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Thread: Driveway Dilema

  1. #1
    Guest R3K1355's Avatar
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    Driveway Dilema

    So having purchased my first house one of the things that drew my attention was the long(ish) drive and garage.

    but now after having a better look and more importantly trying to use the drive it appears if I try and get a lowered car up onto it I may get beached.
    The problem seems to be as the house/drive is lower than the road the entrance rises up for the pavement then drops down the other side making a nice hump to get stuck on.

    What are my options, am I legally allowed to have a builder come in and hack into the pavement and driveway to remove the hump and make it less of a 4X4 playground?

  2. #2
    Guest Dave270r's Avatar
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    You need to speak to the council if you want to do anything to the pavement or curb.

  3. #3
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    5k & dump the clutch and do it dukes of hazzard style Ok so your driveway will get covered in rubber, but that'll help you launch quicker in future

  4. #4
    Self confessed player of the pink oboe docwra's Avatar
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    You cant touch pavements, kerbs or anything like that or the council will slap you with the bill for putting it back and that is not cheap, they will sometimes do it if they are relaying the road anyway but getting them out specifically is goign to be painful.
    I had to get the drive relaid pretty much straight after we moved in to get the Onevia up it, sounds like your best bet is to build it up after the pavement to try and reduce the hump a bit
    Quote Originally Posted by scimmy ben
    I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
    Quote Originally Posted by sprout
    After I shave my balls swarfega helps soothe, but means the hair grows back quite quickly, so give it a go

  5. #5
    Guest Daz's Avatar
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    Do not touch the driveway that's beyond your boundary line as you don't own it. As above, you need to speak to the council to get them to carry out the work. It won't be cheap though.

    Oh, and congratulations on your new house .

  6. #6
    Now with 400bhp....
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    Daz I guess you mean don't touch the pathway?
    1998 Nissan 200sx s14a , 2000 std 5 speed with nismo supercoppermix clutch bn6 Sapphire Blue

  7. #7
    Guest Daz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chriscooke View Post
    Daz I guess you mean don't touch the pathway?
    Anything that is beyond the boundary line of your property as set out in the deeds.

    I put driveway as that's what most people call it regardless of if it's on their property of on the pathway. It's the vehicle crossover that I mean.

  8. #8
    Guest ANDY black s13's Avatar
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    I thought the driveway and front garden etc was in the property boundary ,pavement kerb not as owned by council or who ever,if the drive has no sewer drains I thought you dig a 8 foot odd deep pit in your drive and it would be ok,keep it covered of course don't want the other half falling down it with a load of shopping,
    do what doc suggested and try level it out after the pavement bit?, (I'm a rebel so I'd dig up the pavement,remove the kerb stone's, tarmac it smooth and deny it happened as was like it when I got here) but that's me

  9. #9
    Self confessed player of the pink oboe docwra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ANDY black s13 View Post
    do what doc suggested and try level it out after the pavement bit?, (I'm a rebel so I'd dig up the pavement,remove the kerb stone's, tarmac it smooth and deny it happened as was like it when I got here) but that's me
    A mate of mine got hit with a ~£5K bill for installing a 10ft of drop kerb outside his house ............
    Quote Originally Posted by scimmy ben
    I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
    Quote Originally Posted by sprout
    After I shave my balls swarfega helps soothe, but means the hair grows back quite quickly, so give it a go

  10. #10
    Guest ANDY black s13's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by docwra View Post
    A mate of mine got hit with a ~£5K bill for installing a 10ft of drop kerb outside his house ............
    Erm,,,,, yes Don't do what I suggested I'm retarded and its naughty very naughty ,I'd still deny it was me or anything to do with me, 5k for kerb stones don't strike me as value for money tbh,Raise the driveway so level ish with the pavement (may be not with bricks and plywood sheet pikey stylee tho)

  11. #11
    Guest Daz's Avatar
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    I think when my dad had a dropped kerb fitted that it cost 90m2, that's alot of money and obviously means the deeper the pavement area, the more you pay.

  12. #12
    Guest dandan's Avatar
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    there are a few houses near wehre I used to live that left thick planks of wood in the gutters outside their driveways to lessen the almighty change in angle from the road to the pavement, could you do something simlar to this, might be a pain but have a chunk of wood just inside your boundary that you can quickly jump out and chuck onto the path to pull in/out? No more hassle than opening a gate really and at least it won't cost you 5k.

    The important question is why did you buy a house with a drive that you couldn't get your car onto anyway? I wouldn't even step through the front door if I couldn't park up...

  13. #13
    Self confessed player of the pink oboe docwra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ANDY black s13 View Post
    I'd still deny it was me or anything to do with me
    What, someone else is going to sneak up to your house at night and conduct a minor civil engineering project, leaving before you wake up?
    Quote Originally Posted by scimmy ben
    I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
    Quote Originally Posted by sprout
    After I shave my balls swarfega helps soothe, but means the hair grows back quite quickly, so give it a go

  14. #14
    Guest GAV200's Avatar
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    Crazy idea and all, but by far the easist....

    ....raise car?

  15. #15
    Stu@GarageSR, Aberdeen GarageSR's Avatar
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    Can we have pics of the driveway/situation in question please?

    Clickme

  16. #16
    Guest ANDY black s13's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by docwra View Post
    What, someone else is going to sneak up to your house at night and conduct a minor civil engineering project, leaving before you wake up?
    Ermm nah more its been like it for years, I don't know what you mean sort of deny it,In a Bart Simpson sort of way (It was like that when I got here!),I can see it working out just fine in my tiny mind If it ever came to light But the raising the drive option is the less agro option involving the council

  17. #17
    Guest Drifter's Avatar
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    No way you can raise up your driveway to match the pavement level?

    Local council for me dropped enough kerbs and relaid the pavement for a double driveway for £900

  18. #18
    Bod Jon's Avatar
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    I have much the same problem, albeit in a rented house, not my own.

    The estate agent had parked across the top of the drive when I viewed it, so I never saw the problem until the day I got my keys, and almost trapped the car on the drive.

    In my case, a previous tenant/owner has bodged up an approximation of a drop kerb by smearing tarmac between road and kerb to ramp it a bit. It doesn't work.

    I made it tolerable by getting one tonne of gravel delivered (approx £50) , to add on top of the existing gravel on the sloping drive, so it raises drive level about 2inches at the crucial point, to let me in and out with beaching.
    And yes, it does all slide downwards over time and has to be raked back up every couple of months.

    The drive didn't exist until about 5years ago as far as I can tell, and if anyone applied to get a drop kerb done, they'd likely be refused.
    There's a dozen manhole covers very close outside for every water/gas/elec/cable service in existence, and the end of a busy road directly opposite. It's on a T-Junction.
    No sane council would ever allow it.

    EDITED:
    editing this post because I don't want get get involved in skatepark issues:
    My existing drive had some gravel on it, which was thin and mostly round. The two inches stuff I piled on top was rough/sharp edged so after repeated driving over it, it compacts into a reasonably stable surface, but still needs raking back up into place every couple of months.
    Round gravel will just scatter under your wheels uselessly.


    Streetview from before I moved in:
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Jon; 11-09-2012 at 22:47.

  19. #19
    Guest edthesparky's Avatar
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    id say your best option is to raise up the driveway by chucking a couple tons of shingle on it so it meets the pavement. if you only want to raise up about a car's length then put some blockwork in and basically fill the hole.

    the council will give you an endless runaround and pass any application between 7 different departments and 30 different people before giving you a ridiculous quote... trust me, we've finally got the go-ahead to build a new concrete skatepark in oxford, its only taken 13 years

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