How to write a quote for a block paving driveway (with a real worked example)

A landscaper I know in Nottingham quoted £6,500 for a block paving driveway on a semi. One line, a handshake, start Monday. By Wednesday the dig had hit a soft patch where an old garage base used to be, the customer had decided the drive should be a metre wider, and the council had just told them the dropped kerb wasn't going to be lowered for six weeks. He finished the job £1,100 down and the customer thought he'd been rude about it.

Nobody had lied. The quote simply never said what was dug, what was laid, who dealt with the council and what happens when the ground isn't what it looked like. This guide shows how to write a driveway quote so those answers are on paper before the skip arrives.

Before you price anything, check what the drive will need

Driveways go wrong at the survey stage more than on the day with the plate compactor. Get these written down before you open a calculator:

• Area and shape. Measure the finished surface, then add the edges, the apron and anything that needs cutting round a manhole or a bay. Curves and tight turns eat blocks and time. A drive that looks like 40 square metres on a tape can be 48 once you count the shaped bits.
• Drainage. Paving more than 5 square metres of front garden with a non-permeable surface needs planning permission unless the rainwater drains to a lawn or border, or the surface is permeable. That is the gov.uk guidance on paving front gardens. Decide which route the job is taking and price it. A linear channel drain to a soakaway is a very different line from a fall to a border.
• The dropped kerb. If the customer needs a vehicle crossover, they apply to the council's highways department, and the work to the kerb is normally done by a council-approved contractor. Find out the position before you quote, because it decides the start date and who is on site.
• What is under it. Old tarmac, a concrete base, a buried oil tank, a soakaway that isn't where the customer thinks it is. Dig a trial hole if you can, and ask what is below.
• Services and covers. Gas, water, electric and telecoms lines run through front gardens. Inspection chambers and manhole covers have to stay accessible. Raise the levels round them or agree what happens to them.
• Access and muck away. Can the lorry get on site, or are you barrowing it out? Where does the skip go, and does the customer need a council permit to put it on the road?

Then walk the drive with the customer and agree the levels, especially at the house threshold and the pavement. Damp courses and door thresholds set the finished height, and that sets how deep you can dig. If the levels don't work, say so now.

Split the quote the way the job is built

One number at the bottom invites an argument. A quote split into stages shows the customer you've thought it through, and gives you something to point to when they ask for a change. A sensible structure:

1. Preparation and dig

Protecting the house and neighbouring drives, setting out, skip or grab lorry, the dig to formation level and muck away. State the depth you're allowing for, for example 200mm down from the finished level.

2. Sub-base

Geotextile membrane where the ground needs it, then compacted Type 1 in layers. Say the thickness and the plant. This is the line customers undervalue and the one that decides whether the drive sinks in three years.

3. Edge restraints and haunching

Kerbs or edging blocks, bedded and haunched in concrete. Without them a drive spreads at the sides. Many contractors run haunching to the edges and any change in direction, so name the type and the length.

4. Laying course and blocks

The sharp sand bed, the blocks themselves with the make or the spec, laying pattern, cutting and compaction. A herringbone laid at 45 degrees takes longer than a stretcher bond, so the pattern belongs on the quote.

5. Drainage

Channel drain, gullies, soakaway or connections, shown separately so the customer can see why the surface is permeable or why it isn't.

6. Finishing

Kiln-dried jointing sand, a final compaction and sweep, and sealing if the customer wants it. Sealer is optional and has a cost, so list it as an extra the customer can say yes or no to.

A worked example: 48 square metre driveway in Nottingham

Here is a quote from Adam Wójcik trading as Wójcik Landscaping for a block paving driveway on a 1950s semi. 48 square metres of herringbone concrete block in charcoal, edging blocks either side, a linear drain across the entrance, and the dropped kerb already in place. The ground is fairly level, the customer is a homeowner and the front garden drains to a soakaway at the side.

Cost build-up (materials, labour and plant):

• Preliminaries: protection, skip, setting out = £350
• Excavation to formation level and muck away (about 200mm) = £900
• Geotextile membrane and 150mm compacted Type 1 sub-base, plant included = £1,050
• Edge restraints, bedding and haunching = £720
• Sharp sand laying course = £320
• Concrete blocks, 50.4 square metres to allow 5% for cuts and waste, at £28 per square metre = £1,410
• Laying and cutting labour, 48 square metres at £24 per square metre = £1,152
• Linear drain and connection to the existing soakaway = £640
• Jointing sand, final compaction and clean-up = £280
• Provisional sum for soft ground and unforeseen conditions, adjusted to actual cost = £500

Add those up and you get £7,322. Check it: 350 + 900 + 1,050 + 720 + 320 + 1,410 + 1,152 + 640 + 280 + 500 = 7,322.

Overheads and profit at 15% on top: £7,322 x 0.15 = £1,098. That covers insurance, the van, tools, admin time and the margin the business needs to stay in business. Total price: £8,420. That works out at about £175 a square metre for this particular job. It is the answer to this drive, not a benchmark for yours, because the dig depth, the drainage and the block spec move it a lot.

If the firm were VAT-registered, you'd add 20% (£1,684) and show the VAT line. The registration threshold at the time of writing is £90,000 of taxable turnover, so check gov.uk and talk to your accountant before the quote goes out, not after.

Provisional sums, exclusions and who deals with the council

The £500 provisional sum covers what you can't see until the ground is open. Write it in plain words: "Allowance for additional excavation or reinforcement of soft ground. Charged at actual cost plus 15%. Any unused amount is deducted from the final invoice." That last sentence is what makes customers trust the number.

Then write what is not included. A decent exclusions list for a driveway looks like this:

• Planning applications, dropped kerb applications and council fees
• Lowering or moving the kerb itself, unless it is a separate priced line
• Removal of asbestos, contaminated ground or buried tanks if found
• Diverting, lowering or protecting gas, water, electric or telecoms services
• Raising or replacing drain covers and inspection chambers beyond the levels agreed
• Replacing gates, walls, fences or planting disturbed by the work, unless listed
• Sealing the finished surface, unless the customer has picked that option

If you are not sure whether a line goes in the quote or the exclusions, put it somewhere. The only wrong place is nowhere.

Payment stages that match the build

You'll be buying a lorry load of Type 1, sand and blocks in the first couple of days, so don't wait for a single invoice at the end. On the £8,420 job:

• On acceptance, 15%: £1,263. Covers the materials order and the skip.
• Dig complete, membrane down and sub-base compacted, 35%: £2,947.
• Blocks laid and edging in, 40%: £3,368.
• Jointing done and walk-round signed off, 10%: £842.

Check it: 1,263 + 2,947 + 3,368 + 842 = 8,420. The last 10% is your reason to come back and finish the snags, and the customer's reason to look properly before they pay it. For more on structuring the schedule, see our guide to stage payments for trades. On what you can ask for upfront, see how much deposit a builder can ask for.

What NOT to do

1. Don't quote a price per square metre and call it a quote. It leaves out the dig depth, the drainage and the edging, and that is where the money goes.
2. Don't skimp the sub-base to win the job. The sub-base is what the customer is really buying. Cutting it is how a drive ends up rutted by the second winter.
3. Don't ignore drainage. A non-permeable surface that sheds water onto the pavement or the neighbour's path is a complaint waiting to happen, and may need planning permission.
4. Don't promise the dropped kerb date. It's the council's timetable and an approved contractor's, not yours. Write that the start date depends on it.
5. Don't leave the extras open. "Possibly wider" and "maybe sealed later" belong in a variation, priced before the work, not after.

The short version

Check drainage, the kerb and what is under the old surface before you price. Split the quote by stage, with depths and specs written in. Use a provisional sum for the ground, list the exclusions in plain English and tie payments to things the customer can see. A quote that does that protects your margin and leaves the customer with fewer reasons to argue about the final invoice.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a block paving driveway cost in the UK?

It depends on the area, the dig depth, the drainage and the block spec. The worked example above, a 48 square metre driveway with a linear drain and a standard concrete block, comes to £8,420 before VAT. Price your own job from your own measurements and supplier prices, not from a headline per-square-metre figure.

Do I need planning permission to pave a front garden?

Not if the new surface is permeable, or if the rainwater runs off to a lawn or border within the property. Paving more than 5 square metres of front garden with a non-permeable surface and no drainage to a soakaway needs planning permission. The gov.uk guidance on paving front gardens spells it out.

Who arranges the dropped kerb?

The homeowner applies to the highways department of the local council, and the kerb itself is normally lowered by a council-approved contractor. Put in writing whether you are arranging it or the customer is, and keep the cost off your price unless you are managing it.

How deep should the sub-base be for a domestic driveway?

Many contractors work to around 150mm of compacted Type 1 for a car-only driveway, more where the ground is soft or vans and bin lorries use it. Follow the manufacturer's guidance for the block you are laying and note the depth on the quote so the customer knows what they are paying for.

How should I take payment on a driveway job?

A deposit on acceptance to cover materials, a stage payment when the sub-base is down and compacted, a larger one when the blocks are laid, and a small final payment after jointing and the walk-round. Two or three stages is plenty on a job that takes a week.

What if we hit a soft spot, old foundations or a service in the dig?

That is what the provisional sum is for. Write the allowance, the rate for extra work and the rule that anything unused comes off the final invoice. If the problem goes over the allowance, agree a variation in writing before you carry on.