laying a concrete drive way

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Olly64

Guest
its grass at the moment, and im going to attempt laying concrete, never done this before, how far do i dig down when digging out the grass and do i fill it with rocks as a foundation? then just pour the concrete on it, is it that simple, i heard just mix the gravel and cement 4 0r 5 to 1, is this all i need to know? any tips would be great
 
With respect, and I admit I do like to do as much DIY as possible myself, it sounds like you know sufficiently little about this that you may be better to get a contractor to do it for you.

However, depending on the size of the proposed driveway, you may be better to get a mini digger to excavate the earth, then have it removed, build a frame to set the dimensions and edges of the work and to hold in the wet concrete, then get a delivery of suitable aggregate (tons!), spread it evenly, get a delivery of the right no of cubic yards of concrete, spread it, smooth and tamp it down.

Can you do all that?
 
Olly64 - whats the size of the area ?

It's relatively easy to do yourself. Don't contract this out as it will cost you a lot more.
 
i have not got the exact measurements at present but its about a car and a half in lenght and about 1foot each side of the car, its a medium size family car if thats any use
 
Badly laid concrete coupled with poor planning can really detract from the appearance of a house. I'd say you'd be better of talking to someone with some experience before you start pouring concrete over your garden.
 
There may not be money to be saved by doing this yourself when you consider that you would have to hire skip(s) to get rid of the soil, a roller to compact the hardcore, which you would also have to buy. You would probably not get the concrete at the same price as a contractor would..

Also back injury is quite expensive...
 
ontour said:
There may not be money to be saved by doing this yourself when you consider that you would have to hire skip(s) to get rid of the soil, a roller to compact the hardcore, which you would also have to buy. You would probably not get the concrete at the same price as a contractor would..

Also back injury is quite expensive...
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Some good advice there.

This site might give some general advice www.pavingexpert.com
 
If you do decide to do this yourself please please wear good wellies and gloves as the lime in the concrete will burn the hell out of you.
 
If it's 20ft x 11ft thats about 1.4 cubic metres for a 4inch depth, do you know how many barrows of concrete that is? It's about 30! Try mixing 1 by hand and see how you feel after it......
 
some great advice there, im going to hire a mixer, is it just gravel and cement i mix 4:1 and add water?
 
Might be better if you did all the foundation work yourself and then ordered the cement pre-mixed from roadstone or the likes. It shouldn't be too expensive buying by the cubic metre (relatively) and it's laid in super quick time versus hiring a mixer and hand mixing !
 
i got a quote for 2 tons of gravel and 6 bags of cement for €105, how much would the ready mix cost, how would i know how much to ask for
 
Well as owenm said
If it's 20ft x 11ft thats about 1.4 cubic metres for a 4inch depth, do you know how many barrows of concrete that is? It's about 30! Try mixing 1 by hand and see how you feel after it......
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20 x 11 at 4" depth is 1.4 cubic metres.

Call the local roadstone or other company that supplies ready mixed cement to get cost. Remember though, it might be more expensive than the price you got to do it by hand - but you have to do it by hand !!
 
thats great advice i think i will do that, thanks everybody, alls i have to do now is wait for abit of dry weather, im waiting since january, i will post with the out come
 
Olly64 said:
i got a quote for 2 tons of gravel and 6 bags of cement for €105, how much would the ready mix cost, how would i know how much to ask for
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Some sand may be usefull ....:)

Regarding getting ready mix delivered, there will only deliver full load (3cubic meter min i think) and dump it.
So, if you only need 1.4cubic meter, then you 'll have to mix it yourself.. Get a couple of friend for the afternoon, and get them food & pints in your local afterwards!!!

Do you have space for the 1.4cubic meter of soil you will have dug out...?

From your posts, and with all respect, you seem to have very limited knowledge about taking on such a project... I fully agree with oopsbuddy and carpenter..
 
olly64 - have a go at it - it's not rocket science ! call up your local ready mix guy and ask if they will deliver what you need, my local company delivered 1 cubic metre to me before "the end of a delivery" so possible they should be able to help you.

Get a couple of friend for the afternoon, and get them food & pints in your local afterwards!!!
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Good idea, you'll still need a bit of help to spread the cement etc.
 
As I said before, I'd be all for having a go at most things myself, but I've done quite a bit of this sort of stuff before, through previous jobs and my own DIY.

TRUST ME - if you are unprepared for this, and you end up making a bags of it, it'll be very hard to fix it, or it will cost you so much more to have hard, badly laid concrete removed, then do it all again. If you really want to give this a go yourself, I'd strongly recommend that you do ample research, take your time building the frame (or get a friend who is knowledgeable about this type of work and who has done it before to help set you up), and get the readymix delivered. It may cost a few quid more, but you'll get it finished quickly, and you'll save your back. Remember, the best person to do this would be a contractor, so do what he does, and save time and effort. You're really only saving on additional labour costs. Also, remember to build in a slight slope for water runoff away from your house, or whatever other places you do not want flooding. Good luck!
 
there is a footpath there so i am using that as a guide and it slopes down away from the house, im dumping the soil out in the back garden and level it off, i knock in a wall to create the driveway and will use this for the hardcore
 
Olly64 said:
there is a footpath there so i am using that as a guide and it slopes down away from the house, im dumping the soil out in the back garden and level it off, i knock in a wall to create the driveway and will use this for the hardcore
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Uh-oh... you know you may have to obtain planning consent to put in a driveway? Check with your council - unless you're coming on to a main road with poor visibility (e.g. on a bend) it's usually not a problem, but quite apart from any other considerations, if you haven't got the relevant permissions you won't be able to sell your house without them. The council are also the ones who "dish" the footpath for access. A telephone call to the local planning department before you do anything may save you a lot of time, hassle and legal proceedings.
 
This thread you started in December 06 about driveways also suggested you needed planning..
Did you check it out since?
 
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