Driveways & Patios in Portsmouth

There is no honest single figure, because the cost is driven by what is under the surface as much as what goes on top. The main variables are the area in square metres, the depth of excavation needed, how much spoil has to be carted away, whether the existing sub-base can be reused, the drainage solution, and the surface material itself. Access matters too — a driveway a machine can reach is cheaper to dig out than one where everything has to be barrowed through a side gate. We measure up on site and give you an itemised written price rather than a rate per square metre over the phone.

It depends on how the driveway is used and how much maintenance you want. Block paving is repairable — individual blocks lift and relay — and copes well with turning vehicles. Resin bound is seamless, smooth underfoot and quick to sweep, but needs a sound base beneath it. Concrete is extremely hard wearing and low maintenance but cannot be lifted and relaid. Gravel is the cheapest to install but migrates and needs topping up. We will talk through the trade-offs for your specific frontage.

A typical single-car driveway is usually a three to five day job: a day to break out and excavate, a day for sub-base and edgings, then laying and finishing. Resin bound adds a curing day. Larger drives, deeper excavations or new drainage runs extend that. Weather affects concrete and resin more than block paving, so we build a sensible buffer into the programme rather than promising an unrealistic finish date.

For most homes in England, laying a driveway of any size at the front of the property does not need planning permission provided the surface is permeable, or the water runs off to a permeable area such as a border or lawn within your own boundary. If you lay more than five square metres of impermeable surface draining directly onto the highway, planning permission is required. Dropped kerbs are a separate application to the highways authority. Flats, listed buildings and conservation areas can have additional restrictions worth checking before work starts.

Water has to have somewhere to go that is not your house or your neighbour’s. Options include falling the surface away from the property to a border or soakaway, running a linear channel drain across the threshold and into a connected outlet, or using a permeable construction where water passes through the surface into an open-graded sub-base. Which one suits depends on your ground conditions and levels — parts of Portsea Island sit on low, flat ground with a high water table, so we check that before specifying a soakaway.

We work throughout Portsmouth and Portsea Island, including Southsea, Fratton, Copnor, Milton, Eastney, North End, Hilsea, Baffins, Cosham, Drayton, Farlington, Paulsgrove and Port Solent, plus nearby areas such as Portchester. If you are just outside, call and ask — we will tell you honestly whether it is a job we can service properly.