Driveways Kent: The installation of driveways has become extremely popular with Kent homeowners at present, especially with the busy roads and restricted parking in the area. This is definitely a great option if you've got a decent sized garden and should always make sure that you've got a reserved parking place every time you get home, instead of having to look for an acceptable place. And, it isn't just the point that you'll always have your own parking spot regardless of how busy the roads are, your vehicle will also be much more safe and secure, especially if the drive is finished off with a gate.
Your next task, if you do choose to forge ahead with a driveway installation will be come to a decision about what style of driveway is going to be the most appropriate for your circumstances. You will no doubt be aware that there are a host of different types of driveway available and not all these will be of interest to you. If you do not have a lot of money to invest in such a project, the choice of style and materials will be limited to what you can afford. Other things that might affect your choice will be the dimensions and layout of your garden, and precisely how the driveway will fit in with your home aesthetically.
If you have a quick wander around some nearby Kent streets, you will get an appreciation of all the different types of driveway that other folks have installed, and perhaps get a few ideas for what your own drive could look like. Contingent on the ground conditions and layout of your garden you will be able to pick from tarmac driveways, pebblestone driveways, printed concrete driveways, monoblock driveways, asphalt driveways, resin bonded driveways, concrete driveways, natural flagstone driveways, block paved driveways and gravel driveways.
What is the Best Type of Driveway? There are two or three matters that you will have to consider before choosing which of these is perfect for your circumstances. A few points that you'd be sensible to think about - 1. Planning permission - is planning permission needed for your driveway? 2. How well does your garden drain - does water collect where you are looking to build your driveway? 3. How your land lies - is your garden inclined or flat?
Though you might think that you're allowed to plonk a driveway anywhere you like on your property, this is not automatically the case. There are in reality regulations pertaining to the installation of driveways in Kent, and those are nationally binding rules, not simply local ones. For the time being these only affect driveways in FRONT gardens. The law that we are talking about here is the Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), which was introduced by the government in 2008.
If you're hoping to build a driveway having an area of more than 5m2 and it's in your front garden, you're going to be affected by these SuDS legislation. This demands that your driveway is constructed from resin, shingle, grass (monoblock), porous asphalt or permeable concrete block, so that surface water can easily soak away safely and not cause flooding. Check here - SuDS - if you believe that the SuDS legislation will affect your planned driveway in Kent.
Folks in Kent who enjoy a bit of hard graft and are reasonably good at do-it-yourself, might be tempted to install their own driveway. With so much hard work involved with driveways including heavy digging, doing waste removal and hauling materials, nobody should imagine that this is an easy undertaking. That being said, it may be much better to bring in an experienced driveway installer, if you have any uncertainties doing it yourself.
Genuine tradespeople are often not that easy to get hold of when it comes to conducting this sort of work, therefore you need to take care in choosing the right person or contractor. Cowboys and rogue traders are always lurking in the Kent area, their workmanship will be poor quality and some of them can even take your cash and do a runner without doing anything at all. If you want your completed driveway to last, and look good for many years to come, you may as well get it done properly and by somebody with some experience. Patio and driveway contractors who've been working in and around Kent for the past few years would be the best choice.
When looking for suitable tradespeople, it is wise to ask them what guarantees they give on their workmanship, ask for a few references from previous clientele, confirm that they've got adequate insurance protection, find out how long they've been running their business, ask if they're part of an official trade association like ANTSCA and ask to see a portfolio of recent driveway work.
It's not necessary to be excessively aggressive or pushy with this questioning, as what you're really endeavouring to do is get an inkling of the type of tradesman that you are planning to work with. It's pretty much safe to consider they're reliable and honest if they're quite relaxed about answering all these questions and chat about your worries. You can deem that they are hiding something or being less than honest if they seem hesitant or hostile when asked these questions. If that occurs you'd be smart to steer clear and try someone else to do your driveway.
If you choose your driveway company wisely you'll find that they can give you lots of valuable advice and guidance regarding the perfect materials to use and the most suitable sort of driveway for your location. And that's not all, because they'll also take care of all the planning, design and preparation that's necessary for your new driveway.
Concrete Driveways Kent
Ideal for driveways, and a very popular material for years, concrete has got the advantage of being strong, durable and largely maintenance-free. When it comes to the cost, concrete is about middling for driveways, being costlier than asphalt or gravel, but less expensive than block paving and resin. For many householders, the downside of concrete is its rather drab and uninspiring visual appearance, but this can be addressed by asking for a patterned or imprinted surface finish to your driveway.
Driveway Cleaning Kent
If you are planning to upgrade an existing driveway because your current one is looking tatty, it will be substantially cheaper to clean it, if you think that may help. The process of cleaning a driveway, is something that many property owners in Kent put off, or forget about entirely. Nonetheless, for both maintenance and aesthetic purposes, cleaning a driveway on a regular basis is highly recommended. The structure of your driveway can be weakened as time passes, by unwanted weeds and plant growth. A widening of existing driveway holes and cracks could ensue, and structural problems can arise if this harmful growth isn't eradicated.
If you notice that your drive in Kent has weed growth, dirt or stains, it is better to get rid of them before they get any worse. Yet, most householders in Kent wait until the spring and summer months to power wash their drives, merely because moss and weed growth is more visible during these periods. Brake fluid, petrol and oil spills from your car can compromise the attractiveness of your driveway in Kent. Hence it is essential to quickly remove them to avoid your driveway's surface being stained too severely.
If you are cleaning your own driveway, you'll need access to a pressure washing device, and to accomplish it correctly you will also need some additional tools and equipment, including a scraper, a wire brush, washing up liquid, a bucket and a yard broom. If you haven't got the proper gear, or aren't clear about doing it yourself, you could bring in a specialist driveway cleaning service in Kent, or ask your driveway installers if they do it.
Available kinds of Driveway
The Potential Benefits of a Driveway in Kent
- Convenient access - you always have space for parking your vehicle or vehicles
- Relatively inexpensive in comparison to the advantages
- Security - it reduces the likelihood of theft
- Aesthetically pleasing - it accentuates the look of your property
- An attractive driveway creates a good first impression
- More affordable vehicle insurance premiums - insurance may well be less expensive when your car is parked off-road
- It adds extra value to your home - house buyers always look for guaranteed parking
- Safety - it's safer for getting out of and into the car
Asphalt Driveways Kent
Any property in Kent will benefit from the "curb appeal" of the smooth, uninterrupted appearance of a newly installed asphalt driveway. For the optimal outcome make certain you hire a skilled Kent asphalt company who will install a driveway that lasts a lifetime does not require much maintenance or after-care. In high flood risk locations it may be required to have a porous driveway, and there is a type of asphalt sub-base for rain run-off, which stops excess water from over-filling highway drainage systems.
Asphalt can successfully tolerate the freezing and thawing impact of British winters, and is very good value when compared to several other driveway alternatives. Because of how asphalt is made, it is also easy and cheap to repair, maintain and if required, remove. In fact, asphalt can be recycled for use elsewhere, making this the most environmentally friendly of the solid driveway products.
Block Paved Driveways Kent
Over the last ten years or so dozens of driveways in Kent have appeared built using the block-paved technique. These are created using specially designed block-paving bricks which are butted together to form attractive and sometimes elaborate designs. After the blocks have been put in place and tamped down, the gaps are filled up using kiln-dried sand which is then rigorously brushed into the exposed joints. It is advisable to have your block-paved driveway sealed after 4 or 5 months with Rycal sealant or something similar. This is essential to improve the colouring of the blocks, prevent staining, prolong the lifetime of your driveway, stop moss growth, keep out the elements and reduce weeds. Block paving can be made very attractive and can be laid a number of different designs, including stretcher bond, fan, basket weave and herringbone.
SuDS Compliant Block Paving Driveways: To comply with SuDS block paved driveways are perfectly achievable by slightly adjusting the normal methodology. Wider spaces than normal are left in between the blocks and instead of the usual kiln-dried sand, these can then be packed with a fine aggregate material.
Natural Stone Driveways Kent
Natural stone is a material that always improves with age. Going with natural stone for your driveway in Kent will give you an entire lifetime of serviceable use for any car or vehicle and will stay looking great from day 1 to year 50. Due to the distinctive colours and depth of tones in the stone, you will finish up with a driveway that's entirely bespoke to your property in Kent. The natural stone gives a soft, warm edge to any driveway in Kent, and provides that valuable curb appeal.
A natural stone driveway is also much easier to maintain, and is less vulnerable to damage and cracking from weather than concrete based materials. The smooth, hard surface of the stones makes them far easier to keep clean, and unwanted weeds find it harder to sprout up in the narrower gaps of a natural stone driveway. A natural stone driveway from an experienced Kent driveway company should be looked on as a wise investment that will bump up the value of your house in Kent.
Kent Driveway Jobs
You'll soon appreciate that there are plenty of chores that almost all driveway pavers ought to be able to tackle in Kent and these include: driveway resurfacing, concrete driveways in Kent, driveway markers in Kent, the installation of asphalt driveways, granite block driveways, stone resin driveway installations Kent, concrete imprinted driveways, resin bound driveways in Kent, bonded gravel driveways Kent, painted driveways, the construction of flagstone driveways, driveway light installation, driveway maintenance, driveway renovation, driveways with pavers Kent, tarmac driveways in Kent, residential driveway installations, driveway drainage Kent, garden patio installation in Kent, driveway excavation, quotes for driveway paving, Indian stone driveways, sand driveways, the building of block paved driveways, the maintenance of block paving driveways, pebble driveways, driveway bollards, driveway pressure washing in Kent, commercial driveway installation, driveway ideas, and more ommitted in this article. Listed are just a handful of the duties that are accomplished by those specialising in driveways. Kent specialists will inform you of their full range of services
Driveway Installer Services Kent
- Kent Gravel Driveways
- Kent Driveways
- Kent Driveway Services
- Kent Domestic Driveway Installation
- Kent Driveway Installation
- Kent Concrete Driveways
- Kent Commercial Driveway Installation
- Kent Asphalt Driveways
- Kent Driveway Estimates
- Kent Tarmac Driveways
- Kent Driveway Installers
- Kent Stone Driveways
- Kent Block Paved Driveways
- Kent Brick Driveways
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Driveways Kent
Driveway Contractors Near Kent
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