Tarmac driveways

Tarmac has a bad name because of the people who knock on doors with a lorry-load left over from a job. Laid properly, hot, in two layers on a real base, it is the toughest surface there is.

The base is the same as for block paving: excavation, membrane, 150 mm of compacted stone. Then a 60 mm binder course of 20 mm dense bitumen macadam and a 25 mm wearing course of 6 mm, both laid hot from a tipper on the day and rolled while they are hot. The edge is a granite sett, a block soldier course or a concrete kerb, haunched in, so the tarmac has something to be compacted against and cannot crumble at the sides.

It falls to a channel or soakaway like any other drive, takes a car the next day, and can be overlaid in twenty years rather than rebuilt. Long drives, sloping drives and drives that take vans and motorhomes are where tarmac earns its keep. Red and golden chip finishes are available at a premium.

What is included

• Full 150 mm sub-base, not an overlay
• Two-layer hot tarmac: binder and wearing course
• Granite sett, block or kerb edging, haunched
• Fall to a channel or soakaway
• Driven on the next day
• Ten-year guarantee

What it costs

From £70 per square metre including excavation, sub-base, edging, two-layer tarmac and drainage. A typical 50 square metre driveway is £3,500 to £4,200. Red and golden tarmac quoted. All prices include excavation, sub-base, edging, drainage, waste removal and VAT. See the full price list.