Going rate for block paving ?

[Jim]

Hi guys, thinking about getting our driveway re-done, basically replacing tatty concrete with cobble type blocks, approx 35sqm

Before I get too carried away can someone give me a ball park figure for how much I should expect to pay for this (I'm in Surrey) Know this is not strictly DIY but haven't gpot the time to do a proper job myself

Thanks

Jim

[Magwitch]

Jim muttered:

We found a place in Farnham, Surrey called Pinks Hill, I can't remember how much the sets were as we were interested in Indian sandstone that was £25 p.sq.m (just like York paving). They were fairly cheap for their quality, they have a website:

a telephone no: 01252 727900

[The Natural Philosopher]

And we, having visited there, found the same stone not 8 miles away in suffolk at £19 a sq meter...thanks to a bit of calling up and Cormaics wonderful site. Kent Blaxill. Just laid the first 2 sq meters of 80 :-(

I'd say 50 a sq meter laid for this sort of job, but consult wwww.pavingexpert.com for a back site.

[BillV]

In North Hampshire the going rate seems to be from £30 per square metre.

[The Natural Philosopher]

You should be careful as to what is included in that price. I laid a bit of stne yesterday, and working to a nice easy rate, teh materials alone ae about that. Then there is labour on laying, plus of course substrate preparation for a drive - no use slapping down bricks with anything less than 4-6" of limestone if you want to back a 12 tonner into it etc.

[rrh]

If I have calculated correctly I paid nearly £80 per square metre for my old drive and garden path in North London to be ripped up last Autumn and a new block-paved one installed. That is however with a very thorough removal of the old drive and extensive preparation of the base, involving a mini-JCB, lots of other machinery, tons of materials and four days labour by a hardworking team of two. The quote was in the middle of the range and I chose the company not just on price but on references and visits to previous customers' sites. Sadly however I can't recommend the company I chose because they have refused to fix one of the few problems which have arisen and I am now waiting for them to pay me what I had to pay another contractor to fix it, or I will take them to court.

I limited my search to members of Interlay (trade association) and would probably do so again despite the problems with my chosen company. Others could be much worse.

If economics is the dismal science then building is the dismal trade, in the UK at least.

[Jim]

Thanks guys, only had one quote so far and that was in excess of £5k ie over £142 a square metre, think I'll have a look at a few more companies !

Cheers

Jim

[StealthUK]

If upon breaking the concrete you find a proper sub-base already in place then this will make a big diff to the amount of labour and materials involved and subsequently the price.

[Neil Jowsey]

[e-mail] (StealthUK) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

I'd be surprised if after scraping up the concrete there'd be a thick enough sub-base. The finised height may also be too high (depending on the blocks used) eg 2" sand + 2" blocks may be above the existing drive level. This may mean taking up more of the existing sub-base to get the correct level. Not good.

I did my own drive a couple of years ago 80 m^2. 6 inches of sub-base, 2" sand, 2" blocks so ended up digging down 10 inches. It may be a bit OTT, but I can say it's not sunk a mm anywhere. I can't recommend

higly enough!

Just look out for cowboys who skimp on the sub-base, it literally is the key to the whole thing. To get it done properly is not cheap I filled 6-7 skips digging down 13 inches (I lowered the drive by one course of bricks well!) that was ~£800 on it's own.

N.