Block paving · resin · concrete · asphalt
Block paving, resin bound, concrete and asphalt — laid on a sub-base that will still be flat when the second car is on it.
A driveway fails from the bottom up. Almost every sunken, rutted, weed-riddled drive we are asked to fix has a perfectly acceptable surface sitting on a sub-base that was never deep enough or never properly compacted. You cannot see it, which is exactly why it gets skimped.
So that is where the work goes: dig out to depth, lay and compact the sub-base in layers, set the edge restraints in concrete, then lay the surface. Edges are the other common failure — block paving with no proper restraint spreads sideways under a turning car and the whole thing loosens off from the perimeter inwards.
The other thing that catches people is drainage. Since 2008 you have needed planning permission to pave over a front garden with an impermeable surface unless the water drains to a permeable area within your own boundary. We deal with that as part of the job rather than leaving you to find out afterwards.
In detail
Concrete or clay blocks, laid on sand over a compacted sub-base with concreted edge restraints and kiln-dried sand swept into the joints. Hard-wearing, and the big practical advantage is that individual blocks can be lifted and put back, so a service trench or an oil stain is a repair rather than a resurface.
Aggregate mixed with resin and trowelled over a solid base. Smooth, no loose stones, and permeable, which usually solves the drainage question on a front garden without needing a soakaway. It needs a sound base underneath, so it is often laid over existing concrete or tarmac that is still structurally fine. Worth being clear: resin bound is the permeable trowelled system. Resin bonded is scattered onto adhesive and behaves more like loose gravel.
Concrete for hardstanding and heavy use, with expansion joints in the right places so it cracks where it is designed to rather than across the middle. Asphalt where you want a large area covered quickly and economically.
Sunken sections lifted and relaid to level, cracks cut out and filled, potholes patched, edges rebuilt. If the base underneath has gone there is no honest way to fix it from the top, and we will tell you that instead of taking money for a repair that reappears next winter.
A drive that looks finished is often just dirty. Pressure washing, weed and moss treatment, then fresh kiln-dried sand swept back into the joints — because washing block paving without re-sanding leaves the joints empty, and empty joints are how the weeds got in and how the blocks start to move.
Sealing after cleaning slows down staining, weed growth and colour fade, and makes the next clean easier. It is optional and it is not permanent (expect to redo it every few years), so we will be straight with you about whether it is worth it on your surface.
Straight answer
Area is the obvious one, but the things that really move a driveway quote are how much spoil has to be dug out and carted away, whether drainage needs solving, and what the existing ground is like once it is open. A drive that needs a deeper sub-base because the subsoil is soft costs more, and that only becomes visible once the diggers are in. We price for what we can see, flag the risk of what we cannot, and tell you before we carry on if the ground turns out worse than expected.
Get it priced properlyDriveways questions
For a front garden, yes if you are laying more than five square metres of an impermeable surface without somewhere for the water to go. Use a permeable surface such as resin bound or permeable block paving, or drain it to a border or soakaway inside your own boundary, and it is normally permitted development. If you also need to drop the kerb, that is a separate application to Hampshire County Council or Southampton City Council and it is not optional — driving over a full-height kerb to get on your own drive is an offence and can damage the footway.
Most domestic drives are three to five days. Block paving can usually take vehicles the day after the sand is swept in. Resin needs curing time and concrete needs longer again — typically a few days before light use and a week before you park a car on it. You will get the actual timings for your surface in the quote.
Properly laid, block paving and concrete both go decades. Block paving has the practical edge because it can be lifted and relaid in sections. Resin looks the smartest and handles drainage best but depends entirely on the base beneath it. In every case the sub-base decides the lifespan far more than the surface does.
Sometimes. If the existing base is sound and the levels still work, laying over it is a genuine saving. If it is moving, cracked through or sitting in a dip, anything laid on top will follow it within a couple of winters. We will dig an inspection hole and tell you honestly which of the two you have got.
Recent driveways
Free quote
Tell us roughly what you need and we will come out, look at it properly and put a price in writing. No charge for the visit.
Where we work
Based in Southampton and out across the county most days of the week.
Not seeing your town? The list is where we normally work, not a boundary. Ring and ask.
023 8111 2905Tell us what needs doing and we will come and look at it. Free quote, in writing, no obligation at the end of it.
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