Residential
Block paving, resin, tarmac, gravel, and patios at every scale — from a single terrace front to a long sweeping country drive.
Which material
There’s no single “best” driveway — the right one depends on your property, how you use the drive, your budget, and the look you’re after. Here’s the honest short version of when each finish makes sense. We’ll bring samples to the site visit and quote the spec the job actually needs.
Best for period and traditional homes, drives that take occasional point loads (caravans, skips, removal lorries), and anyone who wants a surface that can be lifted and re-laid in a single section years down the line.
More on block paving→Best for modern frontages and low-maintenance households. Seamless, permeable and SuDS-compliant out of the box, with no joints for weeds and no loose stone to track indoors.
More on resin bound→The cost-effective workhorse, and the one that scales best to long or sweeping drives. Quick to lay and tough — provided the depth, base and compaction are done properly.
More on tarmac→Suits period properties and rural plots, and it is naturally permeable. Built on a proper sub-base with firm edges so the stone stays put rather than scattering across the lawn.
More on gravel→Looking at the garden as well as the drive? Our patios & pathways work uses the same materials and the same approach to falls, jointing and edging — so a drive and a patio laid together actually match.
What lasts
The finish is the part you see, but it’s rarely why a driveway fails. Whatever material you choose, the same four things underneath decide whether it still sits flat and drains properly years from now. We build to them on every job — and they’re the first things to check when you’re comparing quotes.
150–250mm of compacted Type 1, deeper where the ground is soft, with a geotextile membrane over clay so the base doesn't sink into it. This is where most of the real cost — and most of the corner-cutting — sits.
Block, kerb or steel edging bedded and haunched in concrete. Without it, every surface fails first at the perimeter, cracking and crumbling outward where there's nothing holding it.
Water taken away from the house and off the drive, with permeable build-ups or a soakaway where SuDS rules apply. Standing water is the single biggest cause of premature failure.
Surfaces compacted properly while they're workable — not skimmed over with a wacker plate — so they stay flat under cars and vans rather than rutting in the first hot summer.
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Residential FAQ
It depends on the size, the material, how much prep the existing ground needs, and access. As a rough guide a small tarmac driveway might start around £3,000, while a large resin or block-paving project can run to £20,000 or more. We don't price blindly — every quote follows a free site visit and is given in writing against a defined spec.
Most residential driveways take 3 to 10 working days from rip-out to finish. Tarmac is at the quicker end; block paving and resin (which needs a base to cure before the finish goes down) sit at the longer end. You get a day-by-day schedule with the quote, not a vague window.
A driveway under 5m² needs neither. Above that, the surface must be permeable or drain to a soakaway on your own land rather than running off onto the road. Resin bound and gravel are permeable by default; tarmac, concrete and traditional block paving need drainage designed in. We build every quote to be compliant and tell you upfront in the rare cases a full planning application makes sense.
There's usually a period where the drive is out of action — during excavation and while a new surface sets or cures. We plan access with you before we start, keep the site tidy each evening, and tell you exactly which days you'll need to park elsewhere.
Often, yes. If the base is sound, patching, re-jointing, re-sanding or replacing a failed section can be far cheaper than a full rebuild. We'll tell you honestly at the site visit whether a repair is the right call or whether you'd be paying twice. See our driveway repairs service for what that covers.
Tell us about your project and we'll come out to take a look. No pressure, no hard sell.
