New driveway - Would you pay?

[HOL2024]

We had a quote for a new driveway at 12.5k which just sounds crazy considering our whole garage conversion was 14k!

Would you pay this for a driveway?

Depends, if you live in a country estate with a mile long drive, yes.
If you live in a semi with a drive that fits one car, no.

Why not get more quotes?

But take account of the quality of the work, expense of the materials you asked for and references.

10 years ago I paid 3k for a 1 car concrete drive to be dug up and replaced with permeable block paving. I'm guessing your drive is a substantial size?

I’d ask for a breakdown of costs and get some more quotes

but prices have sky rocketed for building materials.

we wanted to have a small extension a few years back. Quote is nearly double now for the same amount of work

How big is it?! The size of a football pitch?!

Driveways are expensive.

We had the 12k quote, finally got it done for about £8k. You might need to compromise on what the materials are but make sure the foundations are done well.

Size? Materials? So many variables.

We can get 5-6 cars on our drive. We were quoted £14k plus VAT for block and £16k plus VAT for resin.

We only had to get 1/3 of our driveway redone this year. We got 3 quotes, each just as shockingly expensive as the last.

i would get another bid, but expect it to be similar.

Neighbours paid £12k about seven years ago (they got three quotes) for their block driveway, our driveways are identical. We have enough space for four cars, it’s not a huge driveway but not tiny. We decided then that we wouldn’t bother so I dread to think what it would be now.

I believe gravel is cheapest. It is also a deterrent to burglars as they make a noise approaching the house.

Materials have gone through the roof. We are doing shingle/gravel and laying our own slabs on a sand base much cheaper.

Let me guess the garage conversion was done in 1960.

How many square metres is the drive and what finish are you asking for.

Drive is 78 square meters, quoted in resin.

The garage conversion was done in November 2022 for comparison.

We did have a quote for tarmac but that still came in at 10k.

Well at least someone can compare now. Where abouts are you in the country ? Being in the SE can up the price a lot.

I've heard of people paying much more than that near me. Resin is expensive

We share our drive with two other houses and live at the furthest part of it. Next door got rid of their front garden patch and were going to make a proper parking area out of it... but never did, so it is lower than the actual.drive and they bump in and out of it, so the tarmac in front of where they park their car is all worn away. Next door but one actually owns the 'long' bit of the driveway, before the parking area, and as that is used most that also has some bald patches. Our bit has a few little patches but nothing too bad. I really want to get the whole driveway re-done but we can't afford to do it all - and I very much doubt that either of our neighbours will chip in 😢. It is a shame because it reduces the kerb appeal and lowers the value of our houses. £14,000 is right out of our price range!

Resin is one of the most expensive options ....