Driveway Resurfacing: Materials, Prices and Lifespan

A driveway is a layered structure: a compacted sub-base carrying the load, sometimes a binding layer, then the wearing surface. Failures almost always start in the sub-base, so a cheap quote that skips excavation is buying you a few years at most.

The four common surfaces

Asphalt is quick to lay, tolerates ground movement well and needs sealing every few years. Expect a working life in the region of fifteen to twenty years if the base is right.

Block paving is the most expensive to install because it is labour-intensive, but individual blocks can be lifted and replaced, which makes repairs after a utility dig straightforward. Weeds between joints are the ongoing maintenance task.

Concrete is durable and inexpensive per square metre, and it cracks. Control joints manage where those cracks appear; without them they appear wherever they like.

Resin-bound gravel gives a smooth permeable finish and depends entirely on the base beneath it, since it is a thin layer. Poor preparation shows up quickly.

Drainage and permeability

Many jurisdictions now restrict impermeable driveways, or require drainage to a soakaway rather than the road, because paved front gardens contribute measurably to surface water flooding.

Permeable block paving and resin-bound gravel usually satisfy these rules. Solid concrete and asphalt typically require drainage provision, and that provision costs money that may not appear on a headline quote.

Check the local requirement before choosing, because retrofitting drainage after the fact is considerably more expensive.

What separates a good quote from a cheap one

Ask what depth of excavation is included and what sub-base material and depth will be laid. A driveway carrying vehicles needs meaningfully more base than a footpath, and this is the item most commonly skimped.

Ask about edge restraints. Block paving without proper edging spreads sideways over time and the surface fails from the perimeter inward.

Ask whether the price includes disposing of excavated material, which is heavy and charged by weight at tips.

Ask about falls and levels — where water will go, and whether the finished height will sit correctly against your damp course. A driveway laid too high against a wall causes damp problems indoors.

Timing and disruption

Most driveways take three to five days depending on size and surface. Asphalt needs dry conditions and reasonable temperatures; resin systems are more weather-sensitive again.

You will be without vehicle access for the duration and often a curing period afterwards. Block paving is usable soonest, resin and asphalt need time.

Getting it right

Three quotes with matched specification, in writing, itemising excavation depth, base material, surface and drainage. Check the contractor's previous work locally and ask how it has aged rather than how it looked on completion.