this has got nothing at all to do with the interweb but when you win something as prestigious as this you just have to climb onto the top of the highest building and shout it out loud
Marshall's are the largest manufacturing and importing company of paving products in the UK and are a household name
It was the North West Marshall's installer presentation last night and i won the award for the "best driveway transformation over £ 5,000" in the north west region
http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/marshalls-register-awards-2010?xg_source=activity
into the next round...... :)
very nice Mick :) Totally transforms the look of the house, doesn't it?
Congratulations Mick!
Before and after pictures are impressive, what a difference! 8)
Congrats Mick! Looks wonderful - completely different.
great job
all the best for the next round
Looks excellent!
Hey, nice to see some real life stuff. Good job.
Excellent. Looks amazing.
Do you do work in NEW England? ;) I've got two driveways that need "transformation".
Though I wonder how that style would hold up to our snow/ice/cold. Frost heaves are an issue. It was 6 degrees Farenheit this morning.
We tend to do plain old boring asphalt around here.
Great work Mick !!!
That's really beautiful Mick...congratulations!
Never thought I would pronounce a driveway beautiful, but that one is!
Really, really nice job, mick. Congrats on the award. (Too bad about that Land Rover piece of crap messing up the photos ...should have been a Series II 109 instead, IMHO.)
What thickness are those pavers?
>New England
Back off, jangro, I have first rights on the "mick knowledgebase" since Barcelona.
That driveway had to have cost a small fortune.
thanks everyone :)
>>>>thickness of paver's
50mm
>>>>I have first rights on the "mick knowledgebase" since Barcelona.
that was an awesome weekend RC, I could not begin to explain to you how much I enjoyed it
as for knowledge if you recall the conversation, I came away with the knowledge of the underground heating conversation which still has not caught on in the UK due to the 150 years it will take to break even on the cost :) well not quite 150 years but its just not cost effective to install it
and that meal in the restaurant on the Saturday evening was to die for......
>>>>driveway cost
just under £15,000
That is GORGEOUS, Mick!
We need a smiley for applauding wildly!
thank you buckworks
>50mm
I'm considering pouring my own custom pavers using high-strength concrete --probably with fiber. The forms are 38mm thickness. I currently have my driveway set up to handle 10-wheeler dump trucks carrying full loads of sand. With a 6 inch (150mm) base of compacted clay & gravel mix that's been in place 20 years, I wonder if the heavy truck traffic will crush the pavers?
>underground heating
>150 years
A hybrid system I designed for my home has been installed slightly over 20 years now. Payback for the additional expense was about 8 years. Now, my utility costs are about 30% of a new, so-called "energy efficient" residence of equal size. It'd be even better except my house has 2 or 3 times the amount of glass of a normal home. If I were to redesign it, I'd probably use this newer/cheaper closed-loop system rather than groundwater wells.
http://cipco.apogee.net/geo/gdgdsli.asp
>>>>I wonder if the heavy truck traffic will crush the pavers?
50mm are ideal for a domestic driveway in the UK, if the homeowner has a SUV then I would change the spec from 150mm type 1 MOT to a concrete sub base and the sand laying course to sand with cement to form a crust instead of just sand as these heavier than normal vehicles destroy the block paving with the lateral displacement of the paving blocks mainly due to power steering and turning on the spot
having 10 wheel dump trucks driving over the blocks they would certainly be crushed or crack if it was semi dry mixture like they are manufactured in the UK, if its for a heavy traffic area then its 60mm minimum block thickness or even 80mm - 100mm
blimey just seen your comment about 38mm.....the blocks would be crushed to pulp in no time at all I am sure
I laid a driveway on a new build bungalow 6 weeks ago and the homeowner had researched all aspects of heating and insulation, been to exhibitions etc....... and the feed back off the companies installing the underground heating is don't bother its not cost effective, thats what the owner of this property told me
Wow. That is really nice work... I'd go for a higher yard:block ratio for my own house, but it looks great. :)
>destroy the block paving with the lateral displacement of the paving blocks mainly due to power steering
Yeah, I've had a few cement mixers literally "plow" the pavement and even the clay base on construction jobs.
>38mm
That's the standard thickness here for pathway or light vehicle traffic pavers. No one puts a quality sub base under them, though. Then again, they don't have 10-wheelers lumbering around their yard.
In my case, the sub base is super-dense and approaching 300mm in the load-bearing areas. It stands the heavy traffic well without any damage whatsoever. I'm considering the pavers as a decorative veneer but the intent is to keep the current sub base intact and undisturbed as much as possible. The problem is that I don't have but about 50mm MAXIMUM to work with if I am to maintain a proper grade/elevation for drainage.
>they would certainly be crushed or crack if it was semi dry mixture
The dry-mix type sold here are far too brittle for other than light-duty use. That's why I'm considering pouring my own using high-strength wet mix. 38mm seems too thin. 50mm obviously better.
In the end, I'm striking a balance. If some are crushed, I would still own the forms so they could be replaced.
>feed back off the companies installing the underground heating is don't bother its not cost effective
It always boils down to soil type and water table. If you're in an area with sandy soil and a high water table like many areas here in the southeastern US, then it can be cost-effective (unless you piss away all your money on engineers and studies beforehand). Many types of installations require a good-sized piece of property as well, either for the field or boring equipment access. I think Gimp was looking into doing the bore hole method there in the UK a few years back but gave up the idea due to the lack of accessable space to drill the wells.
afraid not Jason as we had a very in depth conversation whilst in Barcelona a few years regarding boring into the earth crust what is alway 62 degrees if i recall
there are 2 methods, one is to bore vertically down and the other is to lay the pipes horizontal, the latter needing a lot of garden space to bury the pipes
the benefit of both of theses methods is your home is always 62 degrees so to raise the temperature to say 68 degrees you are only heating the difference required
thats a good boy.....:)
I had a geothermal quote a year or two ago. I don't have enough real estate for horizontal pipes, so it was going to be a vertical. The total was somewhere around $20k, where a nice mid range 15 SEER heat pump was $5-6k. About half of the money ($10k) was just for drilling. I roughly estimated 30-35 years to recoup the investment, IIRC.
Geothermal is popular in some of the surrounding area. Looked at it for use here in the "green" subdivision, but they said the clay was not conducive to vertical drilling or something.
I'm kind of glancing thorugh this thread: am I understanding that this driveway has something to warm the pavers so they won't freeze over? I've never heard of that, and if that is the case, that is a very good idea.
I don't know if this driveway has it, but -yes- there are several systems using radiant heat piping or wires to de-ice drives and sidewalks. Generally pricey. VERY pricey. Cheaper just to move south.
No more pricey than putting in a floor heat system in a garage, is it? That's downright common up here... I guess it'd be more expensive if you have a long driveway though. lol But why would you need driveway de-icing systems in the UK in the first place?
From where I'm at, grnidone already lives South anyhow. ;)
>floor heat system in a garage, is it? That's downright common up here
That's probably because the oil congeals in the crankcase during the winter where you are, mivox. One of my brothers lived in Chicago back in the 60's. On the worst nights he had to put a crankcase heater down the dipstick tube and bring the battery inside. Even then, any condensation in the fuel lines would freeze and the car wouldn't start until it thawed.
Psh. Now we have built in block heaters and battery heaters and whatnot. It's called having your car "winterized". Also, we've developed this fancy stuff called "synthetic oil", which isn't as touchy about cold as the old school stuff. ;)
Of course, you wouldn't know anything about all of that down where you don't have winters. hehe
The heated garage floors here are just so your shoes don't get cold when you're in there... If your car is properly winterized, it doesn't need a garage at all until it needs repairs. hehe
>From where I'm at, grnidone already lives South anyhow.
From where you're at, I live in South America...
Nono. South North-Central America. I still remember where the REAL South America is. ;D