Concrete driveway cost calculator UK: what the job involves and who is registered to do it

How concrete driveway cost calculator works

1. Work out the volume. Area multiplied by thickness gives the concrete volume in cubic metres, and it is the line you can check against a delivery ticket. A drive laid thinner than specified is invisible on the day and obvious in five years.
2. Add the sub base and the excavation. Concrete still needs a compacted stone sub base under it, and the dig and the spoil removal are priced by volume just as they are for tarmac. This is the group most often missing from an optimistic quote.
3. Price the reinforcement and the joints. Mesh or fibre reinforcement and properly cut or formed movement joints are what stop a slab cracking randomly. They are cheap relative to the pour and they are the difference between a drive and a jigsaw.
4. Decide the finish. Brushed, power floated, exposed aggregate and pattern imprinted are different labour costs on the same slab. Pattern imprinted in particular carries a sealing and resealing commitment that belongs in the decision, not in a surprise later.
5. Then check the drainage. Concrete is impermeable, so a new front drive needs its fall taken to a soakaway or a border on your own land, or a planning application. Getting that on the drawing first is cheaper than cutting a channel in afterwards.

Insurance and paperwork

Common questions

How thick should a concrete driveway be?

Thick enough for the vehicles and the ground beneath, which is a specification a contractor should state and justify rather than a number to copy off a page. Ask what thickness, what mesh and what joint spacing, and get all three in writing.

Why does this page not give a price per square metre?

Because the rate depends on the mix, the finish, the access for a pump or a barrow, and the ground. The arithmetic here turns your own quote's rates into a total you can check, which is more use than an average.

Is pattern imprinted concrete more expensive?

The slab is the same; the imprinting, colouring and sealing add labour and materials, and the sealer needs redoing periodically. Price the maintenance alongside the installation rather than after it.

Registered contractors by region

• Registered roofers in the East Midlands postcode area
• Registered roofers in the East of England postcode area
• Registered roofers in the London postcode area
• Registered roofers in the North East postcode area
• Registered roofers in the North West postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Scotland postcode area
• Registered roofers in the South East postcode area
• Registered roofers in the South West postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Wales postcode area
• Registered roofers in the West Midlands postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Yorkshire and The Humber postcode area