be restored hastily. By all means, windows are crucial for not only their appearance but for insulation also. With the condition that your windows don't conserve energy well, it might be a good time to change them. If shutters are not part of your homes aesthetic, contemplate obtaining some since this can seriously add individuality to your dwelling place, specifically if they are painted the greatest color.

Improving your homes landscape enticement can happen with changes you weren't even aware were important. Occasionally, you do not recognize how something looks to others because you see it every single day for years at a time. Take for example, a thorough view of your garage entrance. Replacing the door is something that most people do not meditate on unless it no longer works. Yet if it has an old and worn out look, replacing it with a nice new modern one would make a big difference. The postal box is another item that is overlooked on a regular basis. Acquiring a contemporary mailbox won't break your budget, still if the one you own now is decrepit and broken down, you will feel inspired when you put in a new one.

A very easy improvement that you can make to the front of your home is to make the walkway look more inviting, right up to your front door, so people can knock without fear. Your walkway should definitely have a friendly appearance which may include adding plants, flowers, and other ornamental objects on either side. Similarly, a new driveway will impress everyone who drive up to your home. The driveway should not only be visually appealing, but give people the feeling that they are safe when they park there. So if your driveway is full of potholes, clutter that belongs in your garage or even things like leaves or branches, do everything you can to clean it up and make it more welcoming. Anyone that enters your driveway should be made to feel as if they are special so that they always remember visiting.

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. You can focus on simple and inexpensive actions or you can do more extensive home improvements, but all of these measures will add to your home's curb appeal.

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
• Gravel Driveways
• Tarmac Driveways
• Driveway Pavers
• Driveway Estimates
• Driveway Services
• Stone Driveways
• Commercial Driveway Installation
• Driveways
• Driveway Installation
• Brick Driveways
• Resin Driveways
• Asphalt Driveways
• Concrete Driveways

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