How To Re Level Sunken Driveway Blocks - Easy DIY Fix.
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- Опубликовано: 7 окт 2018
- How to easily reset / lift a few block pave driveway blocks.
I'm not a professional paving installer but with a few simple tools it's really easy to repair small areas of sinking or lifting blocks.
A lot of the time I carry out these repairs for a minimal charge to cover materials as it really enhances the overall finish of the job. 
Хобби
Couple of suggestions. 1) Label the pavers using chalk and take a pic before you remove them to help get the right order. 2) Compact the sand more before laying the pavers and before tapping down (as it will usually drop more).
Excellent clear instructions. We have a 30-year-old steep driveway on which we have had a couple of goes with a pressure washer and this has resulted in a number of wonky bits (much worse than this). We are both in our 70s but the clarity of your advice and instructions means we feel we could tackle the really dodgy bits now. Much appreciated -many thanks!
Glad it helped.
A handy trick for keeping track of the brick pattern is to lay them just off to the side, in the same shape of the area that you are taking out. Helps keep track of where you are going and where you've been. Especially for a large area with custom cuts along the borders. I just relaid a couple meters of sunken pavers over the weekend, this helped immensely. I also had a heavy/soft rubber mallet and was able to whack directly on the bricks without damage, easier on the ears for sure. Thanks for the video Phil, nicely done. Cheers all and happy repairs.
Yeah you can use a rubber mallet directly on the blocks, problem is if you do the repair after cleaning you can leave dirty black marks all over the blocks, hence to wood. Good tip though on the block pattern 👍
Just what I do, with anything. Just lay the parts out in the shape/ format they were removed in. If in doubt, use your phone and take a picture.
Number every brick with a number with chalk. The numbers will you give location and orientation. Take a picture of the bricks before removing. Refer to the photo. Wash off chalk after done.
Thank you for making the driveway repair video _ you managed to explain the problem and how to repair it in a very easy , matter of fact way. I am 77 year old pensioner but now I feel confident to have a go !
Your welcome, its sometimes best to explain things In layman's terms. No point making a job seem hard by using fancy terminology or expensive tools.
Great. Now I can tackle a couple of raised bricks, many thanks.
Excellent, thanks for making this informative video. I’ve actually got to tackle this job in the next few weeks and didn’t have a clue where to even start.
Stay safe and well.
Cheers mate, happy to of helped.
Block paving must be a godsend to driveway contractors. Endless maintenance, removal and replacement of sand, sealing and resealing, repair of sunken areas. If you ask me the whole idea is flawed, or maybe it only really works when done to rigorous, professional installation standards.
We had ours done by cowboys (well, a bunch of Indian workers to be more precise). They used the right materials but didn’t have the heavy compacting machinery, so now I’m into pulling up and relaying some fairly large areas that have sunk where the cars are parked. I’ve also just done the third pressure wash / resand. I think next time I’ll go for one of those resin based drives that many of our neighbours are opting for.
Unfortunately most driveways suffer from the usual vehicle sinkage lines. Even the best laid block paving can suffer, especially if heavy vehicles are driven over it. People tend to think sealing is the end to all issues where in reality it only last around 4years and the cost to do it these days outweighs having it cleaned every 2 years.
Resin driveways are nice, but again they can be hard to keep clean due to its texture trapping dirt. I get better clean results with block paving then resin. Resin always still looks grubby, even if you use a mild chemical.
@@DirtyDriveAway Yes, I have noticed that about our next door neighbours resin drive. It looked fantastic for a couple of years but not so great now and their attempts with a Karcher haven’t made much difference. The main advantage is that they don’t get weed growth as there are no cracks.
I have just bought a Karcher K5 pressure washer and I was amazed how effective it is cleaning the blocks and ripping out the sand and weeds from our block paving, using the rotating nozzle. Maybe three hours for a 100 sq m area. I was toying with the idea of sealing it but I’m not sure it’s worth it - cost about £140 I estimate for 5 x 5l tins of Thompson’s one coat. What do you think?
@@Tailspin80 thompsons is probably the worst sealer available. I've heard nothing but bad things about it. Your best off going for something like smartseal matt, costs around £135 for 25L. The problem you have with sealing is that most people roller it on. If your sanding isn't perfect you'll pull the sand from the joints and leave it all over the driveway. Also the weather plays a massive part. I'm actually stopping doing sealing after this year as its too much of a headache working in around rhe weather. It also needs around 5-7 days to dry after cleaning, no rain 48hrs prior to and 8-12hrs after application. I spray sealer (unless it's polyurethane which can't be sprayed) as it gives a better finish and deeper joint penetration. If your considering doing it yourself then you have all the time you need. Just bear in mind the weeds will start growing back in a few weeks. Block pave sealing should always be 2 coats.
@@Tailspin80 technically any sprayer will work if you can get a decent control from the nozzle. The only issue you will find is that the sealer will gunk up the sprayer so you'll need some solventbtonrun through it. Ideally something like xylene or thinners will dissolve the sealer in the sprayer and flush it through between coats and after the jibs done. If not it will have hardened up the internals and will be pretty worthless if not. Smartseal is a very good sealer and I use their block pave matt (don't use extra durable unless you want to roller it ) extra durable is a lot harder as it's polyurethane so if the weather is right and you have the time it will last longer but its a damn site harder to rectify should something go wrong. So long as your sanding is done well and the sand is below the block chamfer, rollering with a good 12" double arm medium pile roller works pretty quickly. Just make sure to allow for extra sealer as it can use more than you think especially if you have tegula style blocks. If your rollering I would allow around 3sqM a litre 1st coat and 6sqM on the 2nd to be safe. Spraying is a lot less at around 2sqM and 3.5sqM respectively. I have other videos on my channel regarding sealing so take a look.
@@DirtyDriveAway I watched the Smartseal video showing how to seal paving stones similar to our drive. ruclips.net/video/rEAOaMyZtNc/видео.html
The killer for me is how much product you need. On the 85 sqm drive in the vid he estimated 3x 25l, so on our slightly larger drive plus path I would need 4, which comes to £560. I also think he completely overstates the damage caused by pressure washing. After three cleans since they were laid about 10 years ago, each a total removal of sand, weeds and surface there is no noticeable degradation of the pavers. On that basis I think I’ll just level the drive to eliminate the sunken areas as far as possible, resand and leave it at that. I am also going to try some serious regular weed killer to see if I can keep the weeds etc. at bay. I’m quite happy to repeat the process every year or two as it doesn’t take that long or cost much in sand.
I had a chat with a builder friend today and he was also pretty luke warm about sealing. He said people think it fixes all your problems, but that just isn’t the case because weeds will still grow and need removing, and the sealer needs redoing every couple of years to maintain the visual effect.
That was great ! Greetings from Prague, CZ
Thats Brilliant Mate! Not long video, my back garden is sinking in areas, i'll be doing this asap!
It's quite an easy job. Sharp sand works best, OK I'm no professional driveway installer but I rarely charge for this if I'm doing a clean. I clean for this customer every year and it still looks OK.
Brilliant video, thanks for sharing.
Great job I have a few sections sunken il be doing this thanks for the guide 👍
Welcome.
Good job and well explained thanks. Ive got a patch to do so this is good timing 👍
Fantastic video this weekends job!
Thanks for that video, guess what the Mrs wants me to do to the patio this coming weekend 🤔 yep 👍🏻 and thanks once again my friend. Subscribed by the way.
Great job Phill.
Just have a quick look at your New van in your video, looks better than the old one ...
All the best.
I have a brand new Renault trafic sport, massive improvement over the old one. Finally got air con.
Hi just a question what are the little white dots on the bricks and when I used MYk archer it made those white dots
Brilliant video nice and straightforward!
The driveway slopes but there’s a couple of sunken areas where the car was parked.
Hopefully it’ll only mean a small amount of levelling off and now I know what sand to get.
If not it’s a good excuse to go to the local beach…
So long as you have a flat section as a guide you can use a thick piece of wood to give you your level between one section and another. Drives do tend to slope slightly but it's a fairly painless job with some very simple tools. Building sand or sharp sand is the best stuff to use.
Finally the Master’s back at it!
very handy tips thank you.
Excellent, thanks for the tips, nicely covered. Thanks Phil
Ta, very much.
Great how to video, thanks👍
WELL DONE MATE.
THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO
Nice little helpful video 👍👍👍
should have taken all that black debris out cos it contains slit or organic matter and will break don over time making the brick sink again also gives weeds more material to grow in.
Thank you very much. Was searching such video.Appreciated.
Thats brilliant mate
thank you...very helpful :)
very helpful video nice 1
Nice 2 see you back Phill hope you had a good season? Well done for showing this as I could of done with seeing the vid 5 yrs ago when I started. Nerv racking doing if for the first time hoping it goes bk ok! Im like you I do small patches but big areas is like opening up a can of worms if u don't know what yr doing so ovoid that. Is that your new van out on the road? Thanks again. Matt
Yeah I won't do patches that are too big, 6/7 blocks max usually. Getting some of the blocks out can be a bugger, and getting them back in...well that's where the big hammer comes in lol.
Oh yeah that's my new ride on the road lol. The old one just kept costing me money. Think I spent about 3x what I paid for it on repairs. Was time to bite the bullet and get something with more room and air conditioning lol
Is it straight forward lifting a stretcher bond driveway, screeding and then re laying? What kind is issues can arise please?
Thanks
@@MrCobbsalad Yes, just a different shape/ pattern.
How long do you think that will last? Looks like very wide gaps between the blocks???
I clean it every year for the customer, and it still looks OK. Unfortunately, if a driveway isn't looked after or laid properly, the blocks will move, opening up the joints.
Evening Phil. Thanks for posting that. Have you been busy wiv the falch Any vids. Regards nick
Hey nick, yeah I've given the falch a workout this year. Just been so busy Ive not really had chance to do any "different" vids. Phill
Well done bud
Good job .
I do it the same except il put all the blocks in and the use a bit of CLS and the top end of a sledge hammer and knock them down level. Thumpy pumpy with some knocky knocky 😆✌🏻
I would sometimes use a block up on end to compact the sand first to get it near level then over fill slightly and thumpy pumpy.
I'll take thumpy pumpy or knocky knocky lol 😁
Ideal. No complaints there. 👌
Thanks
Is that pine wood you are using with the mallet ?
Probably, just a piece of wood laying around.
Hi, if I was to use the paving slabs that are down already to start my new block paving from should the sand I screed make the blocks sit a little higher than the slabs ? I assume the whacker will push them down , if so how much higher should I have the blocks compared to the existing slabs so that when its finished the blocks are level with the slabs, thanks in advance for any help
If your doing a complete driveway then the sand bed is usually quite firm. I dont lay driveways I can repair a few blocks. Usually when repairing its only a bit of extra sand, not a lot as the bed is usually quite compact.
@@DirtyDriveAway thanks for replying, it's a patio I'm putting in 21m2 , I thought you might know ,I took it you lay them too , my bad sorry , again , thank you though
@@stevelake9333 put a pencil under the string on the edges is about the right amount
They still look low to me
Good video thanks. Question would running sand over the top and let it seep between the cracks of the pavers stablize the paver better and reduce movement? Just curious. Thanks
The whole driveway has kiln dried sand between the joints to help keep it stable.
Amigo ,falta compactación de base y se nota que no existe el frague correspondiente
So phill have you found the holy grale of oil removers? As you know there is a limited time from when the oil spill happens to the time it can all be successfully cleaned up. Its the shadow thats hard to move Ive tried loads of things. Do you just move the blocks about ? Cheers matt
Hi Matt, to be honest, NO lol i haven't found a holy grail remover. Like you say there seems to be a fine window of around 14 days give or take to attempt successful removal. If its quite fresh I do find that good old dish soap is pretty effective at roving the bulk of the blackness. There are quite a few proprietary cleaners designed for oil, Resiblock OR for example which I have tried but with limited success due to the cost. I have found that for heavy staining mixing up a batch of whiting powder and household ammonia works really well at lifting out some of the residual ghosting. Whiting powder is used in picture framing and is a talc-like powder, and ammonia, well that's just the evil-smelling stuff that will have you on the floor out cold if you sniff to much lol. If I get a chance in due course I will do a video on the stuff.
@@DirtyDriveAway blimey phill you are a bit of an alchemist lol. Bloody talc and ammonia cant wait to have a go at that one but might wait for yr vid tee hee! WERE DID YOU LEARN THAT ONE I would love to know.
lol chemistry 101, bit of this and a bit of that. No actually I flunked science in school and I'm sure I picked up the "recipe" on a website somewhere, god knows where but when I saw it I thought hmm that may prove useful. Lithofin makes a product called Oil-Ex and its bloody good at shifting oil stains from natural stone. Not cheap at around £15 a tube but for localised stains, it's really good. The downside to all these products is that it's not a 5 min job, its an overnight or 2 days dwell for the stuff to work. Basically what happens with both the Lithofin and the ammonia stuff is it goes down as a thick paste, the chemical or ammonia, in this case, penetrates the stain loosening the oils etc. Now as the whiting powder is a talc-like substance and the ammonia naturally evaporates it causes the powder to dry and absorb the stain, a bit like the old school cat litter on a pool of oil. I'll grab a couple pavers next time I'm at the builder's yard and do a vid.
Try baking soda and white viniger gets most stains off, rub in the baking soda (bi carb) then dash the viniger on it and watch it fizz and bubble and eat away at it for abit then blast it.
Maybe ill try a video of this alongside the whiting powder trick. Phill
I've got a small job to do for someone thats got x9 slabs in patio in their back garden, would a sand and cement mix be better under them? Thanks 👍🏻
Slabs as in actual square stone or blocks like block paving. Block paving shouldn't really be cemented as the soft base acts as drainage. If they are actual patio slabs then yes a full bed of sand/cement would give a more secure fix.
@@DirtyDriveAway yeah x9 full size slabs that'd sunk due to summerhouse being on them, sand and cement mix then yeah 👍🏻
@@metalgear1977 yeah normal slabs I would sand/cement them.
Hi Phil, thanks for the great content, can you do a video on how you are payed? do you get it in advance? on the day? do you have to call back ? do you get a lot of cheques?what if it's miles away a 2 hour round trip? Thanks in advance :)
Hi, I take payment on completion. I do take cheques but I probably only get about 4 a year, I only take them on local jobs. Most jobs are paid cash or BACS, I've never had an issue with payment, touch wood. Phill
Hi just watched yr video .how far do u travel and do u have much experience in this type of thing thanks.
It is obvious that the bricks are now wobbling and will move depending on which ends the pressure will apply. I am sure it will be better to remove more bricks and have a better levelling.
Probably is but when it's a free service, and so far it's still in the same condition. I clean it yearly for the customer and its still good. 👌
Was it Thor or Phil that said "We're gonna need a bigger hammer!"
Phil, I've got a cake that needs icing. Wanna bring your trowels round and give it a go? ;)
Good job fella.
Well they do say it's not size that matters but in this case I'll make an exception lol.
Cake Icing no problem, I'll break out the big Brickie trowel for that...won't take long.
What about re level sunken decking ?
If decking is sinking then there's either rotting or serious structural issues.
Hola cualquier consulta de pavimentos prefabricados
Consulten ,les explico
Good video and you forget about doing this after cleaning but makes it look lot nicer after
It's quite a simple yet effective fix
@@DirtyDriveAway it sure is but makes the world of difference
They are the loosest block setts I've ever seen! Clint must have been really proud when he laid them... NOT.
have you got a new van??
Lol yes I do. Finally got some air con.
Phil quick question? Are you paving contractor?
No i specialise in cleaning. I can reset a few odd blocks at a fraction of the cost a dedicated paver would charge. I only do the odd blocks not large areas as you need special equipment.
Very helpful .
That paving has just generally been done shit!
What is the most common reason for sunken blocks is it inadequate sub base?
Could be several reasons. Biggest is vehicle traffic bearing weight down. Not re sanding after cleaning. Sub base sand wash usually from shifting blocks or again not re sanding. Drain movement.
looks like it could do with a relay
The trouble is when do y stop but we’ll done 👍🏿
That is the issue. I do small areas like this free of charge after a cleaning. Anything larger and I leave it a professional.
If I looked outside my window and saw someone fixing the sinking blocks like that, id send them home.
It's a free service I offer on small areas after they've been cleaned. It still looks good today, I clean it every year. I'm not a professional drive installer, just helping out customers.
This driveway was presumably laid by the contractor to give his horse somewhere to stand.
What do you do out of season?
Sit in front of the computer replying to comments and making videos lol...No I do a bit of gutter cleaning to tick by and keep my website updated (which seems like it takes forever)
Just like the building trade you got to make enough money while the sun shines to tide over the cold months. 6 months on then 6 months off now thats what I call bliss!
Thankyou both for the replies sounds like I should try getting a few gutter cleaning jobs then 👍
I personally would not put my name to that. They will just move as not got a level bed to lay on and sink again.
I never laid the drive and nor am I a paving layer. I was offering a free service to help level off a few blocks.
Your not fixing the issue just temporarily fixing it ; the issue the sinkage is because of the sub base
It's still flat and level to this day say can't be too bad for a free fix for a customer.
Ants will bring the sand to the surface in building a nest.
Always happens, you can't help it.
thats a rough job whoever did that originally, gaps all over the place
Yeah not the greatest. I think they had a lot of work done to the garden etc and the edges weren't reinforced.
It's September not October.
But this video is 4yrs old
Forgot gloves!
Bloody Hell
Looks like they were ripped off! The worse block pave drive I've ever seen!!
It is quite a few years old and slopes to the house. It's also surrounded by bushes and grass.
No flat top edging around it for a start that’s shocking workmanship, I doubt there would be any weed control membrane underneath and given the depth of the blocking sinking I would imagine they have either shied the type one bed or not correctly compacted the area before blocking it but all round a terrible block paving job leave it to the professionals next time I’d say 👌🏻
Do not use builders sand for god sake. This is how not to make this repair. Use sharp sand always
I use what I have to hand, I don't charge for this service if doing a clean. I'm not a professional driveway installer and the customer is more than happy with the free service. It's still level today and I clean it yearly.
I'm hoping this driveway was just a case of they got what they paid for I'd be mortified if I paid good money for this.
I didn't lay it. Its a very old driveway that was there when they moved in. Its pretty bad all over, I just tried to even out a few areas.
Just concrete the driveway, this is not worth the hassle.
K koll l
Looks like it was layed by cowboys in the first place...shocking !
I think it had been lifted a few times previously hence why it was dropping again.
If i understood you correctly, you are not a paving contractor.
No I don't lay them i specilise in cleaning but I can fix the odd sunken/lifting block a lot cheaper than a professional paviour.
😂
No criticism to your work but whoever laid that drive made a very poor job.
Wasn't the best but luckily I didn't lay it.
That drive is crap whoever did it should be sued def did not know what they were doing.
It wasn't the best laid.
A bit of a pointless repair, they’ll be back to their sunken loose selves in a few months, customer should be told this and told not to waste his money.
Well actually they are still perfect. I clean for this customer every year and they are still perfectly fine. This is to help people fix sunken areas themselves rather than spend loads of money getting it repaired. Obviously your not the sort of person that likes to help people.
@@DirtyDriveAway A lot of not so nice comments on this video it seems. I am in no way related to this field of work but it looked adequate to me. In fact I think I’ll try this on my back patio after I give her a good cleaning. I don’t understand why people find it soo hard to understand the point of the video despite you repeating yourself over and over and over lol I look forward to watching your other videos and learning some new tricks!!
@@user-wr3gp8hj3i thank you. All I try to do is give normal people the confidence to try fix things themselves.
Once they sunk they compacted the base. The sinking made the ground harder, it should stay level for a long time
Skip first nine minutes. Blah blah blah
If the jobs done properly first time around, you should NEVER need to do THAT,
That is true, but I think they had some work done around the outside wall and it sunk.
Thanks