Driveways in Coventry
A driveway carries a car, which means the sub-base does the real work. It also has to deal with the rainwater it stops soaking away - and that part is a planning rule, not an opinion.
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A driveway in Coventry is built on a compacted sub-base sized for vehicle loading, with edge restraints to stop the surface spreading and drainage that complies with the surfacing rules. Since 2008, more than five square metres of new impermeable surfacing draining to the highway needs planning permission - so driveways are normally built in permeable materials or drained to a soakaway within the property.
- More than 5 square metres of impermeable surfacing draining to the road needs planning permission.
- Permeable paving, or draining to a soakaway on your own land, avoids that - and is how it should be done anyway.
- Edge restraints are not decorative: without them a block drive spreads and sinks at the sides.
- A driveway sub-base is deeper than a patio's, because it carries vehicle loads.
- A new or widened dropped kerb needs the council's approval and is separate from the driveway itself.
The work itself, in plain terms
Excavation & sub-base
Dug to depth and a compacted sub-base built in layers to carry vehicles, which is where a cheap drive is cheap.
Block paving
Standard and permeable blocks, laid to pattern with proper edge restraints and a jointing sand that stays put.
Resin bound surfacing
Permeable resin bound gravel over a suitable base - smooth, weed-resistant and free-draining when laid on the right build-up.
Tarmac & asphalt
Machine-laid tarmac for larger areas, with the edges and the junction to the highway detailed properly.
Drainage & soakaways
Permeable build-ups, channel drains and soakaways sized so the water goes where the rules require and not down the street.
Dropped kerbs & access
Advice on the council application for a new or widened vehicle crossing, and the driveway built to meet it.
Built around how you own the property
Homeowners
Off-road parking that does not sink, spread or flood, with the drainage done the way the rules require.
Front garden conversions
Turning a front garden into parking, including the kerb application and the permeable surfacing that keeps it permitted.
Landlords
Parking that adds real letting value, built to take years of daily use.
The jobs that start with a phone call
- 01
A block drive with ruts and dips where the car wheels sit, because the sub-base was too thin.
- 02
Blocks spreading and dropping along the edges, with no edge restraint ever installed.
- 03
A new impermeable drive draining straight onto the pavement, which needed permission nobody applied for.
- 04
Weeds growing through the joints within a year because the jointing sand washed out.
- 05
Water running from the drive towards the house and ponding at the front door.
- 06
A driveway laid up to the highway with no approved dropped kerb, so the car mounts the kerb to get on it.
What moves the price
Driveways are quoted after measuring and looking at the levels, access and where the water will go. The quote covers excavation, spoil, sub-base, surfacing, edgings and drainage. What moves the number:
Area and shape
Size, plus the cutting and edging that curves, circles and awkward corners add.
Surfacing material
Block paving, resin bound and tarmac sit at different price points and need different bases.
Excavation and spoil
How deep, and where the arisings go. On a tight frontage this can be a large share of the job.
Drainage strategy
Permeable build-up, channel drains or a soakaway sized by a percolation test.
Levels and retaining
A sloping frontage may need steps, retaining or regrading before surfacing.
Dropped kerb
A council application and the highway works, which are charged separately by the authority.
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Driveways in Coventry — your questions answered
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Speak to us today0786 5778332Do I need planning permission for a driveway?
If you are laying more than five square metres of impermeable surfacing in your front garden that drains to the road, yes. Use a permeable surface - permeable block paving or resin bound over a free-draining base - or drain it to a soakaway within your own boundary, and it normally falls within permitted development. This rule is widely ignored by cheap quotes.
Which surface lasts longest?
All three last well if the base is right and fail quickly if it is not - the base matters more than the surface. Block paving is the most repairable, because you can lift and relay a section. Resin bound gives the smoothest finish and good drainage. Tarmac is the most economical for large areas.
Can you lay a drive over my existing one?
Occasionally, where the existing surface is sound and the levels allow, resin bound can go over good concrete or tarmac. More often the existing surface is the reason the drive is failing, and laying over it just hides the problem for a year. We will tell you honestly which situation you are in.
What about a dropped kerb?
That is the council's, not ours - you apply to the highway authority, and the work on the footway and kerb is carried out under their requirements. We will tell you whether you need one and build the driveway to meet it, but the application and its cost sit with you and them.
How long will it take?
Most domestic driveways are a week to two weeks, depending on area, excavation and the surfacing. Resin bound needs dry conditions to lay and cure, so it is weather dependent, and we will not lay it in the wrong conditions just to finish on a Friday.
Will weeds grow through it?
Far less with the right build-up and jointing. Block paving with proper kiln-dried or polymeric jointing sand resists it well; resin bound is effectively sealed. Most weed problems come from jointing sand that was never topped up or washed straight out because the drainage was wrong.
Get your driveway priced in Coventry
Tell us roughly the size, what is there now and whether there is already a dropped kerb. We will come and look at the levels and where the water can go, which decides the build-up.
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