Grey block driveway and turning area, Gloucester
The brief was to be able to leave the property forwards. The area was widened to the boundary and laid as one continuous herringbone field, with charcoal border courses restraining every open edge including the soft margins.
Key facts
- Town
- Gloucester
- Year
- 2023
- Surface
- Grey concrete blocks with charcoal border
- Use
- Parking for two cars plus a turning circle
How much room does a turning area need?
Enough to make a three-point turn without mounting a border — for a typical family car that means roughly 6m of clear width across the turning end. Anything tighter and drivers reverse out anyway.
Why border the edges against soil?
Blocks against bare soil have no restraint and will spread apart within a season. Every open edge here is a haunched border course, which is what stops the field opening up.
- Haunched border to all open edges
- Continuous herringbone across the full area
- Levels tied flush into the existing entrance
Can a drive this size be built in one visit?
Yes — excavation, sub-base, edgings and laying run consecutively over the same job, with the surface usable the day the jointing is finished.
Photographs from this job
Other projects
Gloucester · 2023
Resin bound side return
A narrow side return between two houses surfaced in gold resin bound aggregate, taken tight to the brickwork on both sides.
Gloucester · 2023
Recessed manhole cover in resin bound
An inspection chamber dressed with a recessed tray cover and filled with the same gold aggregate, so the surface reads as continuous.
Gloucester · 2024
Porcelain patio in progress
Mid-build: grey porcelain being laid on a full mortar bed with a recessed cover dressed in cut slab so it vanishes into the pattern.
Frequently asked
Will a block drive take a delivery van?
Yes, when the sub-base is built to depth. Occasional heavy loads are what the compacted base and haunched edges are for.
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