combined with gravel or grass. I saw similar at Pisa where there is a lot of footfall on the grass and was very impressed! It is also used to stop loose gravel travelling and provides a firm surface for walking.
so as the picture shows i’ve compacted the area being thought about down mostly due to cost i am doing this the caveman way as when i say my budget is tight it’s a large house and i’m doing inside and out. my ability is i can do lots of heavy work and from the picture i have done everything myself i’ve got to think about the very very near future the next year or so whereby my mum will be in a wheelchair most definitely. i had thought about resin bonded rubber chips so if either were to fall it wouldn’t hurt as much. i thank you all for your wise words and advice it is much appreciated:)
I agree with the others that both options done well are not DIY options. We had our front drive done and it took a team of six about ten days, using a lot of materials and professional equipment. Paving is another contender
I think there is no point in trying to do something yourself that won't work well. It's noble and cost effective, but in the end a false economy, probably.
I am assuming from your photo, that you want to cover the areas around the green patch in the middle? If your main consideration is cost, I would join Freecycle (if you're not already on it) and see if you can get hold of spare paving slabs for free. You could always try Gumtree or Ebay. Gravel won't work for wheelchairs so I think paving slabs are going to be your only option, which are relatively easy to do as long as you get them really level. It also means you can lay a few at a time whenever you can get hold of them and a mixture of different sizes would make it look more interesting. Like the others, I believe the resin bonded gravel is probably the best solution but as you probably can't afford it, that's not an option here. Although I agree that concrete paving slabs are not the most attractive, your main objective is to have a flat surface for a wheelchair so practicality must take precedence over appearance.
I am wondering though whether another possibility would be to lay your own concrete paths (a few yards at a time) and gently tamping down small diameter gravel into the wet surface before it sets to make it non slip? What do other DIY's think?
The gravel grids work for wheelchairs and are relatively cheap and light to put down. Raking the gravel into them is going to be the hardest bit. You can park on it too and build sheds if needs be. I wouldn't dream of taking on paving by myself because of the weight and the levelling but I'd certainly be able to manage the grids.
You can DIY either resin bonded or resin bound. In one you need to form the right sort of base, buy the right type of resin and then throw gravel over it so it sticks as the resin goes off. The right type of resin is expensive. In the other you need to buy/hire a paddle mixer and all the resin and aggregate - even more expensive. So although you're doing it yourself, it's not cheap and as has been said, the opportunities for making a pigs ear of it and not being able to undo it are significant. Personally, therefore, I'd not go that way.
Grid-paves are an easy DIY job, but the grids are relatively dear and need a lot of pre prep - hardcore, terram, tamping, sand base, etc. If you lay them over a bumpy surface they bend and you get sticky up bits (technical term) which eventually break off. If you have the machinery already to do the ground work and get a really good base, they look really good and last well.
Paving is easy to do but again, needs a good base if it's to go down nice and flat and not creep. Paving that isn't slippery in wet weather is fairly costly but you can buy it and lay it in stages as funds allow.
Concrete is cheapest and quickest. You can pour onto a roughly level surface and get it smooth. You can brush finish it to make it less slippy or let it go off just a bit and then jet-wash it to expose the top layer of aggregate, which gives you a similar - though less glamorous - effect to resin bonded gravel at a much lower cost (check on Youtube for vids on how to do it). I'd recommend using a permanent shuttering if you go this route - make large (one mixer load) squares using 4x2 timber, say, and effectively form really big in situ paving slabs. Pour, dress and finish each section one at a time if you're working solo or you'll cream-cracker yourself. I've done quite a lot of DIY concrete pouring and it's hard to get it looking the business if you're trying to do too much at once. But if you pace yourself to match your mixer, you can make a neat job of it for a lot less cash.
There's nothing stopping you getting someone to put resin bonded gravel onto your concrete in a few years' time if you win the lottery.
One other option for quick and non slippy would be composite decking. Looks smart (much more so than wooden decking) but costs a fair bit. It is good in the wet though - and again, very easy to put down DIY
Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
I would agree that of the three options mentioned, bonded gravel, concrete or paving, really only paving is a DIY job. It's much more forgiving of mistakes and you can take your time over it. Concrete laid in small sections at a time is likely to look a mess and to crack.
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https://www.sure-green.com/products/porous-pavers-grass-gravel/pp25-lightweight-grass-and-gravel-grids.php?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkaeJ3teU3QIVB53tCh1LZQ7fEAQYAyABEgLv_PD_BwE
combined with gravel or grass. I saw similar at Pisa where there is a lot of footfall on the grass and was very impressed! It is also used to stop loose gravel travelling and provides a firm surface for walking.
I am wondering though whether another possibility would be to lay your own concrete paths (a few yards at a time) and gently tamping down small diameter gravel into the wet surface before it sets to make it non slip? What do other DIY's think?
I wouldn't dream of taking on paving by myself because of the weight and the levelling but I'd certainly be able to manage the grids.
Grid-paves are an easy DIY job, but the grids are relatively dear and need a lot of pre prep - hardcore, terram, tamping, sand base, etc. If you lay them over a bumpy surface they bend and you get sticky up bits (technical term) which eventually break off. If you have the machinery already to do the ground work and get a really good base, they look really good and last well.
Paving is easy to do but again, needs a good base if it's to go down nice and flat and not creep. Paving that isn't slippery in wet weather is fairly costly but you can buy it and lay it in stages as funds allow.
Concrete is cheapest and quickest. You can pour onto a roughly level surface and get it smooth. You can brush finish it to make it less slippy or let it go off just a bit and then jet-wash it to expose the top layer of aggregate, which gives you a similar - though less glamorous - effect to resin bonded gravel at a much lower cost (check on Youtube for vids on how to do it). I'd recommend using a permanent shuttering if you go this route - make large (one mixer load) squares using 4x2 timber, say, and effectively form really big in situ paving slabs. Pour, dress and finish each section one at a time if you're working solo or you'll cream-cracker yourself. I've done quite a lot of DIY concrete pouring and it's hard to get it looking the business if you're trying to do too much at once. But if you pace yourself to match your mixer, you can make a neat job of it for a lot less cash.
There's nothing stopping you getting someone to put resin bonded gravel onto your concrete in a few years' time if you win the lottery.
One other option for quick and non slippy would be composite decking. Looks smart (much more so than wooden decking) but costs a fair bit. It is good in the wet though - and again, very easy to put down DIY
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Gravel bound resin is fine for wheelchairs. Could you maybe get some kind of disability access grant to help?