Say Hello To My New Shiny Flat Driveway

Earlier this month I said goodbye to my sandy bumpy driveway and can now say hello to my new shiny flat driveway!

As luck would have it the driveway was poured just days before we went on our cruise holiday and we had to carry 6 suitcases up to the taxi so the wheels didn't mark the concrete! We left our cars out for my lovely house sitter to park them inside the garage a few days later once it was set nice and hard.

I have waited more than a few years to drive and walk on a nice flat surface and

that day has now arrived and I couldn't be happier!

You can see the before photos of the old driveway here. This upgrade was part of the garage extension that we built on last year. Once the Courtyard at the front of the house was built with limestone walls and retaining walls along the side of the driveway, we were ready to pour the new concrete driveway.


Goodbye old friend

 

Hello lover!

 

Here are some progress snaps, we had 2 concrete guys come on the weekend to remove the rest of the old bitchumen and concrete and then had sand delivered which was flattened and levelled out to get it ready for the concrete to be poured the next day.

 

 

 

 

 

We then had a go at putting the drain in ourselves that runs across the front of the garage and connecting it to a pipe to run into the courtyard (we still need to put in soak wells to connect these pipes to). We bought the drains about 3 years ago and they had been sitting under the patio and were full of spiders crawling out of all the little drain holes when we were working with them eeeeek it wasn't my favourite job to help with!

 

 

 

 

It turned into a bit of a late night expedition trying to get the drains in and testing them by pouring in water to make sure it was working and draining properly. I did my domestic goddess duties (to get out of the spider drain!) and had a delicious Sunday roast dinner cooking in the oven with the smell coming out the front door to hurry us up to get finished!

 

 

The next day the concrete truck arrived bright and early and the new driveway was poured. Unfortunately I wasn't home so I don't have any more progress photos ... just like magic it was done! Once they were finished they put some pegs and tape around it to deter anyone from walking on it for about 5 days until it could set nice and hard. For the next few days we were doing commando moves to get into the house without walking on the concrete .... we'd walk along the retaining wall and open up the garage and then leap into the garage to get into the house. Was rather fun actually ... I'm sure my neighbors thought it was funny :)

 

 

 

As for the pathway to the front door this was done at the same time, we thought about using paving or something different here but in the end decided to keep it one cohesive area and do it at the same time as the driveway in concrete. It was pretty cracked with age and when we rendered the house we had to cut out the concrete path attached to the brick walls so we could get up close with the render. Now it's all been poured as one smooth path from the front door into the driveway with no steps to maneuver around. Just lovely!

Before - Path to front door was cracked and old and stepped down to the driveway

 

The path was cut around the brick walls of the house so we could render

 

During - The old concrete was ripped up and removed and sand filled and flattened

 

After - Isn't she lovely ... isn't she beautiful

 

The only maintenance the concrete driveway needed was to be watered with the hose for a few days, this stops it from cracking while the concrete cured. We don't have a garden to water so may as well water the driveway!

 

 

The final thing to do was to contact the Council and ask them to fix the gap between the driveway and the road as this had to be cut out when the new driveway was laid. It only took them a few days to come out and filled the gap, although I'm hoping they are going to come back and level it out as it looks a bit bumpy ... like a kid's been playing with play do and just stuck it in the gap!

 

 

 

It was my wish to have the new driveway laid in time for Christmas because we are hosting this year and we have a lot of family coming that will need space to park their cars. And it's done - my Christmas wish has come true - can't ask for more than that!

 

For updates on the rest of the Courtyard project (and everything else happening in the Jarrah Jungle household!) follow me on Facebook and find me on Instagram @jarrahjungle and you'll never miss a thing!

Linking up with:
By Stephanie Lynn - Sunday Showcase
The Dedicated House - Make It Pretty Monday
Home Coming - The DIYers

 

[All images my own]