What a new driveway or patio actually costs — and why quotes differ so much
Driveways and patios, both. Everything below is what a contractor looks at before giving you a number — read it and you'll know more than most people who've already had three quotes.
The four things that decide your price
Two quotes for the same driveway or patio can be thousands apart. It's almost never the concrete — it's these.
The ground underneath
How much is dug out, and how well it's compacted before anything is poured. Most failed concrete isn't bad concrete, it's a bad base. It's also the part nobody itemises — which is exactly why cheap quotes are cheap.
Thickness
A patio holding garden furniture and a driveway holding a truck are not the same slab. Say up front what will sit on it — and if there's any chance of a car on a patio, or an RV on a driveway, say that too. It's cheaper to pour it right than to relay it.
Reinforcement
Mesh or fibre running through the slab. Concrete moves; reinforcement decides whether that shows up as a hairline you never notice or a crack you can put a finger in.
Access and drainage
Whether a truck can reach the pour or it has to be barrowed — which is where back-garden patios get expensive — and where water goes once the surface is solid. Get drainage wrong and it runs towards your house.
Finishes, and what they change
Broom finish — the standard. Textured, grippy underfoot, the most forgiving in wet weather and the least expensive.
Exposed aggregate — the stone in the mix is washed to the surface. Hides marks well and looks closer to natural stone.
Stamped and coloured — pressed while wet to imitate brick, slate or flagstone. The biggest visual change for the money, and the most dependent on who's doing it.
Patios take colour and stamping better than driveways do, because nothing heavy is grinding over them. Either way, ask to see a finish in person before you choose — photos flatter concrete, daylight doesn't.
Why waiting costs you
Material and haulage costs have moved every year for the last few years, and quotes are held for weeks, not months. The number you're given now is the cheapest version of this job you'll be offered — and spring is when every crew in the area books out first, patios especially.
What the finishes look like
Examples of the finishes above, so you can picture them before you choose. Your own quote is priced on your property, not these.
Three questions worth asking anyone who quotes you
How deep is the base, and is it compacted?
Ask it about a patio too — a shallow base under a patio fails just as surely, it simply takes an extra winter to show.
What's the slab thickness, and what's in it?
You want a number and a reinforcement type, not "standard".
Are control joints being cut, and where?
Cut properly, concrete cracks where someone decided. Not cut, it cracks across the middle — of your driveway, or of the patio you're sitting on.