Front path

[GreatGooglyMoogly]

What would be the cheapest new front path? I'm guessing either concrete or tarmac? It would need to be something that could easily be laid around several large drain covers as well. Are we generally talking hundreds of pounds? The old one would have to be dug up first.

Gravel is easiest to be honest priced at 30-100 per tonne depending on where you are. A tonne will do 10-15 square metres. its worth underlaying the gravel with a landscape fabric which is around £1.20 per square metre

not sure on prices but straight forward brick could be good as it'll go round the drain covers & you wont trip on them. You can get drain cover surrounds that you can put bricks in so you don't notice the covers so much.

block paving as above is around £16psqm supply only. Recessed block paving manholes are around £50 if it is a standard 600x450 manhole

you need to lay on a 2" bed of sharp sand which is 30-50 per tonne.

would that work out expensive massivem?

well as OP is saying that there are several large drain covers, we could be talking a few hundred just for the replacement drain covers.

Concrete or gravel are the two cheaper options. Block paving or slabs are the nice but expensive options.

Timber decking is another option but not a cheap one

good information massive

Thanks - that's very helpful. I would definitely prefer concrete to gravel and suspect anything else would be too expensive.

I prefer gravel to concrete as the noise tells you that someone is coming up the path.

If you get the right size of gravel, it doesn't stick to shoes.

If you've got a buggy to wheel over it, you can do a row or couple of rows of paving slabs down the middle at the width of the wheels, and then gravel around them.

the beauty of a gravel path is that you can easily spruce it up when it starts to look stale. Do avoid single size gravel as it does not bed down and is a nightmare to push a buggy over!

If you are concreting you should lay to a depth of 4". Build a shuttering with 4x1 rough sawn timber and use a nice straight piece to tamp off the surface.

You need a nice solid hardcore base to work on which may already be in place under the existing path. If not you will need some type 2 sub base and a plate compactor.

If it is just a small path you can save money by mixing your own concrete (hire a mixer for 20 quid) ..... obviously have your sand and stone delivered loose or in tonne bags rather than 25kg bags