Crazy Paving Driveways

• Sandstone: Warm buffs, greys and golds. It is the most popular choice for a natural look.
• Yorkstone: A traditional British sandstone, hard-wearing and weathered-looking, which suits period homes.
• Slate: Dark, dense and sleek, for a more contemporary finish.
• Limestone: Lighter, softer tones.

For a driveway, the stone must be thick and strong enough to carry vehicles. We check the thickness and quality of the stone before it is laid.

Yes, when it is built for vehicles. The problems some people remember from older crazy paving usually came from thin pieces of stone laid on sand or a weak base. Those crack and come loose under cars. A driveway that lasts needs:

• A concrete base: Laid over a compacted sub-base, so the stone is fully supported.
• Thick enough stone: Suited to the weight of a car.
• A full mortar bed: Each piece is bedded solidly, with no hollow spots underneath.
• Well-planned joints: Fairly even widths, without long straight lines that can crack.

Laid this way, crazy paving is a durable driveway surface. If you would prefer regular shapes, compare our cobblestone and stone sett driveway and block paving driveway pages.

1. 1

   Excavation: the old surface and soil are dug out to the right depth for a driveway.

2. 2

   Sub-base: crushed stone is laid and compacted.

3. 3

   Concrete base: a concrete slab is laid to the correct levels and falls, so water drains away from the house.

4. 4

   Dry lay: the stones are laid out first and arranged, so the pieces fit well and the joints are even. Larger pieces go at the edges and where the tyres run.

5. 5

   Bedding: each stone is bedded on a full mortar bed and tapped down to level.

6. 6

   Pointing: the joints are filled and finished once the bedding has set.

7. 7

   Cleaning: mortar residue is cleaned off the stone surface.

The finished surface should sit at least 150 millimetres below the house damp-proof course, and manhole covers are replaced with recessed covers where possible.

Pointing fills the joints between the stones. It locks the pieces together, keeps water out of the bed and gives the paving its finished look. The usual methods are:

• Mortar pointing: A sand and cement mortar is pressed firmly into the joints and finished with a slightly recessed or rounded profile that sheds water. It is the traditional, strong choice for driveways.
• Jointing compound: A ready-mixed compound that is brushed into the joints and sets hard. It is quicker to apply and more even in colour. Some types are suitable for vehicle areas.

Care is taken not to stain the stone. Joints that crack or wash out over time can be raked out and repointed without relaying the paving.

Existing crazy paving often suffers from loose pieces, cracked stones, crumbling joints or sunken areas. We lift loose or broken stones, repair or replace the base underneath, re-bed the stones and repoint. Where the base has failed across most of the drive, relaying on a new concrete base is usually the better long-term answer. We tell you honestly which is needed.

A mortar-bedded and pointed crazy paving driveway is impermeable. For houses in England, laying more than 5 square metres of impermeable surface in a front garden needs planning permission, unless rainwater drains to a permeable area or soakaway within your property. We lay the drive to falls, towards a lawn, border, channel drain or soakaway, and new drains are laid through our drain installation and replacement service. A new dropped kerb always needs council approval, and the work on the pavement is carried out by the council or its approved contractor.