Permeable paving doesn't limit your options

Permeable paving has come very much to the fore as local authorities insist on any new driveway or hard standing surface between your property and the highway being constructed of a permeable surface.

Permeable surfaces allow rainwater to drain through rather than run off into already over-pressed road and verge drainage systems.

Non-permeable surfaces increase the risk of localised flooding and carry any driveway spills of pollutants - oil and other mechanical fluids - directly into local waterways, posing a threat to wildlife and the environment as well as making water filtration plants work harder.

However, being permeable doesn't mean your choice of surface is greatly reduced. These days, there are a number of professionally fitted options including permeable block pavers, concrete blocks and even permeable 'tarmac'.

Gravel and so called grass pavers (where the grass/soil is contained within a concrete cell structure) are also excellent permeable surface choices.

Some resin-bound surfaces are also permeable.

If you're interested in saving and retaining rainwater, then permeable driveway construction can still include traps to feed into your water storage tanks. If you don't want a permeable surface, then drainage and disposal of surface water will be key elements - especially as you'll need planning permission for a non-permeable surface.

SInce 2008, rules have been in force regarding permeable surfaces. Even if you're replacing an existing area of driveway or hard standing (like a patio), you'll need to use a permeable solution.

Latest guidelines suggest any non permeable hard surface area over 5sq metres will require planning permission - something your preferred paving contractor should be able to help you with quite easily. Permeable surfaces allowing rainwater to drain through naturally will not normally require planning permission but if in doubt, check with your preferred driveway/paving contractor or local planning authority for guidance before starting.

Failure to adhere to planning regulations could come back to haunt you in the future - especially if you come to sell the property.

It's worth noting that Scotland and Wales may have their own regulations - the planning regulations referred to in our article applying to England only. As far as we are aware, the regulations in England only apply to driveways or other hard standing areas on the front of your property or land between the house and the public highway.

Don't forget, you can get an instant online driveway, patio or path quote from Paving Quoter - salesman free quotes.

This article first appeared on our weekly homeowner newsletter dated 16h May 2011. Click here to read the full newsletter.

Now is the time to get your driveway sorted

The 'Green Zone' in the chart above shows how enquiries have already peaked for the paving industry.

This means greater supply in the market, bringing about lower prices and greater flexibility in installation dates.

So if you have a preferred date in mind when you were thinking of having your old driveway surface replaced, extended or even a new driveway installed, then now is the time to act.

Click here to get your instant online Paving or Driveway quote now.

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Paving Savings - Small Driveways, Big Discounts

How you can get big discounts from paving companies, even when you only have a small driveway.

For paving companies, big jobs mean bigger discounts when buying raw materials – discounts that can be passed on to you, the customer.

From a paving company’s perspective, when it comes to the cost of a paving or driveway job, the larger the area, the more materials it’s going to need, hence a bigger discount when purchasing the raw materials and the saving that can be passed onto you the customer. The labour’s relatively fixed – x amount for x man hours the job requires.

Other factors may include the distance the installation team have to drive from their premises to carry out the installation and special accessibility issues on site.

If you only have a small area you want block paving or covering with impressed concrete or tarmac, you’ll have a harder time getting discounts from a paving installation company that doesn't have a lot of leeway with which to negotiate discounts or savings on raw materials unless buying large amounts.

One way around this is to offer the paving additional work on the property.

In the long run, whilst initially paying a little more, you’ll save money because of the higher costs of having paving work done in small chunks - assuming can get a paving company to come out and quote at all for paths and patios separately at all.

What about including the pathway up the side of your house in the paving project? You’ll also benefit from the closest possible match of materials and levels and avoid the possibility of disturbing previously laid projects, if you come back to increase them later on.

If you’ve got an existing patio or seating area - or you’d like one installed - then why not consider including that too? If your driveway is for one car only, then there’s a potential to add an area the size of a medium family car to the job, by getting a quote for paving the rear area as well.

Consider also, when having a larger area paved, that the installation company may be able to draw upon additional fitting teams so you may find you get the whole job done within the same time frame as a smaller job, which may have previously precluded a large workforce.

Other areas you may be able to negotiate a better overall job discount on include asking the paving company about landscaping of the area around the driveway, and building boundary walls or fences.

Finally – if you’re considering having your driveway re-laid, what about your neighbours? They may be thinking along similar lines. It can’t hurt to make a polite enquiry with them – if only to warn them in advance of the work you’re thinking of having done. If they’re in agreement, then perhaps the two households can negotiate a larger discount based on the collective size of the area that will want re-surfacing. This is especially effective where two properties share a central driveway area or access road.

The first stage in any home improvement project is to get an idea of cost. That’s where PavingQuoter can help. Enter a few simple measurements (don’t worry if they’re not exact) and our sophisticated quoting system will calculate a price, based on UK average prices, there and then for you.

New Driveway Legislation being introduced

New Driveway Legislation - How to… replace your driveway according to new legislation

With the average household in Britain currently owning two or more cars, it’s no surprise that we are constantly striving for that elusive extra parking space – in the garage, on the driveway, we even concrete over our front lawns to give us an extra space! Keeping the car off the road also significantly lowers insurance premiums, so most families make sure their driveway is as usable as possible. Homeowners in larger cities with unused off-road parking are even renting spaces out! This benefits both the homeowner – spaces can be rented for as much as £3500 per year – and the car-owner, who has the advantage of a guaranteed, safe parking space and cheaper car insurance!

Remember, you can get an instant online quote for your paving and driveway projects at PavingQuoter - click here.

Adapting your driveway at the moment is relatively easy – you don’t need planning permission, you can use whichever materials you like and you can concrete over the front lawn without any trouble. However that’s all about to change.

As of autumn this year, homeowners will require planning permission to replace their driveway or pave over the garden unless porous materials are used. This is all to combat the high flood risks which hit Britain last year – 55,000 homes flooded and, according to government figures, impermeable materials, such as concrete and tarmac, prevented the rain from soaking into the ground and exacerbated the problem. According to the London Assembly, London has already lost the equivalent of 22 Hyde Parks in “green space” as a result of people paving over their gardens. However if the necessity of extra parking really does outweigh your need for green, here are five top tips to replacing your driveway according to the new rules:

1) Gravel
Gravel is by far the cheapest porous material to use on your driveway or garden, and it’s also the one that best keeps your garden looking like a garden. Gravel costs as little as £2 per square metre and comes in many different colours depending on the quarry it’s from. Choose whichever colour you like best and lay the stones onto a permeable membrane to stop weeds going through. If you still want some planting in your garden, work out where your car will go and add “planting pockets” in the membrane. In these you can place hardy plants that will survive if you accidentally drive over them! Try things like bugle, creeping jenny and thyme. You could also try planting berry trees around the edge of your garden where hopefully you won’t crash into them! These are especially hardy and able to cope with the fumes and heat from your car, and will add instant colour. If you are feeling exceptionally green, you can even buy recycled gravel, which is a by-product of the ceramics industry.

2) Bricks
Brick-paving is still an option under the new driveway regulations, as long as you use permeable bricks. These are fitted in an interlocking style that allows rainwater to penetrate through the gaps in the brickwork and soak into the ground. Permeable bricks need to be laid by professionals and cost upwards of £15 per square metre. Brick paving arguably takes away the feel of a garden from your home, but you can add colour by placing pot plants around where your car will go. For pots, it’s easy to add colour all year round – plant things like petunias during the summer months and replace these with hardier plants such as pansies throughout the winter.

3) Recycled driveways
As well as recycled gravel, there are other “green” ways to replace your driveway. Cellular paving is made from hexagonal cells of recycled plastic which you fill with an aggregate, such as resin-bonded gravel or any other aggregate of your choice. The cells usually come in green, but there are other colours available at an extra cost. You can lay cellular paving yourself from £60 per square metre or getting it laid professionally will set you back £100 per square metre.

4) Keep the grass!
If you really do love your garden, but need that extra parking space, you can simply keep your front lawn and park on that. However if you don’t reinforce the grass first, you could end up with a quagmire in front of your house! There are solutions available to reinforce your lawn so that your car can drive on it with ease, without sinking and without ruining the grass. Grass reinforcement is made from plastic and is easy to lay, though you do have to take the grass up first! Then lay the reinforced plastic sheet underneath the lawn and you’ll be ready to park over it in a few hours. There are also concrete underlay options available, but these will obviously take longer to dry before they can be used! Plastic grass underlay costs from £17 per square metre.
If you do want to keep your existing grass and garden pretty much as it is, but still need the extra space for the car, you can lay paving slabs in strips where the wheels of your car will go. This makes a track in your lawn so that your car can be parked on it without leaving tyre marks! However you have to make sure you park precisely and that your wheels don’t leave the paving slabs.

5) Finishing touches
Even though you may think you have turned the front garden into a car park, there are still ways to keep it looking like a garden. As well as “planting pockets” in gravel and pot plants around the car, you can also add other touches to make sure you still have some plants and greenery. Try leaving “holes” in the paving, by leaving circular shapes unpaved. Fill the circles with soil and plant decorative trees or topiary in them – obviously making sure that they will not grow so big that they block the driveway or their roots will damage the paving! Choose small evergreens or topiary bushes that will remain miniature.

You could also build a pergola over the car so that it will stay hidden and your garden will still look pretty. To climb over the pergola, plant variegated ivy or beautiful florals such as honeysuckle, hydrangea, clematis or passion flower. If you don’t want to build a pergola, you could also consider putting a trellis up the front of the house and planting a climbing plant to grow up that. This way you are not missing out on some green in your garden!

If you are still not convinced by using a porous material on you driveway, consider that non-porous materials increase rainwater run-off by 50 per cent, which then has to flow into drains, which could overflow and flood. Non-porous materials also stop rain from soaking into the ground, which makes the ground dry and can cause subsidence. But don’t let this put you off having a driveway – off-street parking can add thousands to the value of your property and is a useful, safe space for your car. Just make sure you are sticking to the new laws and using porous driveway materials!

Don't forget, you can get an instant online quote for your paving and driveway projects at PavingQuoter - click here.

Keeping up with the Jones - Alfresco dining

Keeping up with Jones - Alfresco dining.

The garden is another room of your home and deserves the same attention to detail as your lounge, kitchen or bedroom. Patios provide a striking feature and are very versatile, allowing homeowners to relax in tranquillity or wine and dine with family and friends.

This month’s featured company is The Driveway Company, a driveway and patio specialist based in the West Midlands. For more information contact www.drivewaycompany.co.uk

Patios can be shaped to flow naturally through the garden creating a peaceful and relaxing environment. Clever designs will leave plenty of room for an array of plants, bushes and water features where you can sit and enjoy them.

Long gone are the days of pulling a dusty BBQ out of the shed. BBQ’s make a great patio feature and even though summer is over, there’s nothing better than a night time BBQ party – think about getting a patio heater or chiminea to keep everyone warm and toasty while they eat.

Consider colours, patterns and planting to make your patio stand out against a natural background and create the right atmosphere – in both summer and winter. This will add a new dimension to your garden, particularly during the next few dreary winter months.

If you’ve got a home to run and a family to sort out you probably haven’t got time to keep a garden with complicated planting schemes looking at its best. Patios are low maintenance and can still make a garden look interesting using a range of materials, colours and shapes flowing through different levels.

For an instant online paving quote, visit pavingquoter now.

Impressed concrete driveways - why choose impressed concrete over block paving

Impressed concrete driveways – why choose impressed concrete over block paving

When you're considering getting your driveway, path or patio re-surfaced, many think of block paving – intricate designs of small blocks from cobblestone replica's to smoother natural stones in a variety of shades and textures.

However, before you go ahead, have you considered impresses concrete? Impressed concrete is a uniform layer of concrete laid over the area to be 'paved'. This concrete is then imprinted using a variety of different mould's to re-create the same patterns as found in traditional block paving.

After the pattern has been impressed, a coloured powder is added and smoothed in to give the finished colour.

One of the advantages of impressed concrete over block paving is its ability to take in awkward areas and slopes without the need for intricate cutting and steps, however, it should be noted that usually if a step is required for general foot traffic, then a step should still be considered.

You can still specify different colours – one for the edging, one for the middle etc and recognised companies will pay the same attention to the groundwork preparation as they would for block paving.

Costs are not to dissimilar and impressed concrete, like its block paving counterpart can be laid usually throughout the year with only the frostiest of nights slowing down installation.

So, before making your mind up, why not explore the possibility of Impressed Concrete? You can get a free, instant online quote for both at PavingQuoter.co.uk.

instant online quotes a winner

Did you know that when you visit any of the 'Quoter family of websites for your instant online quote for double glazing, fitted kitchens, block paving, fascia etc, as part of our free online service, we also now offer a free customer information area.

After getting your instant online quote, our experienced staff will call you back and after confirming the details you entered, offer you the chance to get up to 3 local independent written quotations from approved companies specialising in your requirements.

If you accept our free offer of firm quotations (they're valid for 6 months and completely without obligation), then you'll receive an email from us giving you access to your very own login areas where you can view contact details of the (up to 3) local companies we've recommended and leave feedback on your experiences with that company - from their initial contact, the appointment right up to if they carry out work for you.

If you do decide to accept one of the quotations, then you can re-visit your login area and download your own Deposit Protection Certificate (as well as continuing to leave feedback.

This feedback is emailed back to the companies concerned as well as our own quality control department so if a company fails to live up to your expectations, then we want to hear about it. We'd also like to hear when they do live up to your expectations too.

Here's some recent feedback from customers who used the online quote system:

"Very pleasant man came to visit Saturday even though i kept him waiting 20 minutes. Very honest about prices and didnt feel like I was being ripped off."
K B - Peterborough - 5 stars awarded.

"Prompt appointment made, they do evening and weekend visits. Polite knowledgeable salesman."
M D - London - 4 stars awarded

"I was very satisfied with Advanced Roofline Systems, I found their personel courteous, polite and very helpful, infact i was very impressed with the whole setup, from you sorting out a company for me, to the finished job, thank you very much. With kind regards L H"
L H - Clwyd - 5 stars awarded

"Prepared to supply product as we wanted it, and not try to inflict a modern design on a period house. offered a good price for a quick decision, so we decided to go for it."
M Q - Altrincham - 4 stars awarded

"Excellent service - speedy response. No hard sell, plenty of useful information. We were very impressed and will be visiting their showroom"
V D - Warwickshire - 5 stars awarded

"Responded to my email within a few hours and visited us and prepared a quotation within 3 days. Excellant service"
J H - Shropshire - 5 stars awarded

Doing up your drive? - Tips and advice

How to…………….Build a new driveway

Resurfacing an existing driveway is a relatively straightforward process, but creating a new driveway entry onto a highway takes a little more consideration. Here’s five tips you must consider before you begin:

1 – Consult the local council
It is essential you contact your local authority before you start any work on your driveway. Planning permission will certainly be required if you live on a major road or near a junction. And there may be other requirements depending on the regulations of your local council, such as the amount of engineering work that will be carried out, or if you intend to install a new gate or fencing. So check first.

2 – Plan well in advance
It may sound obvious, but preparation is absolutely critical, and it’s better to encounter any potential problems before the job starts than halfway through. Mark out the exact area you want the driveway to be laid, and take into account any obstacles that will have to be removed, such as trees or walls. Are you going to put in a gate? Is the new driveway going to be big enough for your car as well as room to walk around it? Remember – if your car overhangs onto the pavement, you might not get planning permission.

3 – Check the ground
If the area where you are planning to build the new driveway has already been excavated, ensure that the ground is still hard. Rainfall may have created soft areas in the earth which could lead to subsidence in the future. If you do find any soft areas, dig them out before starting any other work on the driveway.

4 – Don’t forget drainage
One of the most commonly overlooked aspects of constructing a new driveway is drainage. If the land is flat, you will have to ensure there is a slight gradient in the surface, and if the slope runs towards a building you will have to install surface water drainage channels too.

5 – Specify exactly who does what
There may be parts of the operation that you are confident to carry out yourself, so it’s always best to split the project into stages. For example, excavating the area is a fairly straightforward job, but installing paving is a large-scale-project, and if you have no previous experience it is recommended you bring in the professionals, if only for consultation on what to do yourself.

When looking for firms to carry out work for you, the universal rule for all home improvement companies applies: make sure that you employ a reputable firm with a proven track record! Pavingquoter can help you choose your supplier.