Free UK construction calculators Metric and imperial 2026 UK prices
Work out how much ready-mix concrete to order for a new driveway, with the Type 1 sub-base, reinforcing mesh, joints and digging out. Enter the shape and size, press Calculate, and see the materials and a 2026 UK installed price.
Concrete To Order
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Check the measurements above. The result updates once they look right.
| Thickness | Order | Concrete Cost | Suits |
|---|
For your driveway area, with your extra allowance. Your choice is highlighted.
| Item | Amount | Cost |
|---|
Installed prices include digging out, sub-base, concrete and finishing. Prices exclude VAT.
You get the ready-mix concrete to order, the tonnes of Type 1, the mesh sheets, the number of bays and joints, how deep to dig and how much spoil to remove, plus a materials cost and an installed price. You can also see what the concrete would take if you mixed it on site.
One cubic metre of concrete covers 10 m² at 100 mm thick. The table shows what to order for common driveway sizes, with 5% extra rounded up to the next 0.25 m³.
| Driveway | Area | 100 mm | 125 mm | 150 mm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single drive, 8 × 3 m | 24 m² | 2.75 m³ | 3.25 m³ | 4 m³ |
| Long single, 10 × 3 m | 30 m² | 3.25 m³ | 4 m³ | 4.75 m³ |
| Small double, 6 × 5.5 m | 33 m² | 3.5 m³ | 4.5 m³ | 5.25 m³ |
| Double, 10 × 6 m | 60 m² | 6.5 m³ | 8 m³ | 9.5 m³ |
| Large double, 12 × 6 m | 72 m² | 7.75 m³ | 9.5 m³ | 11.5 m³ |
A ready-mix lorry usually carries about 6 m³. Smaller orders often carry a part-load charge, so a mix-on-site (volumetric) supplier can work out cheaper for a single drive.
| Use | Concrete | Type 1 sub-base |
|---|---|---|
| Cars on firm, well-drained ground | 100 mm | 100–150 mm |
| Family cars, most UK driveways | 125 mm | 150 mm |
| Vans, motorhomes, soft clay ground | 150 mm | 150–200 mm |
| Regular heavy vehicles | 200 mm or more | 200 mm or more, designed by an engineer |
100 mm is the minimum for a driveway. The extra 25–50 mm costs little compared with the labour, and it gives a stronger slab where heavier vehicles turn or the ground is soft. Give the surface a fall of around 1 in 60, or about 17 mm per metre, so water runs off.
The concrete sits on a layer of crushed stone sub-base, usually Type 1 (often called MOT Type 1), laid in layers and compacted with a plate compactor or roller. 150 mm is a sensible depth for most drives. The calculator takes compacted Type 1 at 2.1 tonnes per m³ and adds 10% for compaction and levels.
You need to dig out the concrete thickness plus the sub-base, so a 100 mm slab on 150 mm of Type 1 means digging 250 mm below the finished level. Soil swells by about a quarter once dug, which is why a 24 m² drive produces around 7.5 m³ of spoil, or two 8-yard skips. Our aggregate calculator works out Type 1 for other jobs.
Reinforcement does not stop concrete cracking, but it holds any cracks tightly closed. Most UK driveways use one of these:
| Option | What it is | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| A142 steel mesh | Welded 6 mm bars at 200 mm centres, in 4.8 × 2.4 m sheets | Lap sheets by about 300 mm and lift them on chairs into the slab |
| Fibres | Polypropylene or steel fibres mixed into the concrete at the plant | Quicker to place; adds roughly £30 per m³ |
| None | Plain concrete | Only for small, lightly used slabs with close joints |
Each A142 sheet covers about 9.5 m² once lapped, so a 24 m² single drive needs 3 sheets.
Concrete shrinks as it dries and moves with the temperature. Joints divide the drive into bays so the cracks form in straight lines where you want them. The calculator places joints so that no bay side is longer than 4 m, and adds a joint where an L-shaped bay meets the main drive.
Joints can be formed with a filler board when you pour, or saw-cut into the surface within a day or two. Put a compressible strip against the house wall and any manhole covers, so the slab can move without pushing on them.
For a driveway, ask the supplier for PAV1, the paving mix in the British Standard for concrete. It is air-entrained to resist frost and de-icing salt. A C32/40 mix is the usual alternative. Avoid weak C20 mixes used for footings.
If you mix on site instead, use 1 part cement to 4 parts all-in ballast. That works out at about 14–15 bags of cement and 1.7 tonnes of ballast per cubic metre, so it only makes sense for very small drives. Our cement calculator and ballast calculator cover site mixing in detail.
| Item | Typical 2026 price |
|---|---|
| Brushed concrete, installed | £60–£100 per m² |
| Exposed aggregate, installed | £80–£120 per m² |
| Pattern imprinted, installed | £90–£140 per m² |
| Ready-mix concrete | £100–£160 per m³, plus part-load charges |
| Type 1 sub-base | £30–£45 per tonne |
| 8-yard skip | £250–£400 |
A typical single drive of 24 m² costs about £1,500–£2,600 fitted with a brushed finish, and a 60 m² double drive £3,800–£6,500. London and the South East are higher. Removing an old drive, drainage channels and a dropped kerb are usually extra.
The tapered shape is worked out as a trapezium, and the L-shape as the main drive plus the extra part. The installed price is the area times your price per m², with a low and high range of −20% and +35%.
8 m × 3 m is 24 m². At 100 mm, that is 2.4 m³, or 2.75 m³ to order with 5% extra. It needs 8.3 tonnes of Type 1 at 150 mm, 3 sheets of A142 mesh and one joint across the middle. Materials come to about £795, and a brushed drive fitted at £80 per m² is about £1,920.
10 m × 6 m is 60 m². At 125 mm, order 8 m³, which is more than one lorry. It needs about 21 tonnes of Type 1, 7 mesh sheets and six bays, with joints across at 3.3 m and one down the middle.
12 m long, 3 m wide at the road and 6 m at the house is 54 m². At 150 mm for a motorhome, order 8.75 m³.
In England, you do not need planning permission for a new front driveway if it uses a permeable surface, or if rainwater runs onto a lawn, border or soakaway on your own land. Otherwise, a solid surface over 5 m² that drains onto the road needs planning permission. Read the government guidance on surfacing front gardens before you start. Crossing a pavement also needs a dropped kerb approved by your council.
Multiply the area by the thickness. An 8 × 3 m drive at 100 mm is 2.4 m³, so order about 2.75 m³ with a little extra.
At least 100 mm for cars on firm ground, 125 mm for most family drives and 150 mm for vans, motorhomes or soft ground, on 150 mm of compacted Type 1.
It is strongly recommended. A142 mesh or fibres hold cracks closed. Plain concrete is only suitable for small, lightly used areas with close joints.
No more than about 4 m apart, so each bay is roughly square and no more than 4 m on a side.
PAV1 paving concrete, or C32/40. It resists frost and road salt far better than the weaker mixes used for footings.
In 2026, about £60–£100 per m² for brushed concrete and £90–£140 per m² for pattern imprinted, fitted. A single drive is often £1,500–£2,600.
Walk on it after a day or two, but keep cars off for at least 7 days, and heavy vehicles for about 28 days while it gains strength.
Not if water drains onto your own garden or a soakaway. A non-permeable front drive over 5 m² that drains to the road needs permission in England.
Volumes use the area and thickness entered, rounded up to the next 0.25 m³. Type 1 is taken at 2.1 tonnes per m³ compacted, with 10% extra. A142 sheets are 4.8 × 2.4 m with 300 mm laps. Default prices are typical 2026 UK figures from trade price guides, excluding VAT. Reviewed November 2026.