Drains and Sewers - who's responsible?

Many homeowners falsely believe the drains and sewers (including any manhole covers) within their property are the responsibility of the local council or water authority.

Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth and many homeowners have discovered the painful truth by incurring large bills for remedial works. This is one of the reasons why water companies in particular, are always writing to introduce you to the benefits of insuring such pipework and infrastructure under your gardens, driveways and even houses. At present, homeowners are responsible for drains and sewers up to the point where they join the public sewers (usually under roads ).

However, the question of 'ownership' is about to change. From April 1st 2011, ownership will start transferring over to the relevant water authority. The hand over is due around this October.

The downside is the likelihood that sewage elements of water bills will increase to cover the cost of repairs needed to carry out future improvements - analysts believe the figure could be anywhere between £3 and £14 a year.

The change also means that water companies and their agents will have a right of way to access drains etc for maintenance works, so don't go building over any manhole covers or buried pipes.

photo credit: horia varlan

Note: This article first appeared in our home owner newsletter dated 4th April 2011. Click here to read our full newsletter.

What's so special about imprinted concrete driveways?

Patterned or Impressed Concrete is an alternative paving surface to Block Paving or Tarmac for driveways, paths and patios.

The base is still dug out and a hardcore base compacted before the top inches of concrete are applied. Whilst the surface is still wet, a coloured coating is applied and floated in before the final pattern is applied using special moulds.

The result is a surface that can be made to look like any arrangement of blocks or cobbles but without the cost of individual block laying.

You can still have separate coloured 'block pattern' borders - steps can also be created / resurfaced.

Once the pattern has been pressed and the whole surface is dry - a top protective coat is usually applied.

Impressed concrete is particularly useful where there are steep slopes between adjoining areas - with block paving, it may be necessary to create a step - and supporters of impressed concrete will tell you it's a lot harder for the weeds to grow through than with blocks.

Large areas usually incorporate a specially sealed 'break line' so that as the earth moves, structural cracks are avoided in the surface.

Fans of Block Paving will point out that the advantage of blocks is that if one becomes damaged, it's more straightforward to replace a single brick. With impressed concrete, it would mean replacing a small area which would then need skilful blending in with the existing surface.

Both surfaces are recommend to be re-coated with the protective sealants from time to time. If you're in any doubt, always check with your installer first. The maintenance and upkeep of one surface over another might influence your final decision.

You can get quotes for Impressed concrete, Block paving or tarmac driveways, paths and patios at Paving Quoter. Just choose your preferred material, select edging and other features, type in the measurements of the area you want to cover and you'll get an instant online price guide in seconds.

Paving Quoter  - a completely free homeowner service.

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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Car turntables - the parking solution

Car turntable quoter – the parking solution

If your planning application for a driveway has been refused and you can't get permission to drop the kerb, then a car turntable might provide the answer.

Local planning decisions vary from one area to another, but recent personal experience is that if you can find a way around the objections, then a further decision may be made in your favour.

With regards driveways or exits onto roads from private property, there are a number of rules and guidelines planning departments use. In most cases, they will refer to the highways department, particularly if there is any commercial aspect to the property.

They will look at certain factors – is the exit going to be on a blind bend? Is there good visibility of the road (in both directions) when pulling off the intended driveway and is there equal good visibility for road users of the exit point?

Factors like bends in the road, dips and inclines, surrounding properties, the 'class' of road etc all affect decisions, and are usually based on such factors as reversing off of an intended driveway – how safe is it to other road users (and pedestrians) as well as ease of entering the driveway. If you have to make a broad swing to get into a tight entrance etc.

A car turntable, manual or remote controlled, can help overcome many objections. It's the ideal parking solution as you can remove the objection of having to reverse out onto the main road.

Councils are keen to get vehicles off the streets – themselves a hazard and particularly so for emergency services on narrow lanes as well as public transport and community transport iniatives.

Car turntables come in all sizes to fit all cars. From super minis to SUV's and people carriers, and the costs of installing or installing it yourself are not as expensive as you might think with installed prices starting from around £7000. Average installation costs are around £2,500, more if the electricity supply for an automatic system has to be re-directed over a large distance from the house.

Car turntables – the benefits of having a car turntable installed on your driveway.

Improve your lifestyle with a car turntable

Car Turntables are no longer a rich persons toy! Nor are they exclusively for gadget lovers.

Nowadays, they are becoming an increasingly popular option for home owners and property developers alike, to help overcome local planning parking issues or to help overcome parking problems associated with ever over crowded roads making reversing out of your driveway a dangerous past-time.

With ever more restrictions being placed on parking space, councils are not only more desperate to get more cars off the road, but are also restricting planning permission to lower kerbs because of the fear of the applicant being able to drive into their property who would then have to reverse out onto a busy or hazardous road.

One answer is to install a vehicle turntable system on your drive or garden. It allows full use of smaller areas and overcomes any objections of reversing as you’ll never have to reverse out of your driveway again.

You simply drive onto the turntable, park, and then when you’re ready to leave, rotate the platform and hey presto – you’re forward facing again.

Another excellent benefit is that you don’t have to sacrifice the amount of front garden you’d normally associate with having a driveway installed. Normal turning circles and parking solutions can be reduced when you fit a car turntable.

The complete car turntable fits into the space that would normally be taken up by the average car. The installation company will be able to advise you on the best fit for a particular area.

Car turntables can also be adapted to blend in with existing driveway surroundings. Many designs allow for the integration of block paving and the turntables themselves are available in a variety of different shades.

And their usefulness doesn’t stop there, as more and more homes become two, three (or more) car families, especially those with grown up children where once there was plenty of turning space, there now involves a 300 point turn to get the car farthest from the road turned around and facing the right way again.

The key benefits of having a car turntable installed on your driveway are:

Compliance with the Highway Code – no more reversing into heavy traffic
Reduce the risk of paintwork scraps and bumps when reversing on tight driveways
No more stiff necks – no more looking backwards to reverse
Added security – park your car at right angles for added security
Satisfy local planning requirements – overcome safety and environmental objections
No more 300 point turns on your own driveway to face the right way again

One feature that is often overlooked is the added security benefits when you have a car turntable. Now, when you park, you can turn your car to 90 degrees, making it extremely difficult for thieves to make off with your car.

And did you know that car turntables come in various sizes, from super mini size to those large enough for two SUV’s side by side.

When choosing which turntable to have installed, you may think it makes sense to buy the model that fits your car. Sometimes you may be restricted by space to a certain size but if you’re not, consider this.

The next time you change your car, will you buy one the same size? You may have to upsize – families, pets, daily usage etc all affect our choice of car. Will you be restricted by what will actually fit on your turntable?

And when you come to sell the property, the car turntable will make a valuable feature, but it won’t if the potential buyer owns a vehicle too large to use it.

Car turntables come in both manual and electrically operated options. Whilst the manual versions are easily moved – makers claim a child could rotate a car laden turntable – the option of power may prove another benefit for potential house buyers as well as offering you all the convenience of remote operation.

Usually a small key fob remote is used so you can drive on, rotate and park whatever the weather in comfort and safety. Electrically operated versions usually come with emergency stop buttons, although the close fits mean there’s very little chance of anything getting trapped in the mechanism.

So now there’s no excuse for reversing out onto busy roads, being restricted to roadside parking because of lack of driveway space or scratching the paintwork on tight walled driveways. The car turntable has come to save us once and for all.

You can get an instant online quote for having a car turntable installed just by visiting carturntablequoter.co.uk. Just enter your details, the size of car you’d like to be quoted on and select electric and other options and our independent pricing system will give you an expectation of cost based on your details, there and then.

For other instant online home improvement quotes – from double glazing to kitchens, driveways and garage doors, visit homeimprovementquotes.co.uk