Driveways

What we lay, and what it costs

Three surfaces, three price brackets, three reasons to pick one over another. Here is the honest version, including when we would tell you not to bother.

Resin bound gravel

Stone aggregate mixed with a clear resin and trowelled out over a solid base. Smooth, water goes through it, and it is the finish most people have in mind when they say they want a resin drive.

It suits you if the base under your drive is still sound, you have had enough of weeds and loose stone, and the £70–£110 per square metre bracket is one you are happy with.

It does not suit you if the base has broken up. Resin is only as good as what sits under it, and laying it over a base that has already gone is the commonest way this job is wasted. If yours needs digging out we will tell you, and we will quote for that instead.

Block paving on sand

Individual blocks laid on sand over a compacted sub-base. The most forgiving surface there is: if a service has to come up in five years, the blocks lift and go back and nobody can tell.

Reckon on £60–£95 per square metre depending on the block. Allow for re-sanding the joints every few years — it is ten minutes with a brush, not a job.

Tarmac for long access

Cheapest per square metre and much the quickest to lay. Right for a long farm or field access, where getting a vehicle up it matters more than how it looks.

How long a drive takes

A two-car drive is normally three to five working days: a day to dig out, a day for the sub-base, a day to lay, and a day either side for weather. The Sherborne drive took four.

Jobs we turn down

We will not lay a new surface over a base we do not trust, and we do not take on fencing or tree surgery — somebody who does it every week will do it better. If a job is really one for somebody closer to you, we will say that too.

The short version

Typical drive: 25–60 m²
Resin: £70–£110 / m²
Block paving on sand: £60–£95 / m²
Tarmac for long access: £45–£70 / m²
Time on site: 3–5 days
Guarantee: 10 years

Indicative only, and not a quotation. Ground conditions, access and drainage all move the number. The quote we put in writing after a site visit is the one that counts.

When we work

What we guarantee — and what we don’t

Two guarantees, with their limits written down. If a term below is not clear, ask before you accept a quote rather than after.

10 year structural guarantee

The base, the sub-base and the drainage

Sinking, heaving, cracking or standing water caused by how the ground was prepared. If the base fails, we take the surface up, put the base right and relay it at our cost.

Insurance-backed. Underwritten by the scheme named on the live site, so the cover stands even if we are no longer trading. Your certificate is issued within 30 days of the final invoice — keep it with your deeds.

Starts: Day of completion
Transfers on sale: Yes, once
Excess: None

What it does not cover Damage from vehicles heavier than 3.5 tonnes, tree roots planted after we finished, ground movement caused by building work by others, or a surface someone else has altered.

2 year workmanship guarantee

Everything above the base

Laying, jointing, edging and finish. Lifted blocks, failed pointing or an edge that has moved — we come back and put it right, with no call-out charge.

Backed by us, not by an insurer. It is a promise from this company, and it depends on this company still trading. We would rather say that plainly than let the badge above make the case for both.

Starts: Day of completion
Transfers on sale: No
Excess: None

What it does not cover Fair wear, staining from oil or spilled fuel, frost damage to a surface that has been sealed by someone else, or moss and weed growth — which is maintenance, not a fault.

If something goes wrong

Ring the office on 01632 960421 or email hello@example.co.uk with the job address. Somebody comes out to look within five working days — not a contractor we have never met, one of the team who did the work.

These guarantees are in addition to your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which require work to be carried out with reasonable care and skill and are not affected by anything on this page. Public liability insurance is separate from both guarantees and covers damage or injury while we are on site; ask for the certificate at any point.