Question for the Builder or anyone else who may know about driveways.

[DTCwordfan]

My mother has an old Georgian rectory and it hasnt been in great shape. My sister and I have been slowly been working on getting it done up and liveable for her last few years. At least the fabric of the house is now sound and dry - just three Georgian window sashes to go...She's one of these dears who doesn't like spending money and her lack of maintenance is, quite frankly, a disgrace. She knows our views!

Her driveway is a mess though - we got her to trade out her clapped out Honda and she now has an A3. Problem, it has a low sump and she managed to 'hurtle' in off the road and take it out. £274 later inc towing (inv £28 versus a quote from the AA of £108 by the way!!). It was an expensive oil change.

Hers is not the only car and my sister has had some light scraping with her Merc, so the driveway needs fixing.

What I am wondering is what the ballpark figure would be, say per sq metre? I know this is a little bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" question.

The details are - an entrance of 35 metres by two metres, originally a gravel base and asphalted/bitume, heavily potholed now. Ditto an area in front of the house. It covers 20 metres by 15 with a 5m by 4m island. Same finishing - originally an aggregate base with asphalt/bitumen - two potholes but not quite as bad as the drive-in. Plenty of moss etc which I have killed back (originally there was some est 30 tonnes of shiit on it such as old logs, compost and all sorts of nasties - now removed by yours truly and dried out).

Many thanks for your help - any advice on how to do it, suppliers and ballpark costs greatly appreciated......

[The Builder]

OK DT, let's rule out tarmac............ 350 sq metres plus preparation is going to cost a bit! Likewise concrete, brick pavers, etc.
Speading about 20 tonnes of scalpings (terminology varies around the country - but it's quarry material - 40mm to dust all mixed in).
That's good for potholes and the rest.
Roll it in and scatter about 10 tonnes of chippings (quarried, not pea gravel) of any colour or size you like ( 10mm - 20mm)

One easier and cheaper option used a lot now.......... I did this for my own "car park" .......... road planings.
When Highways re-surface a road, they first scrape off the top layer. This material is stored by quarry and stone suppliers for re-sale.
Say 30 tonnes ............ around £400-450 delivered.
One coat finish. Fill potholes, spread and roll. Eventually with a few heatwaves (?) it even slightly reconstitutes itself.

[The Builder]

For labour ----------- all you need is to hire a couple of guys and a roller for a day or so.
You should be able to do it all for under a thousand ......... well, except for the ****ing VAT!

[DTCwordfan]

Many thanks for that Builder - much appreciated................DTC

[AlBags]

'Scrapings' mate ... Get it right! ; )
I have been known to get it for free : )