Paving Slabs

[Toms306]

Morning!

Right, I'm looking for some slabs to run two tyre tracks to park the '6 on. 5 metres worth would cover the front wheels and run on (rears aren't going to spin obv) but price dependant another 5m or so would cover rears as well.

I've been looking on ebay and gumtree for used ones every day but none locally at all so far!

Cheapest new ones at Wickes are over £2 each though...

Does anyone know of any cheaper ones? Do builders merchants actually give away end of line/miscoloured stock like on the TV programmes? Or another way round it? Its a hill so gravel or anything loose wont work.

Cheers
Tom

[cully]

new cheap paving slabs will break with the cars weight unless you put a good firm base to spread the load

go to your local council yard they may have some old 2ftx18" 2.5 inch slabs in a skip they are lifting from local street paths
these a freaking heavy and are cheap ive bought loads from our local place

[7057sam]

Local dump ? Freecyle ?

[Toms306]

How am I supposed to move something that big Paul?

I agree they're likely to break though, hence wanting better quality used over cheap new if possible.

Theyre usually all broken at the dump, looked last week when I was there. Havent tried freecycle though, will check now.

[cully]

How am I supposed to move something that big Paul?

you struggle like i had to :p

sack trucks,skateboard just mind your fingers you will struggle to dead lift them
and it makes for an interesting drive with a few in the boot of the car

[Toms306]

None in Ipswich on freecycle either.

---

How am I supposed to move something that big Paul?

you struggle like i had to :p

sack trucks,skateboard just mind your fingers you will struggle to dead lift them
and it makes for an interesting drive with a few in the boot of the car

You've probably more strength than me though lol...plus I'd probably end up breaking my back or the rear shocks lol.

[cully]

http://www.gumtree.com/p/garden-paving/1...1097128308

[Toms306]

100 mile round trip for a few slabs.

[Dum-Dum]

Why not just concrete it or get a ton of type 1 MOT (£50 delivered probably) and hard pack it in 2 trenches.

[bigcheez2k3]

Put a base down with them to stop them cracking?

[Eeyore]

Get some plastic mesh style that you can push into the ground.

[Niall]

Tom I've got some plastic mesh road here. You dig it in and can sees it so will look like grass but it takes up to 7.5 ton. My old man got it from one of his suppliers for a shed base but we never bothered with the shed lol
Can have it for £100

[Toms306]

Why not just concrete it or get a ton of type 1 MOT (£50 delivered probably) and hard pack it in 2 trenches.

Its just a cheap quick fix really, looking at about £25 max (£1 a slab I hoped). When the car has gone it needs to be removable and returned to grass.

Put a base down with them to stop them cracking?

I would put sand down yeah.

Tom I've got some plastic mesh road here. You dig it in and can sees it so will look like grass but it takes up to 7.5 ton. My old man got it from one of his suppliers for a shed base but we never bothered with the shed lol
Can have it for £100

Thanks for the offer Niall, that stuff sounds great but as above, only looking a cheap option atm.

[WiNgNuTz]

TBF mate, Niall's option sounds like the best value for money IMO, cheap slabs will just crack/break and look shit, especially if you don't put a proper base down underneath them.

[306Dan]

Iirc it'd be around £50 in that plastic driveway stuff for the size you need

[Toms306]

TBF mate, Niall's option sounds like the best value for money IMO, cheap slabs will just crack/break and look shit, especially if you don't put a proper base down underneath them.

Don't really care, expect they'll just get binned when I move out anyway. And until that point I wont be able to see them through car...

[Grant]

Paving slabs are just a finish to whatever you put underneath them. Put a good enough base under any material, and it will hold the weight you require.

I have laid sandstone driveways (sandstone is on average 20mm thick) this is still (somehow) intact to this day, 6 years on with daily traffic over it.

You can happily use pre cast concrete slabs for what you are after Tom. Use a good base (150mm of base ie scalpings or crushed hardcore, 20mm of lean mix, then your wearing course) and you will have no problems.

[Mole man]

I'll keep an eye out for you buddy as I'm a gardener and fairly local to you if I come a rood some ill let you no [emoji106]

[Toms306]

So I may've been slightly stupid....

I dismantled and dumped a rotten playhouse last year. There was a slab base beneath it....

In my defence they're now covered in mud with tables and stuff on them. I'll have to dig one out and measure it later, it wasn't fully slabbed, more a checkerboard effect but I reckon there must be 5 metres worth there!

[7057sam]

Nice one mate

Be good if you could do the whole thing on a free

[Toms306]

Yep, it was free...also very shit.

So heres a guide of how NOT to lay paving slabs...

Firstly they're heavy and carrying them individually is a pain so find an old Peugeot to move them...



Lay them out in the right place.  500mm from the existing slabs (which aren't straight so forget that!).  And 850mm between the tracks.  Get the bottom one straight and the rest should follow.





Cut around the slab with an edging spade



Dig out the sod of earth and place it right in the way of the car.  And drop the tile in the hole, adding or removing earth to level as necessary, remembering the garden isn't level so the slabs haven't got a chance lol.



Realise that's f*cking hard work, just one slab has already caused a nosebleed, backache, reflux and a bruised thumb and the cold is causing an incessant runny nose - and you're out of effort already, how old people dig allotments I don't know!  Urgh, fed up already and noticed the hour I set aside for this has already gone, cant just leave it so have to rush it and make fails as with anything I do lol.

Trench for one run dug



But then it comes to the awkward ends.  The slabs are so old they have fracture lines and won't break on a score line, plus I broke 2 just standing on them (so that's looking good for car holding...).  So yeah, ended up with this abomination, fortunately I don't ave to look at it while theres a car parked there.





And the end result (don't get excited, its a massive anti-climax)




No idea how many haven't broken when I parked on them because I couldn't see a damn thing due to a snow blizzard...  Odd as it was sunny this morning! I'll add landscape gardener to the list of jobs I can't do.

[Danny Wideboy]

You had Dominic Littlewood on the phone yet?    

[1616six]

Looks shite & they'll sink, but it serves a purpose so crack on son!

[Toms306]

Sink? Bit optimistic lol, I'm expecting them to crack up and disintergrate.

Difference is I know my building skills are shite Danny, unlike those on cowboy builders lol, how they can charge for the stuff they do I really don't know!

[Tom]

Hey if it works then thats f*cking grand!

[Niall]

They probably won't sink. I had some slabs outside my house i used to park one side of the car on. Had been there since i was about 13 and never sunk at all. Did crack up after a while though!

[Dum-Dum]

Yeah the slabs wont sink as they have a larger surface area than the tyres of toms car.

[procta]

cracking job tom, me and my mate laid down a path on his allotment, took us a bit. You should have really got a helping hand mate, as those bastards are heavy!

[Toms306]

Lol, they are indeed... I tried picking up 2 at a time...made it about 6ft before having to put them down.

I find a way of doing things myself usually tbh, changed beams and gearboxes by myself etc, didn't expect this to take so much more effort than that!

[procta]

Lol, they are indeed...  I tried picking up 2 at a time...made it about 6ft before having to put them down.  

I find a way of doing things myself usually tbh, changed beams and gearboxes by myself etc, didn't expect this to take so much more effort than that!

be careful tom doing tricks like that, other wise you will hurt your self! That's why I helped my mate lift them into place, We did one at a time, to save our backs. We had to carry the f*ckers a good length.