Replacing or refurbishing a gravel driveway?

DannyBoyD said:
don't know wld that put me off, pressure washers are pretty cheap.
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Even the better Karcher brand are not too expensive these days. I used to power wash our cobble lock every few years and whilst it was a dirty job it wasn't too hard to do. I was always conscious of conserving the water too.
 
Thanks for all your input into this.

From considering this and from looking at my neighbours' driveways, I have decided to stay with the gravel.

I spent some hours this afternoon weeding it. I didn't find it as therapeutic as LS400 does. But there was some satisfaction in getting a good bit of it done.

I will need to do more work on it and top up the gravel.

Brendan
 
Lots of people suggesting Round-up for the weeds, but it will only kill the weeds already growing in the gravel. Try a product like Pathclear that has a residual effect; for about 3 months after treatment it will kill any new weeds as they germinate through the surface, I can vouch that it does work.
Lidl are selling garden kneelers this week for €3.49, well worth it to get close the weeds rather than bending over.

The drainage at the gateway may be poorer due to compaction of the gravel at that point. Poor drainage provides moisture for growth. It might be worthwhile to dig out a small section and replace it with fresh stones. It's the accumulation of soil and organic material over time within the gravel that allows weeds to get a toe-hold and that will be most pronounced where the run-off naturally tends to accumulate.
 
Tarmac is your only man. we had ours done about 10 yrs ago and we use black tarmac paint every few years to give it new life. Turns out like a new driveway. Important to get good tarmac in the beginning.
 
just an f.y.i. If anybody with a car is thinking of Resin bound go with a darker colour. After a year you begin to see tire marks on the lighter colour resin bound. Not sure what product can be used to remove it. pressure washer might be too severe on it
 
Broadcaster said:
Tarmac is your only man. we had ours done about 10 yrs ago and we use black tarmac paint every few years to give it new life. Turns out like a new driveway. Important to get good tarmac in the beginning.
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Is it very expensive to paint the tarmac . I have a large area but it could do with been painted as it is very discolored..
 
joer said:
Is it very expensive to paint the tarmac . I have a large area but it could do with been painted as it is very discolored..
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You can buy the paint in any DIY shop like Woodies. However I'm told you can buy even better paint online from a German company that contains a substance that means the Paint will adhere better and lasts longer. Afraid I don't have the name to hand but perhaps if you Google it, you will find it.
 
Silversurfer said:
To get rid of moss spread Lidl or Aldi ‘bio’ washing powder. It will kill the moss after it rains.
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I have just done this today on my tarmac drive hoping to remove the moss, and used four boxes of it. Unfortunately, the heavens opened up a few hours later and washed almost all of it away. Not sure if I wasted my time or perhaps it will still have some effect. My driveway is on a little bit of a slope so I think a lot of it washed away.
My intention was after I removed the moss to apply some woodies driveway seal which should also restore the black colour. I paid €50 for this 10L container earlier today.

Thompson's 10 Litre Quick Drying Drive Seal

THOMPSONS 10LTR DRIVE SEAL : Quick Drying Drive Seal revives old tarmacs. It protects drives from oil stains & is ready for vehicle traffic after 4 hours.
www.woodies.ie www.woodies.ie

Has anyone used this? Is it any good? It might be a little bit of a nightmare to apply it on the tarmac and avoid the combo lock edges.
 
landlord said:
Unfortunately, the heavens opened up a few hours later and washed almost all of it away. Not sure if I wasted my time or perhaps it will still have some effect.
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Probably phosphates from detergent get washed into storm drains. In rural areas farmers get blamed for all this as they have no way of distinguishing. Its the same with herbicide residues ending up in waterways, alot of it doesn't come from agriculture but from amateur gardeners poring unused chemicals down drains or spraying when rain is due. Usually farmers make sure they have dry weather as this is a huge expense and they cannot afford to have it eashed off crops. That's why you can no longer buy concentrated herbicides in garden centres without a licence, they are already pre mixed to reduce this factor.

I wasn't having a go at you by the way , I know it's completely innocent but alot of stuff ends up in waterways unintentionally ,it is not always the bad farmer or the big bad industry.
 
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joe sod said:
In rural areas farmers get blamed for all this as they have no way of distinguishing.
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Hmm, don't farmers spread about 100,000 tonnes of it each year? How much of it are homeowners spreading that isn't being caught in the drainage system?

Escape from poor septic treatment systems would be a far bigger deal than the very occasional use on a driveway that isn't connected to drainage, and even that's somewhat mitigated buy the EU regs on limits of phosphates and biodegradability of detergents.
 
Leo said:
Hmm, don't farmers spread about 100,000 tonnes of it each year? How much of it are homeowners spreading that isn't being caught in the drainage system?

Escape from poor septic treatment systems would be a far bigger deal than the very occasional use on a driveway that isn't connected to drainage, and even that's somewhat mitigated buy the EU regs on limits of phosphates and biodegradability of detergents.
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There is a big difference between farmyard manures and synthetic chemicals , if a gardener pores concentrated herbicides down a sink which has happened alot hence the ban on the sale of these to non license holders it has an enormous polluting effect but because they are herbicides which farmers use alot of, the farmers get the blame for all this pollution, that's the point I'm making .
I'm not saying farmers are innocent either by the way, alot of pollution comes from agriculture simply because of the huge scale of agriculture but agriculture gets blamed for it all including septic tank pollution because there is no way of distinguishing it.
All of the pollution coming from septic tanks is lumped with agriculture and it is all classed as agricultural pollution by the county councils
 
joe sod said:
There is a big difference between farmyard manures and synthetic chemicals , if a gardener pores concentrated herbicides down a sink
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What has that got to do with someone spreading a small amount of EU Regs compliant biological detergent on a driveway?
 
Towger said:
Roundup or equivalent twice a year.
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Monbretia said:
Anyway I spray my gravel usually twice a year, around now and again later in summer,
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TheLastBeep said:
I have liberally sprayed with roundup but found it made little to no difference. Perhaps I needed a second application.
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paper-folder said:
Lots of people suggesting Round-up for the weeds, but it will only kill the weeds already growing in the gravel. Try a product like Pathclear that has a residual effect; for about 3 months after treatment it will kill any new weeds as they germinate through the surface, I can vouch that it does work.
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Monbretia said:
Totally agree, I always use a Pathclear type product twice a year and it keeps it clear.
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So I am about to attack this.

Am I right in saying that round up is only for weeds which are actually growing?

But I want something to spray the whole drive to kill off what is there and seeds which have not yet germinated?

So Pathclear is the one for it?
 
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I use Pathclear or equivalent brand but I don't think it gets the seeds really if they are under the gravel, might hit lucky to kill the ones near the top but there is always a few stragglers that will grow after it but very few.
 
Concrete might get the odd crack but it shouldn't be all cracked. That's just not done right, or theres a problem with it.

Cats will use gravel as a litter tray if the stones are small. I've seen it. I've been told a larger stone stops this.
 
Use roundup at full strength on actively growing weeds. Preemergence weedkiller for seeds
 
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