Block Paving Quote

jackywacky

My son who lives in Kent and has just had a quote for a 45 sq metre driveway.
The price came to £9375+vat=£11,250

I believe the blocks are £34sq metre inc vat, so that makes up around £1,500 of that quote

The rest is made of…………………………..

•Excavate driveway to a depth of 250/300mm and have uprisings taken away by grab lorry, remove all trees and shrubs

•Excavate new soakaway 1m cube 5 meters from any building and 2 meters from boundary lines and have material removed from site

•Supply and install 1m cube of aqua cells soakaway crates, these will be wrapped in membrane and placed on hole

•Surround crates with pea shingle and cap off with DPC and concrete

•Supply and install new aco channel drains along entrance sett and surrounded by concrete and pipes into new soakaway

•Set new flat top concrete edges in concrete up both sides of drive to hold back neighbours beds, make good behind

•Lay geotextile membrane to whole drive, supply and install MOT type 1 sub base and compact

•Build new step with half battered edging stones as shown on site, infill step with block paving.

•Set new border stone in concrete to form perimeter of drive

•Supply, compact and screed sharp sand on driveway.

•Install AG killyleagh blocks to driveway

•Whack blocks, spread kiln dried and compact.

ALL MATERIALS & LABOUR SUPPLIED
………………………………………………

Does that quote sound reasonable?

Ms_Chocaholic

I'd recommend getting a few other quotes

MikeJXE

So would I at least 3

All exactly the same spec to compare 

tacpot12

It doesn't seem unresonable to me, but it's a lot of money so getting another couple of quotes to the same spec as others have advised would be eminently sensible. 

pseudodox

Make sure other quotes are exact same standard of spec.  The groundwork dictates how good a final result you get.  I had a resin drive several years ago which was eye wateringly expensive but still looks like new.  2 neighbours had theirs done by less expensive firms but I could see the difference in the groundworks standard.  Those 2 drives looked as good as mine on the surface but they are already showing cracks & one was very uneven from day one.  Another neighbour has block paving which now has 2 wheel ruts - again the groundworks were skimped.

Looking at your quote there is a lot of work beyond the cost of blocks & does not seem unreasonable for that large area.  But always best to get alternative quotes for any job & ask for local jobs done in the past that you can go & look at.  Also ask how many years warranty you get.  5 years insurance backed would be reasonable.

Veteransaver

Make sure you get a recommendation from someone who's used them and their driveway has been installed for a number of years, there's unfortunately lots of total cowboys and unsavoury types involved in the driveway business and has little or no regulation or oversight compared to most other trades

pseudodox

 Veteransaver said:

Make sure you get a recommendation from someone who's used them and their driveway has been installed for a number of years, there's unfortunately lots of total cowboys and unsavoury types involved in the driveway business and has little or no regulation or oversight compared to most other trades

Totally agree.  Not a FB recommendation but an actual site visit - even knock on the door.  Someone who was happy with their own drive will not mind sharing their experience.  It is a big £££ outlay and very difficult to do anything about a shoddy job 12 months down the line except rip it all up and start over.

Who ever does the job I would ensure you are at home whilst it is ongoing and take plenty of photographs of each stage.  A reputable firm will not mind you doing this, especially if you provide endless tea and biscuits to keep them sweet on site. 

FreeBear

jackywacky said: •Excavate driveway to a depth of 250/300mm and have uprisings taken away by grab lorry,

Some outfits will only excavate to 150mm or so and bung in a few bits of broken rubble - Do not accept this in any shape or form. Going to 250-300mm (assuming 175-225mm of MOT1) will give you a substantial base and should support the blocks plus your average car without ruts forming. Downside is the amount of spoil that will need to be removed (probably 20-25 tonnes).

Bottom line - The spec is good, so reject any quote that suggests less.

jackywacky

Thanks to everyone for your comments.
Keep them coming

mexican_dave

I agree the written specification looks good, even including a soak-away, just make sure that any gullies or channels etc to collect rain water flow slightly downhill to the soak away. In turn the drive must have slight slope(s) (called "falls" in the trade) to the gullies and channels. This part is all about workmanship, rather than the materials themselves. Otherwise you will have large puddles or an ineffective soak-away!

jackywacky

Yes the spec looks really good. But what about the price?
Maybe I'm out of touch but I thought the quote was very expensive.