Attractive farm drive?

[B R C]

I have a lot of concrete driveway and yard by house which is well past it's sell by date so time to replace. I would really like something a bit(well a lot) more attractive than concrete, looking at Tegula block paving by the house and in front of a couple of business units(all same area), but before you get to this point there is 60m of main farm drive which I was planning on concreting but would definitely be better in the same block, in 80mm thick. This could be £20k in blocks alone. So the question is, is there anything else that would be more cost effective and look good, and take grain wagons? Concreting would probably be £10k in concrete so maybe extra is something I'm just going to have to bear.

 

[Hilly]

Tarmac ?

 

[Lofty1984]

What about printed and coloured concrete to look like paving no idea on cost though

 

[Muddyroads]

What about printed and coloured concrete to look like paving no idea on cost though

This was my first thought. I have some stencils somewhere for doing this. Another option could be gravel laid in reinforcing grids, similar to grasscrete. You need a level, permeable base, and with the right grade of grid it will take the weight but look good and the gravel doesn’t move.

 

[Ormond]

What about printed and coloured concrete to look like paving no idea on cost though

Can look very good, not sure on figures either but will be costly....colour is often just put on top but could wear off. Can be slippy and needs sealed. I'd either stick with concrete or I like asphalt.... Maybe with a coloured stone in it just for something a bit different

 

[GeorgeK]

Nothing more beautiful than well laid concrete, accented with freshly galvanised steel work

 

[Lincs Lass]

A lot of the docks on the east coast still have 80mm pavers and they get lorries,container lifters,heavy duty cranes on them ,,I dug one up few years ago and it made a 20 ton digger bounce ,,once those blocks go down and done properly ,you would struggle to find anything more solid

 

[Foxcover]

What about printed and coloured concrete to look like paving no idea on cost though

Pattern concrete is very expensive if you do it right with the correct colour powder and sealer, and if it’s not done right it goes to shite within a few years.
Definitely a job for the pros.

 

[Lincs Lass]

Pattern concrete is very expensive if you do it right with the correct colour powder and sealer, and if it’s not done right it goes to shite within a few years.
Definitely a job for the pros.

If it starts to crack and bits need replacing. You never get the same pattern ,,seen that on house drives ,,gas,water pipe failure,,stihl saw through the concrete and the pattern is messed up

 

[Exfarmer]

A lot of the docks on the east coast still have 80mm pavers and they get lorries,container lifters,heavy duty cranes on them ,,I dug one up few years ago and it made a 20 ton digger bounce ,,once those blocks go down and done properly ,you would struggle to find anything more solid

these are fine if they are laid on a very solid base, other wise they become awful.
The ones laid in |Bury St Edmunds only perhaps 10 years back are about to be replaced, and that is an area of low speed and virtually zero heavy traffic

 

[B R C]

Well, I think I’ll have a measure up and see I can deal direct with Marshall’s since they are only 25 miles away and it would be full lorry loads anyway.

 

[Lincs Lass]

Tegula blocks 60mm thick work out at 7.3 sq mtr per pack but I seem to think ,marshalls are only 50mm ,,Plaspave sorento are 60mm ,Ive layed loads of them ,the secret is the base ,,steelworks slag dust if you can get it goes down like concrete

 

[Robert K]

Concrete it and put some estate fencing up that looks very smart

 

[Herdwick sheep]

What about printed and coloured concrete to look like paving no idea on cost though

From any of this that I encounter it looks great in dry weather but in wet weather it is horrendously slippery. Was thinking I would do the back of my house until I encountered it on a wet day!! and one trip across in the wet put me off forever.!

 

[B R C]

I understand that new concrete can look smart, in the right setting, but next to 300 year old farmhouse right up to the brickwork on one side, wouldn't look the best in my opinion.

 

[Lincs Lass]

How much trafic and weights will be using it if it was block paved

 

[Clive]

have a combination of tarmac and block on the farmhouse drive, farmyard drive is all tarmac

have a concrete drive section as well and will tarmac over it soon as affordable

 

[Lincs Lass]

The developers on this building site are putting alot of 200x100 x60 blocks down on the main roads in ,,for the base they have laid 3ft of hardcore ,then 3 inches of base tarmac,,once the builds are finished and all the wagons,forklift and dumpers have gone ,they then cover it with grit sand and blocks to finish ,,nothing can sink and it will get years of vehicles over it .
or just one of these in

 

[B R C]

How does tarmac compare to concrete price wise?By coincidence the road in front of the farm has been patched up this week and apart from getting 3 loads of planings for letting them park all their gear at night they have tarmacced a fair bit of the main drive.

 

[jack6480]

How much does tarmacking a farm track cost to take lorry’s and farm traffic