A tarmacadam or gravel surface abutting a boundary wall can rely on the wall to support the edge. However, where it is adjacent to a soft landscape such as a lawn or border, a hard edging is required to prevent it from breaking up on the edges in the case of tarmacadam or spilling over in the case of gravel.
Edging products range from basic but functional kerbs or concrete edging to more ornate designs such as rope shaped concrete edging which can be installed in a complementary colour to the rest of the surface.
Practical matters when laying a driveway – kerbs
Where the garden is higher than the driveway or patio a raised kerb edge restraint is required to prevent soil spilling over onto the new surface. Most manufacturers of block paving and concrete paving have their own versions of these blocks.
They are known colloquially in the trade as K.L.’s (quite simply ‘kerb large’) and there are smaller versions known as – yes – S.L.’s (‘kerb small’). Internal and external kerb corners are available, as are sections which rise and fall to cater with the changing height of the garden or to create disabled access in accordance with current guidelines.
Edging for other forms of driveway and patio surfacing tend to be part of the design rather than being purely functional and quite often a block paving driveway or patio will have a different coloured block border.
This also applies to pattern imprinted concrete which normally has a block effect design printed into its border, again sometimes in a different colour.
Practical matters when laying a driveway