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mansell

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Hi Mansell, Tarmac should be ok if its done properly but to take the weight of your motorhome it'll need about 8" of packed hardcore under it, then at least a couple of inches of base tarmac before the final inch (or two) of top coat goes on. It could be cheaper to concrete the patch but you'll still need to go down 6"-8" with hardcore before putting at least 4" of concrete down. The big difference is you can do the concrete yourself but the tarmac will have to be completed by a contractor. D.
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[QUOTE]mansell - 2006-11-01 8:11 AM Hi, Having now got permission from the council to lower the kerb we are going to make a hard standing for our Hymer 640. Has anyone got a hardstanding useing TARMAC. Any input is welcome. KEEP TRYING IT WILL HAPPEN.[/QUOTE] Barrie, Your familiar with our drive, we had it block paved because of the weight of the Laika, it was done 7 years ago and is still in perfect condition. Some of the neighbours have tarmac and after a few years they are beginning to show signs of wear and tear. Don
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Most paths that are tarmac finished are constructed either as Dave relates or on a concrete base. Why not do as we've done: we put down about 3 to 4 inches of granite clippings as hardcore, a membrane on top and then 2 inches of 20mm pea shigle. Works absolutely fine, though we do have a clay base around here. Since the entrance to the 'hard' standing is over lawn, we put down plastic reinforcing mesh a year ago and that also works well in spreading the wheel load as we drive in. The plastic has now disappeared among the grass.
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Hi Mancell, We park our Hymer 584 on our drive which is Tarmac and has been down some years, we park our Merc Estate, quite heavy on it with no trouble at all but I'm afraid the Hymer has managed to make two large dents in it where the front wheels go, but at least we know where to land the wheels each time we park it, and now its settled its gone no worse. Cheeers Carol. *-)
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Mansell, Have made parking for my 4 ton Bessacarr on front lawn, dug out to 12/13" laid breathable membrane with 8" of 3/4 Chatter and 2+" of yellow gravel on top. Dug out by JCB ( but I divined for drains before hand ). Done by a friend for £400.00. Suggest you look for someone with a JCB as a little morning job, as that is all it took us. David
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I like pea single, have it at home, you'll soon know if anyone's about when they walk on it. Also have it at work, and I happily drive several tons of crane about on it. You do need to carefully size it, to small and it gets into tread on tyres and boots then migrates down road or into house, to large and its akward to walk on.
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There are pros and cons for all types of drive materials, these are just a few: Tarmac - we had a drive made of this and despite it having a good rubble base it did sink with a car on it, we then had it re-coated and it was okay but I wouldn't have wanted to put a motorhome on it, unfortunately tarmac can deteriorate over the years and in hot weather it can get very sticky and the last thing you'd want it black marks all over your 'van's carpets. Also, if you try to do any work on it, such as jacking up your van etc you'll find that the jack can dig into the surface and damage it. Concrete - we've got concrete at the moment, it was down before we bought the place but it fairly thick, about 8" in total, never budged an inch and can be easily jet-washed, just doesn't look as nice. I'd avoid the 'patterned' concrete that you can get, I've seen it done and although initially it looks nice, I've not seen one yet that hasn't cracked. Block paving - if it's done properly and with good quality materials it can be great, but unfortunately I've seen too many drives of a lesser quality that look a mess and sink, or get covered in weeds because they've not been fitted close enough together and/or filled and tamped down properly. Again, looks nice but can be a pain to look after and will show oil etc marks. Gravel - our neighbout has a gravel drive, about 1" size pieces, it's an absolute pain in the bum for him, it's difficult to walk on, you can never get home and in quietly so if someones already asleep in bed you're sure to wake them up, it ends up in the road, on the path etc so if you're not careful if you step on top of it when it's on the pavement you can easily go flying as if you'd trodden on marbles. It does look nice but you do have to keep it raked and weeded - plants love seeding themselves in it. Oh, and kids just love getting hold of handfuls of it and throwing it at large white objects ... such as motorhomes!!! I have considered having our solid concrete drive coated with tarmac to improve it's look whilst ensuring that it is solid enough for the motorhome, but don't know if it's feasible. :-S
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I had concrete 8" thick and never had a problem but as its been said doesnt look the part. Ive now had block paving and the weight of the vehicle has made a few sink and have had to take them out and put more sand under them but it looks better. I was on a site in Germany recently and they had 1ftx1ft concrete blocks with a x type pattern in the ground which allowed the soil to be put back into the holes and grass grew and it looked really good as though it was part of the grass and showed no signs of sinking, it had obviously been laid on a good foundation of concrete or hardcore. I dont like tarmac it doesnt last long enough plus in hot weather it will soften. Pete
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The key to success is a good, well compacted base.  Graded, crushed, stone, often referred to as road base material, is best.  (Hardcore is frequently coarse, so prone to settle, and is liable to contain organic material which invariably causes trouble.) 

Tarmac is intentionally flexible - remember, the mac bit refers to the saintly Mr Macadam who sorted uot road construction back, I think, in the 18C, in the days of turnpikes. The tar bit was originally just that, now bitumen, and all it does is to bind and waterproof (and rubber tyre proof) the top layers of Macadam's road construction.  What it doesn't like, is being continually loaded, so not so good for parking motorhomes! 

Concrete will be OK if of the correct mix, well finished, not subjected to frost or rapid drying while curing, and laid in bays so that it doesn't crack.  To me, both these look naff, however. 

Gravel, rather than pea shingle, is cheap, easy to lay and easy to repair.  You do need to attack it with weedkiller from time to time  - and it won't be much use up a slope.  You need a mix of stone sizes so that it binds together a bit, and it should be crushed, not rounded, stones so that it doesn't roll out from under tyres/feet.  You should be able to get it a range of natural stone colours to suit your neighbourhood. 

Clay or concrete pavers, interlocking, or if plain edged laid herringbone, will be more expensive, but probably require less maintenance in the long run.  Again, there is some choice of colour to help it all blend in.

Hope this helps.

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Brian, nice bit of reading there. My neighbours had a reputable company in for a herron bone . It has sunk all over ! thats not to say that everyones will. We all have a concete garage path's butting up to the Tarmac pavement's All the pavement's are in a bad state of repair .Hot weather melt's it the black stuff comes out and get's on your feet the kid's bikes bring it indoor's on the tyres . After watching many of them programmes BAD BUILDER Mix it & bodgit I have totally gone off the stuff . The shingle sound's good and as Colin say's you can certainly here people walking on it it alerts the dog's . Mansell what ever you choose good luck.
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Brian, nice bit of reading there. My neighbours had a reputable company in for a herron bone . It has sunk all over ! thats not to say that everyones will. We all have a concete garage path's butting up to the Tarmac pavement's All the pavement's are in a bad state of repair .Hot weather melt's it the black stuff comes out and get's on your feet the kid's bikes bring it indoor's on the tyres . After watching many of them programmes BAD BUILDER Mix it & bodgit I have totally gone off the stuff . The shingle sound's good and as Colin say's you can certainly here people walking on it it alerts the dog's . Mansell what ever you choose good luck.
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