Paving a driveway, patio or path: what lies beneath

Concrete block paving is the common choice for driveways: individual blocks on a sand bed over a compacted sub-base, which can be lifted and relaid if a service trench is needed. Permeable block paving uses wider joints and an open-graded sub-base so rain soaks through. Resin-bound surfacing is a mix of aggregate and resin laid smooth; when laid on a suitable permeable base it drains through, while resin-bonded surfaces, with stones scattered on a resin coat, do not.

Tarmac and concrete are hard-wearing but impermeable unless a porous version is specified. Gravel is cheap and drains well, but moves under car tyres unless held in a grid. For patios and paths, natural stone such as sandstone, limestone, slate or granite, and porcelain slabs are popular. Porcelain is dense and stain-resistant but needs a specific priming slurry and careful laying; natural stone varies in thickness and needs a laying method to suit.

In England, you do not need planning permission for a new or replacement driveway of any size if it uses a permeable surface, such as gravel, permeable block paving or porous asphalt, or if rainwater from it runs to a lawn or border to soak away. If the area to be covered is more than 5 m² and the surface is impermeable, with no provision for water to run to a permeable area, planning permission is needed.

The rule exists because paved front gardens send rainwater straight into drains and add to surface water flooding. This approach, handling rain close to where it falls, is part of sustainable drainage (SuDS). A paving contractor should explain how its design deals with water and put it in the quote. Rules in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland differ; check with your council.

Source: planningportal.co.uk · planningportal.co.uk

If you will drive across a pavement to reach the new driveway, you need a dropped kerb, and it is illegal to drive over the pavement without one. The dropped kerb is applied for through the local highway authority, usually your council, which sets its own criteria and fees and often insists on its own approved contractors for the work in the highway. Apply before you commission the driveway: a refusal leaves you with a parking area you cannot legally use.

Most arguments about paving come from what was not written down. The depth and type of sub-base, the edging and the falls are what make a driveway last; the visible surface is the easy part. Ask the contractor to state them. Where excavation will expose drains, inspection chambers or cables, the quote should say how they will be dealt with, and whether chamber covers will be raised to the new level.

• the area in square metres and the surface product by name
• excavation depth, sub-base material and compacted thickness
• edging or kerbs, and how the edges are restrained
• falls away from the house and where the water goes
• drainage channels, soakaways or planted areas, if any
• removal of spoil and old surface, with the waste carrier named
• damp-proof course clearance next to the house

Raising the ground level against the house is one of the most damaging. Paving should finish well below the damp-proof course, never level with it, and fall away from the walls, not towards them. Covering air bricks cuts off ventilation to suspended timber floors. Laying paving over tree roots, or digging through roots near a protected tree, can kill the tree and break the law if a Tree Preservation Order applies.

Very low prices sometimes mean block paving laid straight on soil or on a thin layer of sand, with no proper sub-base. It looks the same on the day it is finished and fails within a few winters. Pressure to decide on the doorstep, or a request for full payment in cash before any work, are warning signs too.

You describe the area, the surface you are considering and how you use it. We verify your phone number by text and your email by link. The request is then shown, without anything that identifies you, to paving contractors near you, and only one firm can buy it. When it does, we email you its name, address and phone number before it sees yours.

Offrano charges you nothing and cannot promise that a contractor buys the request; if none does within 21 days, it is withdrawn. We confirm that the buyer is a registered business, but we do not inspect paving work. Look at recent driveways the firm has laid, ideally a few years old, and ask for the specification in writing.