Deep Singh

Can someone give me a ball park figure? Assume the whole thing needs to be dug out about 10inches, have hardcore, concrete and then paving/slabs laid to a good standard. What should this cost per m2?

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

How big is your driveway? Will the Gypsies be doing it or a proper builder

TX.

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

dunno if this will help mr singh, but i had my driveway done about 22 months ago.

now i live in a terrace so its a long thin driveway as i wanted a garage, then an extended piece of concrete leading to a mudtrack then the main road.

basically what i asked for was 10ft by 40ft concrete driveway, with all the under-concrete to be dug up and sorted too. did all this and layed i think about 7-8 inches worth of concrete over two layers from what i remember. im a bit sketchy on the details now, but did an excellent job of it, with a raised part for the garage to go on for extra support.

all this cost me £1200-1300 i think, and it really was an excellent job from a renound and respected local company.

hth

andy

Deep Singh

TX, the driveway is 90m2. I have a builder here at the moment building my extension. He has given me a quote for the front drive but it seems expensive.

Thanks Chocolate. Your drive is approx 35m2 so mine is approx 2.5 times as big so should cost say £3.8k. I also have a wall to be demolished and rebuilt and some old steps rebuilt so maybe £4.5k max? He has quoted me quite a bit more than that up to the concrete stage(I'm having it paved so he has quoted that as a seperate charge)
Where abouts in the country are you?

Thanks
Deep

David Lock

What do want on the top? Blocks, bricks, plain concrete or whatever? Have you considered a gravel finish? That whitish gravel looks quite good. I've always fancied those white seashells that scrunch when you park the Ferrari

Is it fairly flat or on a slope? Depending on your ground conditions I wouldn't think you have to go down 10 inches. May be a concrete screed 4 - 6 inches deep and then whatever you decide on top. dl

pauly

iTrader: (1)

where are you mr singh

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

in in north lincs deep singh.

didnt realise your after a "finish" on top.

basically all mine is, is a concrete under layer about 6 inches thick, and a nice mooth concrete layer around 4 inches thick for where my garage will eventually go, and around 3 inches thick on the drive part. as its on a slope too, i asked for a rough finish, as at the time i didnt have money for paving stones, gravel etc. looks good. if you want i can get a couple piccies, but its nowt special as the garden is in a transitional stage

andy

Deep Singh

DL, don't fancy gravel, I want block/bricks. There is a slope ie my house is a little higher than the street.

Paul, I'm in Essex.

ps why is everyone calling me Mr Singh?

David Lock

Sorry Dr

POC

Hi Deep, expect a type1 (crushed concrete) base of no less than 150mm, 50mmm sand, then your 60mm driveway blocks, so a dig depth of 260mm across the board.

Block paving is generaly £10 upwards per meter for the blocks themselves.

Based on 90m2:

Waste removal would be approx £600+vat (approx 24 cubic meters removed)

Type1 sub0base would be approx £350+vat (approx 14 cubic meters)

Sand for the 50mm screed base would be £180+vat (approx 4.5 cube)

Then finaly your blocks, we lay a great deal of the Brett Alpha paving (3 sizes laid randomly in lines), this runs at £1485+vat for 90m

Then £50 or so on the kiln dried sand.

Thats basicly the drive itself, then you have edgings, walls, steps ontop, and of course the labour and any machine hire charges Labour wise, it generaly runs close to tandem with the material prices, assume around £2k+

HTH

Deep Singh

Thats very helpful mate. Does the £2k include the cost to lay the paving?
What does the sand do?

Where are you based?

Thanks
Deep

POC

Yes as an overall labour price I would guess £2000ish, that would be start to finish of the whole job (not including any edgings/walling etc you require)

The sand is spread ontop of the compacted type1 base, this is then compacted, screeded so its completely flat and the blocks laid ontop. Kiln dried sand is then brushed into the joints and the whole drive 'whacked' one more time to vibrate the sand into the joints and lock all the blocks together

I'm based in and around the Hemel area

Paul

J_sca001

We had a reputable company do our drive.

120 m2, Dig out, remove, hardcore, sand, blocks = £3300.

£27.50 per m2.

Made a good job, but soured by the fact that one of the labourers took a crap in the back garden!!!

£25.00 to £30.00 per m2 seems about average.

Hope this helps

Hoppy

My lad does this work. His spec agrees pretty much with POC's as a minimum. Basically, he digs down 1 foot (300mm) as a starter and a lot of his work is re-laying existing drives that have been poorly layed with inadequate foundations by gypos and builders. He says avoid builders doing it - they think they can do anything but there's a lot of skill and experience laying a block drive, especially when it comes to the planning and details.

Also, the biggest cost difference is in the blocks - anything from under a tenner to £30 per m2.

For a total job, he uses a yardstick cost of £50 per m2, but each job is different and this can go up, or down, according to layout, underground pipes, finishing details etc.

Hope this helps.

Richard.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

im sure i was told by a friend who does blockpaving in the north east the the price usually ranges from around £45-60 m2 so where you live its bound to be in the higher end of the £££ range

Terminator X

iTrader: (7)

Gypsies will do it the cheapest with little white specks in it too ...

Tarmac will be cheapest price, followed by concrete then block paving. I'd also estimate the blocks at £50/m2 so say £4-5k all in. £1500 cash for the Gypsies though ...

TX.

Hoppy

Never heard of weed killer

If you don't want weeds, get the blocks sealed. Keeps them clean, too. Only a few quid per m2 if done at the same time, but needs renewing every 2/3 years.

Stencilled concrete is another option and it looks exactly like block paving, but a bit more expensive and, no matter how thick, well reinforced or set with expansion joints, you can get hair-line cracks if you're unlucky. Otherwise though, no weeds.

Tarmac is horrible dirty stuff. Use only if you've got black carpets

Richard.

Aquanaut

And if you need to have the kerb lowered?

Rumour has it that they will charge £2k just for that and take months to bother to come round and do it.

Anyone had this done?

Deep Singh

Thanks guys, I've defo been quoted too much. I'm trying to find the written quote but I'm sure that says ' remove soil, lay hardcore, then lay concrete and then finish of choice' You guys don't tend to mention concrete, or have I misunderstood?

POC is this what you do for a living?

Richard, where is your son based?

Thanks again

POC, is this what you do for a living?

David Lock

To me that just means you end up with a concrete slab which is smooth (steel floated) or rough, perhaps with a brushed finish.

Anything on top of that, like blocks, is extra.

The guy that gave you that quote is going to do minimal digging, chuck in some old bricks and cat food tins and throw over 2 inches of concrete when you are out. It will then crack the first time Travis Perkins deliver some building material in a heavy truck or the frost gets to it. dl

Hoppy

Dr Deep, my son is based south of Peterborough, but often works in North London. Big discount for anybody who will lend him an Evo to take to the 'Ring

Richard.

bobsabuilder

Typically Block paving is £50 per sq mtr fully inclusive plus £50 extra per manhole cover if there's any in the drive.

And NO I don't do it so not after business!

Bob

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

i was on about a block paved drive !! a concrete drive with a pattern put in to it will be cheaper !!

Deep Singh

I think you guys have misunderstood me. The quote is

'dig out existing..lay hardcore and concrete with mesh wire =£x. Laying of clients choice of block= £x'

Why is he suggesting to put mesh wire down? Does that help strengthen it? Or does he not know what he is talking about?

Minitrue

The 'mesh' will reinforce the concrete. Id get a professional surfacing company in to tarmac it for you, using a mini paver (like a baby Barber Greene) with eight to twelves inches of hardcore, a good six inches of base coat and a decent three inches of top coat. That will last a life time

Jamo

iTrader: (23)

12 inches of hardcore? thats well ott.

less than half of that is suitable for a driveway, sounds like you have been laying some motorways MoT?

POC

Truest thing I have ever seen posted on here! Builders are NOT landscapers!

Not quite correct, you will never get weeds growing from under the blocks if it has been laid correctly, only debris buid up in the joints will result in moss/weeds. Sweep it off once every couple of weeks and if its been done right then you will not get greenery!

Close, more like £700-£1k tops

Yup I own a Landscaping company, well, THE landscaping company

No concrete needed, unless you are looking for a concrete drive! The mesh he has mentioned would be laid in the middle of a concrete slab type drive, classy option!

Minitrue

Correct! See my "it'll last a lifetime" comment...

Deep Singh

POC, would you come as far as Essex? Need front drive(90m2) and back patio (40m2). You might even convince me to spend some money in sorting out my jungle of a garden!

ps I'd obviously want to see some proof of your standard of work (no offence)