Cost of turning front garden into driveway?

[FancyBacon]

I’d like to extend the drive by turning the front garden which is currently just grass into a permeable block driveway.
The area is roughly 3m x 5m.

Just had a quote for £2900 which seems incredibly high? Online says the higher end price should be around £120 a sqm. We’re not in an expensive area.
Getting another quote for a resin driveway.

What have you all paid for something similar?

Thanks

Was about to post the same!

Although British, I grew up in the US, where it very much is ‘curb’ 😂

So glad I live in a conservation area where our tiny front gardens cannot be sealed over. Huge focus on plants, birds and wildlife esp pollinators here. People park on the road or use public transport. Works really well.

My drop kerb cost £1500 where the hell are these quotes coming in!

Sounds reasonable to me. They’ll most likely need to get a digger in and dig the whole space, remove some of the earth and level, then drainage stuff, then a layer or whatever & final pathing on top. It all does take work & time. And skill. I would be fine with paying £3k. The cheaper option for you would be DIYing a gravel drive but it looks shit and is still a bit of a job, still need to level etc.

Hi there - have you thought about a more environmentally friendly AND cheaper option? There are lots of ways to incorporate a parking space in your front garden without covering the whole thing in block paving. You could use gravel/pea shingle that can be planted through, with some slab/pavior insets for areas you'd walk on most. It's a bit basic, but the RHS have produced a guide that might help: https://www.rhs.org.uk/science/pdf/gardening-matters-front-gardens-urban-greening.pdf

It'll save you lots of money, attract wildlife, reduce water run-off - & look an awful lot prettier & less sterile! I've attached some photos for reference.

A few more ...

They’re gorgeous @EleanorMc67
ive googled some more because who wants to be like the Jones’s next door 😁

these are for those who are less green fingered

17k for a dropped kerb ? I think someone is seeing you off there

Yes, I guessed as much. Just means no one gets the work and I'm stuck with no drive though! I think there needs to be a gov run site with cost breakdowns so people can get a realistic idea for basic jobs though - we have a lot of elderly in my road who I am sure have put us on some website for dodgy builders to con. No one I know has had a good experience recently either so I can't get recommendations!

Agree
but that’s an excellent idea about the website

Glad you like them! I'm a Landscape Architect & garden designer, so I'm very keen on saving front gardens from being lost to tarmac/block paving!!

Another one saying please don’t do this. It’s so depressing walking around and seeing spaces which used to be beautiful gardens just tarmacked over for more parking. Terrible for flood risk too.

I’m an architect and use similar principles
See username 😊

Team Front Gardens Not Driveways!!

There are a lot of cowboys out there who do driveways. Be careful who you use. The council should have approved contractors.
They need to dig down substantially and prep with rubble/stone which is rollered before sand. It’s all about the preparation.

I paid £8k about 5 years ago. That was for block paving with sanded joints. It had to be signed off by the council.

Definitely think about planting and factor in some beds as part of it. It makes such a difference.

Resin can look nice but if you have any damage or problems with utility supplies under the driveway. not easy to replace sections. Often more expensive. Tarmac ugly. Block paving can look nice. The natural sections pictured above can look lovely. Depends on your title of house and other part of driveway.