How to choose a block paved driveway contractor
Discussion
My neighbour and I are looking to get our tarmac drive and part of our front lawns converted and extended to block paving.
A quick look at the leaflets that have been dropped through the door suggests there's plenty of contractors to choose from but I'd like to ask for advice from those either in the trade or having first hand experience of getting the work done - how do we know if what we get quoted is the right specification and the right price?
Looking at drives of friends and family, most of them have some defects like poor falls causing pooling, blocks that have come loose with time, bits that have sunk, weeds growing out, uneven surfaces etc.
Someone has suggested using a system called hydropave - apparently, it helps drainage but I'm not sure if there's any downsides.
Total area is about 120m2. It's fairly flat with some fall for drainage.
A quick look at the leaflets that have been dropped through the door suggests there's plenty of contractors to choose from but I'd like to ask for advice from those either in the trade or having first hand experience of getting the work done - how do we know if what we get quoted is the right specification and the right price?
Looking at drives of friends and family, most of them have some defects like poor falls causing pooling, blocks that have come loose with time, bits that have sunk, weeds growing out, uneven surfaces etc.
Someone has suggested using a system called hydropave - apparently, it helps drainage but I'm not sure if there's any downsides.
Total area is about 120m2. It's fairly flat with some fall for drainage.
Small thing but get the reg of their vans before you go ahead, and check them for tax, MOT and insurance! We did this with a few people that quoted and as a result narrowly avoided a disaster with a contractor that liked to live in caravans and did an overnight flit on someone we know, with most of their money.
It's the biggest minefield of all when it comes to choosing contractors. Our current drive is being done by our builders that are just finishing our refurb as I know them already and I cannot face the due diligence needed to choose a different contractorn
It's the biggest minefield of all when it comes to choosing contractors. Our current drive is being done by our builders that are just finishing our refurb as I know them already and I cannot face the due diligence needed to choose a different contractorn
We had ours done back in 2017.
Needed to be permeable as there was no way to take run off into drains or a soak away.
Read all I could on how to do it properly (pavingexpert website is a great source of knowledge) and then got 3 companies in to survey/quote.
Asked all of them for references and a run down of their process.
Two of them gave similar quotes, had good references and most importantly detailed a process that seemed to me to be good practice.
We chose the one that could start soonest (still a 6 month wait which I took as a good sign).
These pavers in mixed sizes.
https://www.simplypaving.com/products/driveway-blo...
Just over £20k for 210sqm was a lot of money to us but very happy with the results and 7years later we’ve had zero issues.
Needed to be permeable as there was no way to take run off into drains or a soak away.
Read all I could on how to do it properly (pavingexpert website is a great source of knowledge) and then got 3 companies in to survey/quote.
Asked all of them for references and a run down of their process.
Two of them gave similar quotes, had good references and most importantly detailed a process that seemed to me to be good practice.
We chose the one that could start soonest (still a 6 month wait which I took as a good sign).
These pavers in mixed sizes.
https://www.simplypaving.com/products/driveway-blo...
Just over £20k for 210sqm was a lot of money to us but very happy with the results and 7years later we’ve had zero issues.
Indecision said:
If you’re in Essex try m3jappa on here.
Thank you 
Here's my tips for choosing someone:
Don't listen to the leaflets through doors, typically (but not always) thats usually one type of people.
Don't listen to facebook recommendations, these are painful for me to watch, generally people recommend themselves or its the wife or friends.
I would also personally avoid checkatrade type sites. A total scam imo.
Go have a look at marshalls register for local contractors, probably the most credible out of all the 'approved contractor' registers. Generally any who have won awards are going to be at the very least good enough.
Although i am in the game and can spot a good job a mile off its still fairly easy to see a good job.
Are the edges dead straight? do the curves flow nice? are the cuts in a straight line? If they are then typically thats been done by someone who actually gives a s
t, which is a good start. Be prepared for big price differences, just because one is double the other does not mean the cheap price is right and the other is trying it on. Its hard to say how much it should cost as it varies by region, type of block, if the guy is desperate for work or just starting out.
A proper job won't be cheap though, it is physically impossible.
What m3 said. No leaflets, no door knocking, ideally no advertising although I’ve seen some insta videos eg Macc Landscapes that show they clearly know what they’re doing. Looking at previous work (that’s confirmed to be years rather than weeks old) it’d be the details that matter - anyone can plonk blocks down in a herringbone pattern but it’s how the small cuts round the edges have been done, details round drains and aco drains, manholes etc, and obviously stopping movement is key - the foundations for supporting cars need to be a lot better than a patio. I’ve used a Marshall’s approved guy for our current patio - that could be an option as already said.
DIY is possible - with the help of a digger driver I did our last house’s block paved drive myself - nearly killed me - and 20+ years later it’s still there, just a wee bit sunk in places. Never again
DIY is possible - with the help of a digger driver I did our last house’s block paved drive myself - nearly killed me - and 20+ years later it’s still there, just a wee bit sunk in places. Never again
When we had our previous place done, I went to the local MKM as the block supplier and asked who to use.
Also asked at some other suppliers the same questions and got mostly the same responses.
They confirmed a contractor I’d heard good things about and also hinted at those to avoid.
Contacted the recommendation and he quoted, he turned out to be the lowest price of four quotes but was stacked for months (another good sign). I’d actually ruled him out initially as I thought he’d be just too much, lesson learned.
We booked him in and he did the whole job in the time allocated, didn’t require deposit or for us to buy the materials. Quality was fabulous and it transformed the look of the house.
Also asked at some other suppliers the same questions and got mostly the same responses.
They confirmed a contractor I’d heard good things about and also hinted at those to avoid.
Contacted the recommendation and he quoted, he turned out to be the lowest price of four quotes but was stacked for months (another good sign). I’d actually ruled him out initially as I thought he’d be just too much, lesson learned.
We booked him in and he did the whole job in the time allocated, didn’t require deposit or for us to buy the materials. Quality was fabulous and it transformed the look of the house.
Edited by 996Type on Thursday 19th September 19:21
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