Normal blocks or clay - worth paying extra?

[dbaplaya]

thinking of doing the drive myself. I went to selco and can get m2 for £8.50+vat , clay pavers are around £16 per m2. is it worth paying extra?
I had a quote off a guy that advised that normal concrete blocks had a life of 'looking good' of around 10 years and pressure washer treatment would reduce this further.

Can anyone advise on the best solution based on quality and cost?

My drive is 102sqm. I had a quote for normal blocks £4500,
clay pavers £5430
Three size tumbled concrete pavors £5490
Tumbled clay pavors £5660

and £15 per metre for raised kerbs around drive.

This is only the first quote I have had but with prices like these I am more pushed towards doing it myself.

Any advice appreciated.

See pic of drive...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/58733745@N07/5386707661/

 

[r896neo]

Clay pavers are as much harder wearing and don't fade colour wise, however they are really hard which make cutting a bugger. They are also slightly less uniform in size in my limited experience with them and the main draw back is the limited variety of shapes and sizes.

Personally i think at the moment the 3 size pattern paving is the nicest option and will look better for years to come. Standard brick pattern rectangular paving already looks pretty dated in my opinion never mind in 10 years time.

 

[Nige F]

Normal blocks laid herringbone Had mine done @ last house using a (tarmac) Top Pave contractor - Totally 100% job - There is also a site called pavingexpert.com to help you diy. Good luck

 

[^woody^]

Clay can also suffer with more moss and algae growth, and can be more slippery due to this and also in wet freezing winter conditions. If the drive is sloping, consider concrete instead

You certainly don't need the extra hard wearing or weathering of clay for a drive, so in practical terms it may be just down to aesthetics

With regards to "looking good", well if you want a bright shiny drive then you need to do it in plastic. If you want a nice drive to mellow and improve in appearance, then concrete will do fine.

There is never any need to jet wash though (which will wear the surface with every wash and increase the frequency of further cleaning), all that is needed is a brush with a wet broom and some suitable detergent

 

[dbaplaya]

one thing on cleaning - is it worth sealing the drive? the guy i had a quote for said dont do it as it will wear and show (as you drive your car on and off in the same spot etc)

 

[r896neo]

Don't bother many of the so called sealing products are next to useless.

 

[jesteh]

I am doing my drive paving myself as we speak and its not rocket science - there are plenty of guides on internet, you can hire all the tools you need, you just need to take your time with everything.

You could also try and get a compromise - you do the digging, preparation and the paving guys do the laying - may save you save some costs.

As far as clay vs concrete - my parents had concrete pavers put in at the same time as neighbour got clay - around 10-15 years ago. They are now saying they wish they used clay - they have to keep using weed killer to get rid of moss while neighbour's still looking good. I can't tell the difference so its down to how critical your eye is - amazes me that people who use magnifier to read can spot microscopic moss growth on pavers