Hardcore for new driveway

[vegasgo]

Thanks SFK.

Our drive goes directly onto the road, there is no pavement. Next to our house is a steep lane with no drainage. When it rains the amount of crap that sweeps down it then past our driveway would have blocked the drains in next to no time. It was discussed but there's never been drainage here for over 40 years since the house was built. The entire area is full of blocked drains but authorities don't care less.

 

[Deleted member 292770]

So tarmac over dirt? don’t let them do any more.

 

[vegasgo]

It was tarmac, will now be block paving, official plan

1. The excavated depth will be a minimum of 300mm.
2. We lay down a porous PVC membrane, then apply the sub-base of Type 1
crushed concrete, and compact
using our vibrating-plate compactor until the desired level is achieved.
3. We then apply sharp-sand and compact down, again using the vibrating-plate
compactor.
4. We then lay down the block paving.
5. Once installed we apply kiln-dried-sand to settle in all the joints.

 

[John D v2.0]

Far too many fines in that, it should be 35mm rough edged stones enough to lock together, with enough smaller ones to fit in the gaps, followed by enough fines to fill those gaps.
Once compacted it shouldn't move if you kick it around, you would need a rake or a hoe or something to get it out. If they've just squashed that rocky dust into the ground it isn't going to do anything useful.

 

[^woody^]

There are planning restrictions regarding driveways.

Apart from using proper hardcore, an excellent gauge of how good and competent a firm is, is if they mention the planning laws that they should be abiding by.

Non of those points above actually mention how deep the hardcore base or the sand base will be.

No mention of concreting/securing the unrestrained edges either.

That's a nonsense specification.

 

[vegasgo]

I will talk to them tomorrow to express my concern about the quality of the hardcore.

All edges will be finished with embedded concrete edging.

Thanks for all your replies.

 

[vegasgo]

They said the hardcore is recycled crushed concrete to dust, been using it for years, never had a problem. Can only hope so.

 

[Deleted member 292770]

They said the hardcore is recycled crushed concrete to dust, been using it for years, never had a problem. Can only hope so.

it’s earth.

 

[^woody^]

it’s earth.

Crushed earth.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

They said the hardcore is recycled crushed concrete to dust, been using it for years, never had a problem. Can only hope so.

No it is not..

It's soil with a few stones, which probably was dug out from somewhere else.

 

[mattylad]

Looks like the op needs to stop them doing any further and fire them off.
Get someone else in.

 

[vegasgo]

The firm doing the job, perfect reviews across the internet, I can't find any negative comments about them, established for 35 years, family run, Brett approved contractors and authorised by the Met Police Trading Service as an approved supplier. Who can you trust these days? I have a host of other issues as well, damage to shrubs, door step, underground electrics, water meter, rubble getting into soakaways and the septic tank, grass is taking an unecessary battering. They say they will repair any damage but with different guys coming and going there is no one here to project manage the job and I keep having to point out things they should already know to prevent further issues.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

The firm doing the job, perfect reviews across the internet, I can't find any negative comments about them,

From the likes of CheckaTrade and similar, I would read them with a pinch of salt - bad reviews are removed. The other possibility is that it is not the same company as you think it it, or that the company has been sold on. Point is - they are not doing a workmanlike, satisfactory job and they may have put passers by at risk on the road with the damage and destabilization to the tree roots.

 

[^woody^]

I keep having to point out things they should already know

Does that not tell you something?

The other schemes memberships you mention are not quality schemes.

Is there an insurance-backed guarantee? How long 10, 15, 20 years?

 

[vegasgo]

10 years