Driveway Installers

So, you've made a decision to to go ahead, but what style of driveway will be the best for your requirements? Driveways come in all styles and sizes and can be created from numerous different materials, some may be more appealing than others. Costs will fluctuate considerably across these various styles of driveway, therefore your choices could become more limited if you've only got a set amount of money to spend. Your final decision might also be affected by the configuration and dimensions of your property.

If you take a quick stroll around, you'll notice all the different types of driveway that other folks have installed, and perhaps get a bit of inspiration for your own drive. Subject to the ground conditions and layout of your garden you'll be able to choose between stone resin driveways, concrete driveways, patterned concrete driveways, tarmac driveways, natural flagstone driveways, permeable driveways, asphalt driveways, aggregate driveways, pebble driveways, block paved driveways.

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?

While you may think that planning permission would not be needed for putting a driveway on your own property, this is not always true. The legislation that pertain to driveways aren't only set by your local authority, but are in fact imposed by government law. You will only have to worry about these rules if you're putting a driveway in your front garden. The legislation that is currently in effect stem from a government act of 2008 - the Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS).

The SuDS legislation applies to driveways in front gardens with an area of more than 5 square metres. In order for your driveway to be compliant with SuDS it must be made of a porous (permeable) material that allows excess water to soak through it. SuDS compliant materials would include: gravel, permeable concrete, porous tarmac, resin, or grass monoblock. You are able to have a look at the Sustainable Drainage Systems regulations here - SuDS

To some property owners, laying a driveway may appear to be a fairly straightforward undertaking, and for anyone who's a good DIYer, it is by no means unthinkable. However, don't be fooled, there is a good deal of hard work involved with laying a driveway, especially with regards to the preparation work, which will involve humping heavy materials, excavation and garden clearance. If you are in any doubt about whether you'd be able to handle a project such as this, it would perhaps be wise to contact an experienced driveway paver.

With this kind of task, you've got to be wary about exactly who you choose, given that you clearly need someone who knows precisely what they're doing. There are plenty of cowboys and rogue traders out there who will happily pocket your cash and do an substandard job. Even if that means having to spend a little more on the enterprise, you may as well get it done properly by a pro. driveway companies who have been offering their services in and around your area for a number of years would be the best option.

When assessing these tradespeople, you should at least ask to see a portfolio of earlier projects, ask for some references from previous clients, check that they've got adequate insurance, ascertain how long they've been in business, find out what warranties they offer on their workmanship, ask if they are affiliated with a trade association like ANTSCA (the surfacing trade association).

There's no need to be too pushy or aggressive with these questions, given that what you're really trying to achieve is get an idea about what kind of individual you're potentially going to work with. If they are happy to answer all your questions, you can consider that they're trustworthy. You should steer clear if they act hostile or hesitant when asked such questions, as it's likely they are hiding something or being less than truthful.

Identifying a top notch tradesman is vital, as should you manage to get hold of a reputable driveway contractor, they will not only do an excellent job, but will also give you guidance about the most appropriate materials, location and style for your driveway. Having a specialist on hand will mean that all the planning, preparation and design is in hand before any actual physical work begins.

Gravel Driveways

When looking at the various different types of driveway you might decide to opt for the ubiquitous easiest and most economical, which is gravel. Gravel driveways are particularly effective in rural settings, and regardless of their inherent simplicity they can be exceptionally pleasing. Gravel can be found in a host of colours and sizes, so you should have no problem finding one that looks amazing in your garden. For gravel driveways to be efficient they need a robust base of hardcore, and firmly-bedded, substantial edging. If you put down 3 or 4 separate layers of aggregate, each individual one rolled and left to settle down, you will get the finest gravel driveway. You won't need planning permission with a gravel driveway, because it will be SuDS compliant regardless of how big it is, or whether it's in your back or front garden. (Tags: Aggregate Driveways, Gravel Driveways, Shingle Driveways).

Asphalt Driveways

When you are looking for 'curb appeal' for your property in, an asphalt driveway, with its smooth uninterrupted surface, is the perfect choice. For the best outcome make sure you employ a professional asphalt company who will install a driveway that lasts a lifetime doesn't require much maintenance or after-care. In flood risk areas it may be required to have a permeable driveway, and there is an asphalt type, with sub-base for rain run-off, which stops surplus water from filling up highway drains.

Asphalt driveways offer exceptional value and asphalt is a durable, strong material which is perfect for enduring freezing and thawing effects of a typical British winter. Asphalt is cheap and easy to repair and maintain, and can be removed should your circumstances change. It could be looked on as the most ecological of hard driveway surfaces because it is even possible for an asphalt driveway to be recycled and used in a different location.

Block Paving Driveways

Block-paved driveways are among the most favoured designs in right now, and dozens of these have emerged in recent times. Forming a robust, hard-wearing driveway, hundreds of specially designed block paving bricks are butted together in eye-catching and sometimes intricate designs that can be customized to your requirements. The gaps between the blocks are filled with kiln-dried sand which is brushed into the exposed joints, producing a pleasing finish. After five or six months a good idea is to have your block-paved driveway sealed with a high quality sealant (like Thompson's), this helps to stop weed growth. There are various patterns in which block paving is laid, including herringbone, basketweave, fan and stretcher bond.

SuDS Compliant Block Paving Driveways: Block paving driveways can even be made compliant with SuDS, by simply leaving bigger than standard gaps between the blockwork, which can then be filled with a fine aggregate rather than the usual kiln-dried sand. (Tags: Block Paving Driveway, Block Paving, Block Paved Driveway).

Natural Stone Driveways

Natural stone is a driveway surface that never loses its beautiful appearance even as it ages. Looking fantastic from day one to year fifty, a natural stone driveway will give you a whole lifetime of use for any car or vehicle. Thanks to the individual colours and depth of tones in the stone, you'll wind up with a driveway that is totally bespoke to your house. It delivers that vital wow factor and curb appeal that every home owner craves.

A natural stone driveway is also much easier to maintain, and is less prone to damage and cracking from weather than concrete materials. The smooth, solid surface of the stones means they are a lot easier to clean, and unwanted weeds find it harder to take root in the smaller joints of a stone driveway. An expertly prepared and installed stone driveway is an investment that will add considerable value to your home.

Driveway Cleaning

If you have already got a driveway, but it is beginning to look a bit tatty, you might manage to boost it's appearance by giving it a good clean. The process of cleaning a driveway, is something that the majority of home owners put off, or ignore entirely. Nonetheless, from both a maintenance and visual viewpoint, cleaning your driveway is important, and this ought to be completed on a regular basis, not just now and again. The structure of your driveway can be damaged over the years, by weeds and unwanted plant growth. If your drive has existing cracks and fractures, these can be enlarged which may ultimately trigger structural issues.

As soon as you discover stains, dirt or weed growth on your driveway, it is advisable to get rid of them as quickly as possible. Although, the spring and summer months is when you most notice the appearance of weeds and moss, you should not wait till them to pressure wash your drive. Spots from your vehicle such as brake fluid, oil and petrol can ruin the look of your driveway. Therefore it's crucial to get rid of them promptly to prevent ugly stains on your driveway's surface.

If you are cleaning your own driveway, you'll need access to a jet washing machine, and to do it effectively you'll also need some other tools and equipment, for instance a bucket, a scraper, a broom, a wire brush and detergent. If you aren't confident in cleaning it yourself, or you haven't got the right gear, you could ask your driveway installers if they're willing to do this, or call on a specialist driveway cleaning service.

Tarmac Driveways

Tarmac is a much loved driveway surface due to its strength and durability. It is weatherproof, requires very little maintenance and looks good, when laid by a professional driveway company. Tarmac's strength and durability means that it can handle heavier vehicles, such as carvans and camper vans, without damaging the surface.

If you wish to colour tarmac, it is incredibly easy to do so, and it offers fantastic value compared to alternative kinds of driveway. You can custom-build a tarmac driveway to complement your property or home, with lots of colours available. It is entirely possible for a professional driveway contractor to install a new tarmac driveway in a day. Tarmac really is a perfect material for virtually any driveway, due to its ease of installation, resilience and maintenance free properties.

Resin Driveways

Among the most attractive and flexible kinds of driveway that are available right now, resin-bound driveways (or resin driveways) are becoming ever more popular and are also SuDS compliant, if that's what you're interested in. Available in a whole host of colours and designs, resin-bound driveways can be custom-made to your requirements, and installed to complement any concept or theme. If you have a current concrete or tarmac driveway, a brand new resin-bound surface can be laid over your existing surface. Resin driveways are easy to clean, maintenance free, durable, permeable, and a good alternative to asphalt, concrete, gravel or block paving. A resin driveway should give you years of good service, and when laid by a trustworthy installer, come with a long guarantee. (Tags: Resin-Bound Driveways, Resin Driveways, Resin-Bonded Driveways).

Concrete Driveways

A very popular material for driveways, concrete is durable, strong and doesn't need much maintenance. With regards to the cost, concrete is about middling for driveways, being costlier than gravel or asphalt, but less costly than block paving and resin. If you find concrete driveways to be rather dreary and boring, it's possible to add a patterned or imprinted surface finish to make them look more attractive. (Tags: Patterned Concrete Driveways, Concreted Driveways, Concrete Driveway).

Driveway Tasks

Local driveway installers will likely help with the maintenance of concrete driveways, stone resin driveway installation, the repair of gravel driveways, cheap driveway ideas, grass driveway installation, driveway repair, driveway ideas, driveway replacement, garden patio installations, the building of flagstone driveways, Indian stone driveways, the building of brick driveways, bonded gravel driveways, driveway removal, coloured tarmac driveways, concrete driveway repairs, tar driveways, driveway sealing, shingle driveways, driveway lights, driveway bollards, gated driveways, the laying of aggregate driveways, gravel driveway laying, the maintenance of block paving driveways, driveway maintenance, the laying of concrete driveways, cobbled driveways, stone driveway installation, driveway resurfacing. Driveway providers will be happy to inform you of their whole range of services

Driveway Questions

In the past week or so I've been having a close look at the popular questions folks ask in relation to driveways in Gillingham. Quite a few of our visitors posted some noteworthy enquiries which are relevant to this discussion. The ones I picked out were, "How much weight can driveway hold?" "Does driveway sealer go bad?" "Where can I buy driveway gravel?" "What are driveway markers used for?" "How much does a driveway cost?" "What are the benefits of a concrete driveway?" The majority of these questions will have hopefully been answered on this page, if there are any left to be answered we'll be including a driveway "Q&A" section before long. Our gratitude goes out to Nolan Macdonald, Caroline Welsh, Oliver Beattie and Sheila Southern from Gillingham, for taking time out to send in these questions. It was also awesome to get offerings from Sawyer Tucker in Wouldham, April Exley in Rainham and Reginald Dwyer in Frindsbury.

Suggestions on Ways to Give Your Home a Better Curb Look

The term curb appeal references how your home looks on the outside from the street. You really want to make you outside of your home look better when you're trying to sell it to enhance its overall curb appeal. Staying at home, or selling your home, it's totally up to you; however, it is a great idea to improve your curb appeal to enhance the way your house looks if you're able to. So let's look at some easy ways to upgrade your home's curb appeal.

The first thing that you should do to improve the way at your house looks is to paint it a different color or touch it up to make it look great. Painting your deck is also an option, as well as choosing a new color which will stand out much more prominently. Shutters and window casings are also good candidates for a fresh coat of paint. To improve your curb appeal even more, you could clean the outside of your home making things look exceptional from a distance. Always remove mold and moss from the outside of your home as this will give the impression that no one cares for the house. It is imperative that you clean up these outside issues and don't think twice about hiring a professional, especially if it is mold that must be removed in a special way.

The colors of your home are very important to consider. Think carefully! Even if you do like the existing color of the exterior of your home, it would actually be fun to conceptualize a completely different color and see how it looks in your mind. After you have picked an ideal color for your home, you should also consider repainting smaller more specific areas such as your deck and a pump house if you have one on your property. Many people will do simple things such as add color by adding a plant here and there instead of painting their entire home for the effect. Once you have decided on what color changes to make, you should consider how this will make you feel as well as how it will be perceived by those that come over to visit.

It would be a misconception to feel that you do not need to think about curb appeal at night. You can actually change the impression your house exudes with the correct lighting. A low lit porch light, or a bulb that does not work, does not exactly look welcoming to people. If you have a garden area, you can put some decorative lighting around it so it can be appreciated when the stars are out. The variety of exterior lights can range anywhere from old-time lanterns to solar globes. Such lights are useful on foggy or rainy days as well as at night, and will give visitors, potential buyers, and your own family a more secure feeling when they step onto your property.

There are numerous types of enhancements that will make your home more attractive. The exterior of your home deserves as much recognition as the interior. With the suggestions we have shared, you now have some idea of how to make your house stand out and be noticed for curb appeal; if you were to look closely around the place, you will see many little things that can also be done.

Searching Online For a Driveway Installer

When looking for any kind of tradesmen these days, the vast majority of householders are inclined to head straight online to simply "Google it". Logic would say that you're seeing this webpage at this moment after you pinpointed it by typing a search phrase into Google, Yahoo or Bing and it appeared on the first page. From time to time the page 1 listings provided aren't exactly what you'd expected when making use of these particular search engines. The majority of householders, when trying to find a driveway expert will visit Google or bing and type "driveways", "Gillingham driveways", "driveway pavers near me" or "driveways". Nevertheless, most of the resulting page one listings on these search engines, as you will shortly discover, are either going to be "pay per click" results or listings for major lead creation sites like TrustaTrader, My Hammer, Checkatrade, Rated People, My Builder or Bark or directories such as Yell, Gumtree, Yelp or Hotfrog. You'll very likely discover the sites of bona fide driveway pavers hidden on page 2 or 3 of the results, outsmarted by the wealthier corporations who can more easily afford SEO. When you are endeavouring to find the most effective person to complete your driveway installation work, it's sensible to explore every technique open to you, so everything supplied by the search process should be reviewed so that you will be able to uncover the ideal driveway installer.

Driveway Installer Services

Find Driveway Pavers in the UK Here

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