Every driveway is a base with a surface on top, and the base is most of the work. Quotes that differ wildly for the same drive almost always differ in how deep the excavation goes, what goes back in, and whether the drainage has been dealt with at all. The surface material is the visible part and rarely the expensive one.
The base decides the price and the life
A driveway that carries a car needs the soft ground taken out, a compacted sub base of the right depth laid in layers, and edge restraint so the surface cannot spread. On clay it goes deeper. Where the ground is soft or the drive takes a heavy vehicle, a geotextile separation layer keeps the sub base out of the subgrade. A surface laid on inadequate base fails wherever the wheels track, and no amount of surfacing rescues it.
Gravel, slabs and the price to tarmac driveway work, compared honestly
Gravel is the cheapest surface and needs containment, a stabilising grid if it is not to migrate, and topping up. Tarmac is quick to lay over a good base, looks tidy and is sensitive to laying temperature and to edges. Slabs and block paving cost more in labour because every unit is set and jointed, and they are the easiest to lift and reinstate when a service has to be dug up. The right choice follows the base, the falls and how the drive is used.
Cost of laying paving slabs per square metre labour only: what it excludes
A rate for laying slabs per square metre labour only assumes the base is there, the materials are on site, the setting out is straightforward and the cuts are few. A drive with a slope, a curve, a manhole to frame and a threshold to meet takes far longer per square metre than an open rectangle. When comparing a labour only rate with a supply and fix price, make sure the excavation, the sub base, the disposal of spoil and the edgings are accounted for somewhere.
Drainage is not optional
Surfacing a front garden with an impermeable material over a certain area needs planning permission unless the water is directed to a permeable area within the property. A permeable surface, or a drive that falls to a border or a soakaway, avoids that and avoids sending water into the road. A new or widened crossing over the pavement is a separate application to the highway authority, and doing it without one is an offence as well as a risk.
Questions people ask about gravel driveway cost
Why do driveway quotes vary so much?
Because of the base. Excavation depth, sub base thickness, spoil disposal and edge restraint differ far more between quotes than the surface does.
Is gravel the cheapest option?
As a surface, usually. It needs edging, often a stabilising grid, and periodic topping up, so the gap narrows over time.
Do I need permission to pave a front garden?
For more than a small area of impermeable surfacing without drainage to a permeable area, yes. A permeable surface or drainage to a border usually avoids it.
What about dropping the kerb?
A vehicle crossing over the footway needs the highway authority's approval and is applied for separately from anything on your own land.