Update 2022: Home improvement prices have soared over the last 18 months with the cost of some building materials increasing by well over 50%. This has been well documented in the media and confirmed by our own research. The tarmac driveway prices on this page were updated in April 2022 but are subject to change due to the rapidly changing economic situation.
The purpose of this page is to provide you with a snapshot of how much a new tarmac driveway costs as of spring 2022. The prices on this page were sourced from tradespeople and driveway installers from various locations around the UK but as always, we urge consumers to get their own quotes for comparison – we can help with that too, just fill in this form to compare quote online, quick and easily.
Tarmac is one of the most affordable materials you can use as a driveway surface, it lasts for decades, looks traditional and is a very popular choice with UK homeowners.
How Much Are Other People Paying For a New Driveway?
As part of our research into driveway prices, we’ve asked our site’s visitors to let us know how much they paid for a new driveway.
These figures supplied to us are shown in the table below but they do contain older responses as we first published this price guide back in 2017.
Beneath the table, you’ll find a link to a form where you can add your own prices.
| Name: | Desc: | Price: |
|---|---|---|
| Martin E (Somerset) | 110 sq yrd driveway with blocks and drainage by the entrance (2022) | £14,500 |
| Colin N (S East) | Tarmac driveway for our 3 cars (2022) | £6500 |
| Warren Sidaway (West Midlands) | Excavate to levels required (sloping driveway), lay 150 mm Type 1 MOT, lay membrane weed control. Hand lay 50 mm of 20 mm base course black tarmac, hand lay 40 mm of 6 mm dense black SMA wearing course. Driveway area 300 square metres. 5-year guarantee. (2021) | £13,000 inc VAT |
| Adam (Cardiff) | 160 sq m tarmac overlay residential driveway (2020) | £6500 |
| Margaret (Manchester) | Driveway 18m2 Ecogrid £270 Sub base £90 Under gravel £90 Sand and cement £60 Machinery £70 Edging £50 Waste removal/skip £140 Labour 3/4 days £950 Not including the gravel (2020) | £1720 |
| Mrs Paige (South London) | Driveway for three cars. New tarmac. (2020) | £3900 |
| Clara (unknown) | Old stone driveway removed and replaced with tarmac with white speckles. raised edges. 10m long and 4m wide roughly (2020) | £5600 |
| mr angel (newcastle) | tarmac topup over original four-car driveway that was looking tired but otherwise in good condition (2020) | £2300 |
| Kalpesh (Essex) | Concrete imprint driveway 48m2 @ £100 per m2. Agreed the price @ £4,500. Was expecting between £4,000 and £4,500. (2019) | £4500 |
| Adam Lawrence (Newport) | 237M2 of Printed Concrete. 6 car drive at the front of the house with a 2.5m strip running 35m to the garage at the rear. Just completed in printed concrete. (2019) | £13000 |
| Cindy (Gateshead) | 117 square meters stamped concrete (2019) | £7000 |
| SLI Driveways (Dudley) | In our are which is Dudley West Midlands (includes Birmingham, Walsall, Wolverhampton, Halesowen) Block paving is anything from £45.00 m2 by bodgit and scarperand upto and beyond £120.00 m2 by reputable companies like ourselves. The upper price includes all excavation work, removal of spoil, supply, lay and compaction of hardcore, supply and screed sand and lay blocks. All work should always come with a no quibble guarantee of at least 5 years. (2019) | £120 per m2 inc VAT |
| Ann Haywood (Nuneaton Warwickshire) | WANT TARMAC DRIVE. STONED DRIVE AT PRESENT. DRIVE IS ROUGHLY 25 X 22 METERS (2019) | £5000 |
| Joshua (Plymouth) | Gravel drive way 4.8 x 2.4 including removal of wall (2017) | £5605 |
| Kevin (W London) | Small driveway for just two cars (blocks) (2017) | £3250 |
| Mike (Sunbury) | Tarmac to driveway for three cars (2017) | £2750 |
| Kelly Kitson (Midlands) | Tarmac driveway (2017) | £2000 |
| Daniel West (Poole) | Gravel driveway including new drainage soakway (2017) | £2250 |
We invite and encourage you to add your own prices by filling out this form (no email required).
Tarmac Driveway Price Guide [Updated April 2022]
Below you’ll find two prices for a new tarmac driveway.
The first price is for an overlay. This is the cheapest option and is perfect for existing tarmac driveways where the surface is deteriorating but the base of the driveway is in good condition.
The second figure is for a complete driveway replacement which is the best option if your driveway has a different material on the surface or the base is in poor condition.
Tarmac Overlay Price
An overlay is a great option for those of you with driveways that are structurally sound but still want to improve the appearance.
This technique is only a realistic option if the following apply:
- The extra layer won’t breach the damp course or wall vents on the house.
- The base under the existing driveway hasn’t sunk or dipped too much.
- The existing driveway doesn’t have any deep cracks as these will continue to grow and will transfer through to the new tarmac surface.
- Any isolated potholes are first repaired to a depth of at least 300mm.
Tarmac overlays are quicker to install and obviously much cheaper, you don’t need to lay any base, sub-base or binding course. Minor repairs are carried out first, then a primer is sprayed onto the surface before a 30-40mm layer of fine tarmac is laid and rolled.
Not every driveway is suitable for an overlay, hence why it’s so important you get a professional to inspect it first.
This is how much we were told it would cost. Nine driveway installers supplied us with prices and the figures below are averaged.
| Project: | Price: |
|---|---|
| Overlay 40 sq mtr | £2700 |
| Overlay 100 sq mtr | £6250 |
| Get a Custom Price Here | Get a Custom Price Here |
New Replacement Tarmac Driveway Price
The prices below are for a complete replacement tarmac driveway and include:
- Site survey, including locating all services (gas water etc)
- Full dig out and removal of waste
- Drainage channel installed and connect to an existing soakaway
- Compact the ground and lay weed prevention felt
- Lay a type 1 base material and compact to between 150-175mm thickness
- Install new edging stones, cemented in place
- Lay and roll binding layer of course tarmac
- Lay and roll a top finishing layer of fine tarmac
| Project: | Price: |
|---|---|
| Tarmac 40 sq mtr | £4800 |
| Tarmac 100 sq mtr | £10,500 |
| Get a Custom Price Here | Get a Custom Price Here |
Driveway Sizes
A typical 40 square metre driveway can hold two cars with plenty of space on either side to open doors and some extra space for perhaps a path to the front door.
A 100 square metre driveway is much larger and can hold up to 4 cars with plenty of space left.
VAT – Does Everyone Pay it?
The price examples on this page include VAT at 20% but not all businesses have to charge this tax and about half of the firms that supplied us with prices were trading below the VAT threshold.
Smaller businesses that have a turnover below this VAT threshold are not obliged to register for or charge VAT on their labour and profit margins.
Do bear this in mind as you can make a substantial saving by choosing a small business that doesn’t need to register for VAT
Check out our VAT page for more guidance.
We deliberately sourced prices from both smaller and larger firms to get a good idea of how much a driveway typically costs, on average.
Are There Any Other Ways to Save Money?
Overlaying an existing driveway is a great way to save money but only if the existing driveway is sound enough and won’t sag or transfer cracks into the new tarmac.
The thickness of the base and the tarmac layers also affects the price but there’s little point in trying to save money by laying a thinner driveway.
Be wary of tarmac installers that offer well below-average prices, there’s almost always a catch.
You Could Pay More If…
Driveway regulations state that all new and replacement driveways must have a provision for drainage.
In other words, rainwater cannot flow from the driveway onto a public footpath or road.
This is usually achieved by installing a drain and connecting it to an existing soakaway or installing a new soakaway.
A new soakaway can add extra cost to the project so if you’re in doubt, we suggest speaking to a professional driveway installer who can explain your options and provide a custom price.
Complex driveway thresholds and raised edgings can also add to the cost.
What About Colours?
The tarmac prices on this page are for black tarmac only.
Red tarmac is also popular but can cost considerably more than black.
Other colours are available but the cost is usually through the roof, especially for a small area such as a driveway, so we haven’t priced for these options.
The reason why red and other colours are so expensive is that the manufacturer won’t be producing these variants in large numbers and will probably need to restart the production line just for you.
That’s not a problem if you’re laying coloured tarmac to a very large area like a road on a new housing development, but for a small domestic driveway, expect it to cost a small fortune. For most people, the price of red or coloured tarmac isn’t an option and is outside the scope of this price guide.
Ideas and Inspiration
We hope you found our tarmac driveway price guide insightful, if you’re looking for inspiration, check out the images below that we found on Pinterest, which is a great place to get interior and exterior design ideas.
Start with these two pages:
25+ driveway ideas on Pinterest
Below are some images we sourced from Pinterest:
Cobblestone kerb and edging. Image sourced from Brackley Landscapes
Sourced from Pinterest
Porous tarmac and concrete. Image from Pervious Pavement
Get a Quotation Online
We hope you liked our research into how much a tarmac driveway costs.
To get a customised quote for your driveway, tap the button below and fill in the online form – it only takes a few minutes:
Other Driveway Options
Tarmac is one of four options you can choose from when considering a new driveway.
Here are the other three:
- Block Paving – this is a popular option and there are many reasons why people often prefer this material to any other. Check out our knowledge base and block paving price guide here.
- Pattern Concrete – while not to everyone’s tastes and we don’t like it, but it does have some benefits; weeds will never grow through this material, meaning it’s very low maintenance, it’s cheaper than block paving but more expensive than tarmac. See how much Imprinted Concrete costs here.
- Stones or Gravel – Visually appealing and traditional but leaves, twigs and dirt can reduce the long-term aesthetic appeal. Also, can stones be used on steep driveways without the stones washing into the road? Explore our gravel price guide here.
More:
The key to a long driveway life is to ensure the ground is correctly compacted and the sub base of sufficient strength. Ensure this and the correct thickness of the binding and top layers and your driveway should last for decades assuming light use.
If you intend to use heavy vehicles on the driveway (3.5 tonnes and above) then consult the contractor about extra reinforcement.
Rainwater must be diverted away from the house and shouldn't empty onto public land such as a road or pavement.
There are several ways to achieve this; slope the driveway so water runs off onto flower beds or the lawn, connect a rainwater channel into an existing or new soakaway.
If neither of those options is possible, you may be able to discharge onto the public highway but you would need planning permission to do so.
Don't forget; there are permeable driveway and patio materials that are designed to allow water to pass directly through into the ground. Speak to your driveway installer if you have issues with rainwater ponding on your existing driveway.
Overlays are always completed in one day, regardless of driveway size. Although some preparation work beforehand might be required; cleaning the existing surface and making good any repairs to pot holes etc.
A full replacement including sub-base will take much longer. A 40 square metre driveway can be completed in a few days, a 100 square metre project will take longer. It all depends on much excavation of the existing ground is required, the type of material being dug up also affects the timescale. Tree roots and old cement can take a long time to remove.
Below you can find a link to our recently updated trade day rates page:
This guide to tarmac driveway prices was written by Danny Woodley and was last updated in April 2022.
Don’t forget; we have price guides for hundreds of home improvement projects and we update them periodically.
Explore our full list of detailed price guides here.
