Best option for new path/drive?

The cheapest option is dig down a couple of inches, lay down an anti weed membrane, then dump 3 or 4 tonnes of gravel on it, then rake flat. Gravel is typically £35/tonne delivered loose. A membrane sheet will be £40, and a skip, if needed to take away the turf will be £80ish. Edging stones if needed (round top concrete) are £3/metre.

A better option would be 2 lines of slabs for the driveway (spaced at between the wheels width), then a slabbed area for the turning. More expensive, but worthwhile. A quick calculation shows around 200 450mm square slabs needed, so the slabs would be ~£325. Add in 3 tonnes of sand(£110), 10 bags of cement(£35), and a skip (£110), and total materials cost is roughly £600. I could do that in 3 days, add another £300 for labour, so around £900 if you pay someone, though I am dead cheap, so you'd probably pay more labour cost than that. Alan.

You are far too cheap mate. Put your prices up.

A.Lee coughed up some electrons that declared:

The chap work got in to do some major work summed it up as "no b*gger wants to pay". He's good, but down a few tens of grand on his cashflow.

Sounds promising. Does the landlord have any other properties? Sounds like you could win some potential future repeat custom too; landlords always need stuff doing from time to time.

I helped our landlord arrange a tiler to refit our shower cubicle when it died of multiple leaks. I was totally impressed by the chap's work and his manner and his tidiness during and after each day on the job.. The chap wasn't cheap, but he wasn't outlandish either. Planning to buy a house in the near future, so if I need any (ie too hard/lack of time/whatever) bathroom work done, the tradesman in question will automatically get the job. Plus my recommendation got him another job a few months after our shower job.

Good luck.

Cheers

Tim

I thought the pasageway was 2.5 - 3m in width? If you just do the centre 2m by 30m long, this makes 60m2...add on your

me neither.

I've been told to just use weedkiller to stop vegatation

and useless because weds don't come from underneath - they come from above, that is, seeds blow or are dropped by birds into the gaps and they grow downwards, weedkiller is the *only* option.

For block paving or flags, you are looking around £50 - £60 per square metre, so £4000 should/may cover it for a contractor.

To do it yourself:

About £1750 if you DIY...you may save a hundred or two if you use flags, but add on a few extra days for labour.

An ad in the local rag isn't going to crack it mate. I'm always busy because I never stop marketing.

It's what the advertising agencys call 'a multi channel marketing strategy'.

IOW I get work from two local free magazines (fairly cheap to advertise in), a couple of parish magazines (very cheap), my heavily signwritten van, fridge magnet business cards, the logo'ed overalls, the web site, mailshots, cards left with suppliers, previous customers, reccommendations, letting agents, offices on the industrial estate (from mail shots), people who work at B&Q & Wickes who I've given cards to, estate agents who pass on my details, all sorts.

In message , The Medway Handyman writes

...and of course, your sig ;-)

Don't you start :-)

I once got myself a fill rewire job thanks to a woman who ran into the back of my van. Swap details my arse, give them a card.

Adam