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Original poster

How much did your driveway cost

39 replies

Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 15:20

And which material did you go for?!

I need a 2-3 car drive sorting out desperately.

Currently looking at tarmac (possibly ugly?) or block paving. Which have you got and do you like it?

Would love gravel but DH thinks it will drive him crazy flying allover the place Grin

We don’t want resin or imprinted concrete because next door have concrete that’s cracked and pools water and resin is too expensive for my pathetic budget.

OP posts:
Ozanj · 20/01/2022 15:22

Depends on elevation I think. If it’s a steep drive then I’d be tempted to go with block if possible because the tarmac will eventually crack (ours cracked after a year!).

KaptainKaveman · 20/01/2022 15:25

Watching with interest.....

Original poster
Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 15:30

It’s pretty flat, maybe a slight slope but barely. We’ve had a driveway company who say tarmac with a border would last a long time but I would not be very impressed if it cracked after a year! Was it expensive?!

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Home improvement
Rollercoaster1920 · 20/01/2022 15:33

What about grass with those plastic reinforcing mats that allow the grass to grow through?

Blossomandbee · 20/01/2022 15:44

I had a driveway salesman cold call my house the other day, I said I wasn't interested at the moment but he gave a rough quote of just under £6k. He was offering both tarmac or brick. This was for widening a slightly sloping one car drive to two.

Original poster
Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 16:01

6k Blush Could be making one out of mud instead if it’s that expensive.

Would grass not just die if the car blocks the light all day?

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 20/01/2022 16:18

We paid £7k for block paving for a driveway that takes 3-4 cars in a line.

That was cheaper than resin, not sure about tarmac, don't think it would have been signficantly cheaper and I too worried it wouldn't look very nice, but I have seen some OK looking ones with a block paving border or small white stone chips sprinkled into it.

Driveways are horribly expensive for something that doesn't feel like a treat to spend money on, unfortunately.

BarbaraofSeville · 20/01/2022 16:19

Oh, we did have a separate path the same length of the drive within that price, but it was still a lot of money.

Original poster
Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 16:20

I was thinking more like £3k sadly. I’ve got 3 different company’s coming to give me quotes but I just wanted to be prepared.

Our current one is made out of broken slabs that rock as you stand on them and fill with water when it rains so you get soaking as you step Hmm

Maybe gravel is a better option but is it not a pain to maintain?

OP posts:
Alayalaya · 20/01/2022 16:21

If your drive is more than 5 square metres you need planning permission to replace it with a material that’s not water permeable. So you wouldn’t be allowed to have tarmac depending on the size.

BarbaraofSeville · 20/01/2022 16:22

You can also have a drain as part of the installation to avoid the need for planning permission. It needs to go into the sewer via a drain on your property.

Original poster
Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 16:24

@Alayalaya it is more then 5x5. I also don’t have a drain at the front so that rules out tarmac unless we pay for additional drainage.

Complete disaster of an old house!

OP posts:
BonnyandPoppy · 20/01/2022 16:27

We just paid a lot for ours but it involved a lot of work as we had the front gardens dug out and taken away, new steps and retaining wall built and a new handrail and balustrade. We went for block paving. Our neighbours just had theirs replaced and that was 9K.

NannyGythaOgg · 20/01/2022 16:50

@Alayalaya

If your drive is more than 5 square metres you need planning permission to replace it with a material that’s not water permeable. So you wouldn’t be allowed to have tarmac depending on the size.
Tarmac for drives is permeable and is acceptable. It has to be the right grade though.

I had mine done a couple of years ago on a new build house and it was fine. Did just need to put acco drains round the house that drain into the garden for when the rain is very heavy and definitely had to ensure there was no way it could drain onto the public highway.

Mine was around £6k for 80 sq meters

loopylindi · 20/01/2022 17:04

Well, we had an imprinted concrete drive which did have drainage strips across and a drain in front of the garage. It was brilliant. Power wash every two years and a recoat with sealer at the same time. Excellent finish. No spaces for weeds to grow, which really is a problem with block paving. Similarly with tarmac if the sub surface is not adequately treated weeds will grow and break through the surface causing quite large lumps and bumps.

vickibee · 20/01/2022 17:10

We did gravel, my husband was really handy and did it all himself in lockdown 2020. He did it properly laying all the grid pods etc, it cost about 2k all together but it is a big driveway and contractors had quoted five times that.

vickibee · 20/01/2022 17:17

Here it is

reluctantbrit · 20/01/2022 17:23

September 2021 - £14K - we had three quotes and all were around the same price. We are SE London/Kent border. Semi-detached house with a driveway for 2 cars.

We did block paving. But, they spent 2 days, digging out the existing paving, hedges and a 2m shrub. The whole driveway had to get a concrete base first, it needed new sloping to allow for rainwater to flow away. They also did the steps to the house and a small slope to the alleyway to make it easier getting the bins out.

When we queried it (I expected £7-8k) we were told the reasons are the concrete base and a huge increase in material over the last 2 years. According to the company we had, prices were around 20-30% higher.

It took 8 days in total but we were lucky with the weather, only one rainy day.

Original poster
Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 17:28

Thanks all of you!

@loopylindi maybe next door just got a rubbish job. Theirs is horribly cracked everywhere! How much did it cost if you don’t mind me asking?

@vickibee how are you finding it? Does it fly about when you drive on and off?!

OP posts:
Original poster
Maneandfeathers · 20/01/2022 17:28

@reluctantbrit thankyou. It’s more than we could afford sadly but block paving would have been my preference!

OP posts:
Frankcat19 · 20/01/2022 17:33

We have block paving 3 car driveway. Cost us £9000 about 4 years ago.

vickibee · 20/01/2022 17:42

No not really. It does get stuck in the treads of shoes

dee1969 · 20/01/2022 17:44

Ours was £10k that includes a small wall we have block paving and driveway fits four cars

vickibee · 20/01/2022 17:58

I tried to attach a photo but it didn’t load

Ozanj · 20/01/2022 20:23

@Maneandfeathers

It’s pretty flat, maybe a slight slope but barely. We’ve had a driveway company who say tarmac with a border would last a long time but I would not be very impressed if it cracked after a year! Was it expensive?!
3K - we didn’t pay for it directly. Prev owner did and we paid in the house price. She was so proud of it but it literally started cracking a few weeks after it snowed last year & now it’s a mess - our contractor said it’s normal for tarmac to crack after 2 years but that as our incline means it was never going to be more than an incredibly temporary solution. Block paving will be about 4k as we’re paying to level it a bit too.