Motoring Discussion > DIY question - or cry for help? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: WillDeBeest Replies: 9
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 11:31 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - WillDeBeest
Visited my mum yesterday and read this in her weekend Telegraph.

Q Our motorhome seems to be creating depressions in our block paver drive. What would you recommend? N G, Birmingham

It was addressed to the paper's DIY expert, and he gave it a matter-of-factly DIY answer, which you can read in full here: tinyurl.com/DThousedr

But surely what NG needed was a view of the problem from a higher level. I mean, a block-paved drive and a motor home? That's like putting garden gnomes round your pampas grass, or ordering well-done steak and Liebfraumilch. NG doesn't need a vacuum lifter; it'll take a JCB and a tow-truck to make that problem go away.

>;---)
(horns shortened today in sympathy with the Emperor of Exmoor)
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 12:32 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - FotheringtonTomas
A cry for help is one thing, taking David Snell's advice is another.
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 12:48 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - madf
Any normal human being with a motor home garages over winter, don't they?

:-)
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 12:53 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - commerdriver
>> Any normal human being with a motor home garages over winter, don't they?
>>
If only, cant get a garage it will fit in
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 12:53 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - Perky Penguin
My neighbour's motor home is way bigger than a garage! It has storage cubby hole in the back which is bigger than my downstairs toilet!
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 13:30 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - FotheringtonTomas
That's convenient. You know where to go if you're caught short.
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 13:43 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - Perky Penguin
+:). A bit like the the cat the crept into the crypt and cr*pp*d and crept out again!
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 14:55 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - Dulwich Estate
I'm not overly interested in the "style police" side of the story, but why a vacuum lifter for block paving? Once you've lifted one then the rest are easy. If you couldn't lever out the first one you could drill, plug and screw-in a couple of screws and use them to lift the block out. Levers may be needed. When finished, put the holey block in an inconspicuous place or....save the drill dust, mix it with PVA and poke it back down the the drill holes to make a near invisible repair.

Bodge version: Drill a hole and inject expanding foam and watch the blocks lift....then lift...until you have made a complete mess of it.
Last edited by: Dulwich Estate on Wed 27 Oct 10 at 14:56
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 14:57 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - hobby
We always used to "garage" the caravan over the winter at a local farm in a barn, plenty of farmers do it, getting extra income in the process... only thing to check is that your insurance covers it.
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New Wed 27 Oct 10 18:29 
 DIY question - or cry for help? - Fullchat
Not a clue! Kiln dried sand is used to fill in the gaps after the blocks have been lifted by filling in with some more sharp sand.

Even then the crush material underneath is probably insufficient and could do with digging out to a good depth and refilling, compacting and then the pavers relaying.

For an area that is subject to constant weight I would consider lifting the area, digging down and putting some slabs down with sharp sand either side and then relaying the pavers. Alternatively some concrete. This would spread the load.

Problem with a lot of these drives is they look good initially but proper foundations are skimped on.

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