To replace driveway or not?

ifiwerearichman123

Hi All we are thinking of repaying our two-car driveway. It needs doing there's no question although it's quite functional it's not in good condition - cracked concrete etc. We have had a quote of £3250 (down from £5500) as it's a quiet time of year and we are on a main road and they want the advertising. I've had other quotes and this is the best by far (others are £4000-4500) plus they said we don't have to pay anything upfront but we have to have the work done in the next couple of weeks or so before the weather improves and they get busy, which I understand. My question is - should we avoid having this work done at this time of year? Is there something about the cold weather that will make it hard / impossible for them to complete the job to a high standard? We are looking to have the driveway excavated, paved, with strip drains put in and fence panels replaced. They said it will take about a week. I don't want to pass up a good offer but I'm scared it's too good to be true...Thank you for your advice in advance!

Fuzion

The main risk is it'll get held up by bad weather and take longer to complete, and they might make more of a mess, but I'd also be interested in why their quote was so much lower; are you able to check out their workmanship on any completed jobs?

glasgowdan

I don't like the sound of this pressure they've put on you, agree now or we'll get too busy to have you as a customer.

I'd find a neighbour who's had a drive done in the last couple of years and ask if they'd recommend.

Doozergirl

What is the new drive made of? Concrete might struggle to set correctly in very cold temperatures.

I'm not too sure about the time pressure. If the price is much lower then that should set alarm bells a bit. A week's building work for someone who specialises in driveways should be easy to quote. If most are similar sorts of companies and the same sort of price then that sets the sensible price level. A 20-30% discount on that may not be realistic.

Believe me, people don't make so much profit to be able to offer genuine discounts like that. If you asked the other people that quoted to drop it that low, they might tell you that they'd be paying out of their own pocket to do a decent job, let alone earn anything if they price matched.

Try asking the others!

keith969

Ask them for references. Only you can determine if they are dodgy or not, they may have just had a cancellation but who knows.

missile

Are you having the drive "paved", with paving slabs or concrete?

That quote seems cheap to excavate a concrete and relay a double driveway, lay drains and erect fencing. Perhaps too cheap?

Labour rates will vary across the country, where are you?

I hope he is a reputable builder? As others have suggested, I would check out work he has done for others.

tired_dad

Do not rush into anything.

You will live with driveway for as long as you are there.

Do your reaearch. Use pavingexpert forum.

To know if costs are ok you must have an idea of sq m of job

tired_dad

Oh, and never use anyone without a personal recommendation and a viewing of quality of work.

The companies around us often had lists of addresses where they had done the driveway. It's often v helpful to look at an installation done a few years ago to see how it weathers in

Loanranger

This, below, explains about regulations regarding a water permeable surface:
https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/45/paving_your_front_garden