How to Price a Concrete Driveway: Sub-Base, Mix Design and Finishing Costs

Quick Answer: A typical UK concrete driveway costs £80–£140/m² supplied and laid for a plain pour, £140–£220/m² for pattern-imprinted, and £160–£260/m² for exposed-aggregate or polished finishes. Pricing must include excavation and disposal (£15–£35/m³), 150mm Type 1 MOT sub-base compacted in 75mm lifts, a 100–150mm C28/35 (formerly C25/30 GEN3) mix with steel-fibre or A142 mesh reinforcement, expansion/contraction joints at 4–5m centres, and SuDS-compliant drainage where over 5m² of front-garden hard surface drains to the highway.

Summary

Concrete is the most structurally durable driveway surface available to UK domestic clients — a correctly specified slab outlasts most block-paved or resin-bound alternatives by 15–25 years — but it is also the surface most often under-priced because the work involves three trades' material knowledge stacked on one job: groundworker, concretor and finisher. A driveway priced from a "supply and lay" rate alone almost always runs at a loss when the sub-base, drainage and finishing time are added in.

The pricing framework that holds together is layer-by-layer: groundworks (excavation, disposal, sub-base), the slab (formwork, reinforcement, ready-mix or site-batch), the finish (brushed, broomed, pattern-imprinted, exposed-aggregate, polished), and the compliance overhead (SuDS drainage, dropped kerb if needed, planning permission for non-permeable surfaces over 5m²). Each layer carries its own labour gang, plant and waste cost, and bundling them into a single £/m² rate without showing the customer the layers tends to produce arguments when the job runs.

Most UK customers ask for "patterned concrete" — pattern-imprinted concrete (PIC) — because it gives a block-paving look at lower labour cost. PIC is not cheap concrete: the labour skill required to set the colour hardener, release agent, stamp the pattern at the correct cure window and seal the surface is significant, and a PIC slab that fails (release agent ghosting, pattern washout, sealer peeling) is much harder to repair than a brushed finish. Price PIC at a clear premium, not as a free upgrade.

Key Facts

Quick Reference Table — Driveway Build-Up by Finish

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Finish Slab thickness Reinforcement £/m² supplied & laid Cure to traffic
Plain brushed 100mm A142 mesh OR 25kg/m³ steel fibre £80–£140 7 days
Tamped/broomed 100mm A142 mesh £85–£140 7 days
Pattern-imprinted 100–125mm A142 mesh £140–£220 14 days (sealer cure)
Exposed-aggregate 100–125mm A142 mesh £160–£240 7 days
Polished (ground) 125–150mm A193 mesh + fibres £180–£260 14 days
Coloured integral 100mm A142 mesh £100–£160 7 days

Detailed Guidance

Sub-base — the layer that determines slab life

A concrete driveway fails at the sub-base, not at the surface. A 100mm slab over a poorly compacted sub-base will crack within two winters; the same slab over a properly built 150mm Type 1 MOT base lasts 25+ years. Sub-base cost on a typical 50m² drive is £600–£1,000 in materials and £400–£700 in labour and plant — about 12–18% of the total. Skipping or short-changing this is the single most common reason for premature failure and warranty claims.

Build-up specification:

Mix design — what to specify and why

Domestic driveway concrete is C28/35 GEN3 (the post-2015 designation; older specifications still call this C25/30). 20mm aggregate, 100mm slump for hand-place, 130mm slump for pumped pour. Air entrainment (3–6%) is recommended for exposed slabs in frost-prone areas — improves freeze-thaw durability significantly.

Pumping costs vary: line pump £350–£550/day, boom pump £700–£1,200/day. Bulk-load delivery (8m³ truck) is £130–£180/m³. Part-loads under 6m³ usually carry a small-load surcharge of £20–£40/m³.

For a 50m² drive at 100mm thick: 5m³ of concrete + 5–10% waste = 5.5m³. Order a single 6m³ load rather than two part-loads.

Reinforcement — mesh vs steel fibre

A142 mesh (6mm bars at 200mm centres) is the traditional choice and remains specified by most domestic builders. Cost: £8–£14/m² supply, plus 30–60 minutes per 100m² to fix on chairs. Lap mesh sheets 200mm minimum.

Steel fibre is the modern alternative — dosed at 25–40kg/m³ into the truck, mixed for 5+ minutes before discharge. Cost: £35–£60 per 25kg bag, working out at £25–£50/m² added to mix cost. Saves the labour of fixing mesh and gives equivalent crack control for distributed loads, but does not perform as well at point loads (e.g. heavy vehicle wheel positions). Most domestic driveway specifications still favour mesh because of point-load performance.

Pattern-imprinted concrete — labour-critical pricing

PIC is a finishing technique applied to fresh concrete: shake-on colour hardener, powder release agent, then rubber/polyurethane stamping mats pressed into the surface in the cure window (typically 1.5–4 hours after pour, depending on temperature). After 24-hour cure, surface is acid-washed/jet-washed to remove excess release agent and sealed with a high-build acrylic sealer.

Pricing trap: the labour gang for PIC is 3–4 people, not the 2 sufficient for a brushed finish, and the cure window is unforgiving. A wet day or unexpected delay can write off a pour. Quote PIC at a clear premium — typically £40–£80/m² more than plain — and factor in 1–2 days finishing time after the pour.

Sealer maintenance: re-seal every 2–3 years, £4–£8/m². Customers often forget this; mention it at quote stage.

Drainage and SuDS — compliance and cost

The 2008 amendment to the General Permitted Development Order (England) requires planning permission for any hard, non-permeable surface over 5m² in a front garden draining to the public highway. Three legal routes:

  1. Permeable surface — porous concrete, gravel infill or block paving; not typically the case for a poured slab
  2. Drainage to soakaway within the property — slot drain or channel drain to Cellweb / soakaway crate, £40–£90/m run for ACO-type channel + £400–£800 per soakaway
  3. Planning permission — apply to local authority, £206 (householder application 2026), 8 weeks typical

Quote the chosen route explicitly. Customers often don't realise this is a regulation; don't lay an impermeable slab and let them find out later.

Dropped kerb — separate from the driveway price

If the property doesn't already have a vehicle crossover, a dropped kerb is a separate highway-authority job, not part of the driveway price. Application £150–£400 (varies by council), construction £600–£2,000, footway strengthening £200–£800 if required. Total typically £800–£2,500. Always quote separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a concrete driveway for a typical UK semi?

Front drive of 30–40m² in plain brushed concrete: £2,800–£5,200 supplied and laid, plus £600–£1,500 for excavation/disposal, plus £400–£900 for SuDS drainage if not permeable, plus dropped kerb if needed. Total typical: £4,500–£8,500.

For PIC: £5,500–£11,000 total.

What's the cheapest concrete driveway finish?

Brushed/broomed plain grey is cheapest. Expect £80–£100/m² supplied and laid for a competent finish. Avoid quoting under £75/m² — the materials alone (concrete + sub-base + mesh + DPM) run £45–£60/m² before any labour or margin.

Can I lay concrete over an existing driveway?

Only if the existing surface is structurally sound and at sufficient depth below finished level. Most existing driveways need to come up — the cost of breaking out and disposing usually exceeds the cost of fresh excavation. Exception: a sound concrete slab can take a 50mm screed/topping, but this is rare on driveway projects.

How thick should a concrete driveway be?

100mm domestic; 125–150mm for regular van or light commercial use; 150–200mm for heavy commercial or where soil is poor. Reinforce A142 mesh minimum.

How long before I can drive on a new concrete driveway?

7 days for light cars; 14 days for vans; 28 days for full design strength. PIC sealed surfaces — wait until sealer fully cured (manufacturer-specified, typically 24–48 hours after final coat).

Regulations & Standards