How much does a new driveway or patio cost in Gloucester?
Planning a new driveway or patio? Post the job for free and it goes to local builders who cover your area. Only the builder who takes it on gets your contact details.
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Driveways and patios
A new driveway or patio is mostly about what you can’t see. Digging out, a proper sub-base and a way for water to drain matter more to how long it lasts than the finish on top. Block paving, slabs, resin-bound, gravel and tarmac all need a different build-up underneath.
Drainage needs thinking about from the start. Surface water has to go somewhere: into a soakaway, a rain garden, a lawn or border, or through the surface itself. It shouldn’t run onto the road or against the house walls, and the finished surface should sit below the damp-proof course.
In England, paving more than 5 square metres of a front garden needs planning permission unless the surface is permeable or porous, or the water runs off onto a lawn or border within your property. Permeable options include gravel, porous asphalt and permeable block paving. Ask the builder to confirm which applies to your plan.
If you need a new dropped kerb to get onto the drive, you’ll need the agreement of Gloucestershire County Council as highways authority first, and sometimes planning permission from your local council too. Check before you build, as a drive with no legal access is not much use.
For patios at the back, keep an eye on levels by the house, manhole covers and any drains that run under the area. Tree roots and soft ground can also change what’s needed.
What to include when you post
Size and finish are the two things every builder asks first. Include:
- Rough measurements, or length and width in paces if you haven’t measured
- The finish you have in mind, or say you’d like advice
- Photos of the area as it is now, including the house wall and any slopes
- What’s there now: lawn, old concrete, paving or tarmac
- Any manhole covers, drains or gullies in the area
- Whether it’s a front garden, and whether you already have a dropped kerb
- Access for a skip or small digger, and where materials could be stored
What to ask
A clear written quote makes it easy to compare. Ask the builder to set out:
- How deep they’ll dig and what sub-base they’ll lay
- Where the water will go, and whether the plan meets the permeable surfacing rule for front gardens
- Whether removing the old surface and soil is included, and how waste is taken away
- How they’ll deal with manhole covers and levels by the house
- What edging they’ll use to stop the surface spreading
- Whether any dropped kerb work is included, or needs to be done separately
Ask what guarantee they offer on the workmanship, and whether the material manufacturer offers one too. Photos of recent driveways they’ve done, and how they look a year or two on, are worth asking for.
Not quite the right job?
See every job on our Builder page, or post it anyway and describe it in your own words.
Before a tradesperson starts work
Registrations
Some work must be done by a registered professional. Work on a gas boiler, cooker or fire must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer, which you can check on the Gas Safe Register.
Our business check
Limited companies are checked with Companies House and sole traders upload their insurance certificate. Trade registrations are confirmed by the tradesperson when they sign up.
Get the price in writing
Ask for a written quote that sets out the work and the price before anything starts. Your contract for the work is with the tradesperson.
Questions
What people tend to ask before booking this job. For anything specific to your home, ask the tradesperson who takes it on when they get in touch.
Paving over more than 5 square metres of a front garden needs planning permission unless the surface is permeable or the water drains onto a lawn or border on your property. Other rules can apply to listed buildings and flats. Your builder or the council for your area can confirm.
If you're creating new vehicle access from the road, yes. In Gloucestershire that needs the county council's agreement as highways authority, and you may need planning permission too. Get approval before any work starts.
Gravel, permeable block paving, porous asphalt and some resin-bound surfaces let water through. Standard concrete and tarmac don't, unless the water is drained to a permeable area.
Usually the falls are wrong or the sub-base isn't draining. A patio should slope gently away from the house. Fixing it often means lifting and relaying rather than patching.
Yes, but the finished level should stay below the damp-proof course, and airbricks mustn't be covered. Raising the ground against the wall is a common cause of damp.