Preparing your driveway for paving

Modern driveways are so much more than avenues to get a vehicle into your property. With a multitude of materials and colours on offer, paving a driveway offers homeowners a cost-effective way to add a unique touch to their home. When looking to install a paved driveway however, what is actually involved in making sure the driveway will continue to look good for years to come?

In preparing a paved driveway, the first step is to get a design. This enables homeowners to get an idea of what their driveway will look like before purchasing any pavers. It also allows for experimentation with colours and patterns to help get the right look. A crucial step in the planning phase, the design will help with setting the budget by identifying roughly how many pavers will need to be ordered.

With the design in place, the paved area is to be cleared and excavated. This provides the paving team with a clean and clear surface to work from, allowing them to provide a level surface on completion. Once the area has been excavated, the relevant sub-base can be lain. A sub-base is designed to add drainage to the paved area, which is particularly useful for those wishing to install porous pavers to their driveways. By allowing adequate drainage to the driveway there is a greatly reduced chance of the soil underneath to wash away, leading to an uneven surface.

As well as providing drainage, a sub-base is designed to distribute the load from vehicles and pedestrians. This sub-base is designed in accordance with the type of paving being used, as well as the type of soil present on site. The sub-base is compacted to ensure it will be able to withstand the expected load from vehicles, with thicker sub-bases and interlocking pavers being used to withstand heavier vehicles. Once the sub-base has been compacted, the paving team can then lay the blocks in accordance with the design, knowing it will stand the test of time.