Driveway standards and issues.

Hi all,

We have a driveway that was completed in 2019 that I would say is rather steep as the gradient is a straight ledge like platform from the garage for 1.5 meters. Then straight to the foot path for the remaining 3.5 meters, this means unless you drive a 4x4 or raised type vehicle we can't get a car in to the garage.

Also, we can see that the drive way moves up and down as you park on it as well as the max thickness I can find on the edge is 70mm.

Are there any Australian Standards for driveways as we need to get this rectified ASAP and the concreter is unwilling to help.

Your concreter has mucked up as when doing ours we tested Several times to ensure our car could get up without bottoming out,we have a steep driveway and can no worries get a mini into our garage,he has mis calculated the right angles needed,before pouring a very easy fix,after a nightmare.

Agreed but he is adamant that there are NO guidelines or Australian Standards for driveways.

Your driveways main role is to be able to drive your vehicle into your garage,if you can't ,it's not fit for purpose,is it reasonable to expect that your new driveway allows you to be able to drive your car onto it to access your garage, absolutely the key role it was built for,he basically has built it in the wrong gradient,his mistake.

AS 3727.1:2016 pavements residential (this includes driveways)
See if you can access this from a uni library student or other library.

Gradient is your biggest concern but I agree
75mm doesn’t seem thick enough.
“Pavements for vehicles less than 3 t gross mass should have a minimum thickness of 100 mm.”


https://www.ccaa.com.au/imis_prod/docum ... eview1.pdf

In WA in comes under local government and needs approval to be completed, not sure about other states, the maximum in WA is 1:4 or 25% but it's a bit more complicated than that, it cant be just 25%, the first and last bit has to be 12.5% off the top of my head so the car doesnt bottom out

In WA in comes under local government and needs approval to be completed, not sure about other states, the maximum in WA is 1:4 or 25% but it's a bit more complicated than that, it cant be just 25%, the first and last bit has to be 12.5% off the top of my head so the car doesnt bottom out

I have that section with me but what I need to know if there is a gradient guideline as this really is the biggest issue we have.

Your heights are pretty much governed by the crossover height and the floor height of the garage so any driveway has to allow for that grading
It sounds like they have put a bit of a run out in front of the garage which is a good idea because it gives more height under the door but maybe they could have shortened it up a little.
If the drive is too steep it probably goes all the way back to the original heights used by the builders. A little bit of forethought and maybe they could have raised the floor height a little to help with steep gradient.

The other issue is a problem. The driveway shouldn't be moving and should be 100mm. Sometimes if they use 70mm boards on the edge it may look like it's not 100mm when it is. The only way to tell is to inspect before the pour and make sure everything is set up properly.

Looking at the photos it is definitely not think enough as the thickest part I can find is 75mm and it has risen at least 40mm out of the ground.

The is the design and yes that's the angle it's on.

Hi mate. I had visualised the driveway sloping down and the angle catching bumpers but it's the other way.
Is the 1500 section at the top marrying into a path or entry? They could have shortened the top section up and rolled the top so it wasn't such an angle. 150mm out of the FFL would have helped as well.
If the driveway isn't 100mm and is already suffering from movement I'd be considering my options to get the whole lot ripped out and redone

The top 1500mm is at the garage height then slopes to the footpath, I have to put cars on ramps made of timber to get anything other than a 4x4 in the garage.

Concreter is unwilling to rectify the issue, VCAT seems to be the only option, have been quoted 11k to rip up and re do.

Does that 1500 join a pathway at all?

No the 1500mm is at garage level.

The slope downwards is towards the footpath.

You seemed to have issues with your FFL with your build. I wonder if the builder has not cut your site to try and save a $$ and it's left you with an additional headache

No the front path to your house. Most driveways have a path that comes off the side and runs to the front door.
Can you post a plan

We didn't have one done as we are having a deck entrance built leading up to the front door from the foot path.

Just the other day the driveway has cracked all the way through and all the way across to the other side. I am now concerned to even use the driveway in anyway. It is defiantly not 100mm think and has raised completely out of the ground.

We have not had a report done and it appears there are several issues.

Driveway poured at 65-70mm.

Lack or ableflex against driveway and garage.

Driveway must be designed to access the garage.

Now we need to take the concreter to VCAT to get some form of resolution.

Your local council would have guidelines which are based I think on an Australian standard for egress and access. You should be able to download them and compare them to yours. That's what we have to do when we lodge a DA through our council. I'll post up some later.
As per your drawing, he hasn't incorporated a transition zone which basically reduces the harsh angle from driveway to garage and it is both easy to work out and to do. He is just lazy.

Stewie