Tar and chip driveway cost in Ireland

The honest answer is that tar and chip is usually one of the cheaper hard surfaces you can put on a driveway, but nobody can give you a fair figure for yours without seeing it. Two driveways of the same size can come out very differently once the ground, the base and the drainage are looked at. So this guide doesn't list prices. It sets out what moves the cost up or down, how tar and chip sits against tarmacadam and gravel, and how to get a real figure from Eddie for nothing.

What decides the cost of a tar and chip driveway

Five things make most of the difference.

• Length and area. A long lane takes more stone, more bitumen and more time than a short drive. Bigger areas tend to work out better per square metre, because the machinery has to come out either way.
• The base. If there's a sound, well compacted base already, the job is mostly surface work. If the ground has to be dug out and a new stone base built up and rolled, that is the bigger part of the bill.
• Access. A lorry and roller that can drive straight in make for a quicker job than a tight entrance or a drive round the back of the house.
• Chip choice. Local stone is usually the plain option. A particular colour of chip brought in from further away costs more.
• Drainage. Water has to go somewhere. If the falls aren't right, or water sits at the gate or the garage, a channel or a soakaway may be needed.

Edging is the one people forget. Kerbs or a firm edge keep the chips and the base where they belong, and they are part of the price.

How a tar and chip driveway is laid

Knowing the steps helps you read a quote, because each one is a line of work.

1. Prepare the ground

   the area is dug out where needed, levelled and given the right falls so water runs off.

2. Build the base

   crushed stone goes down in layers and is rolled hard. This is where a driveway lasts or fails.

3. Spray the binder

   hot bitumen is sprayed evenly over the base.

4. Spread and roll the chips

   stone chippings go straight onto the hot bitumen and are rolled in so they bed down.

5. Sweep the loose stone

   some chips don't take, and they are swept off over the first weeks of use.

On an old driveway that's still solid, tar and chip can sometimes go over the existing surface, which saves the digging. Whether that works depends on the state of what's there.

Tar and chip against tarmacadam on cost

Tar and chip generally costs less to lay than tarmacadam over the same area. Tarmacadam is a hot mix laid in layers by machine and rolled smooth, so there is more material and more work in it. That's one reason tar and chip is common on long country lanes and farm entrances.

What the extra buys you with tarmacadam is a smooth, dark, sealed finish that copes well with tight turning and a lot of daily traffic. Tar and chip gives a stone look with good grip in the wet, which suits a rural house and a long run of lane. Both need a good base under them, and that part of the cost is much the same either way.

Tar and chip against gravel on cost

Loose gravel is usually the lowest cost of the three to lay, because there's no bitumen and less machinery on the day. The catch comes later. Gravel moves, ruts at the gate, ends up on the lawn and needs raking and topping up. Tar and chip holds the stone in place, so it looks like gravel without the gravel following you into the house. For a lot of people that's the reason they pick it.

Costs that aren't on the surface

A few items sit outside the surface itself.

• Taking away the old surface or the soil that's dug out
• A membrane under the base on soft ground
• Extra base where the ground is wet, or where farm machinery will use it
• Raising or lowering manhole and meter covers to the new level

None of these are unusual. A good quote names them so there are no surprises halfway through the job.

Comparing quotes

When you have more than one price, ask each person what's included in the base and the drainage. Two quotes can look far apart simply because one includes the groundwork and the other doesn't. Ask how deep the ground will be dug, what stone goes in, and where the water will go. A cheaper figure that leaves out the base usually costs more in the end, when the surface starts to break up.

Getting a real figure for your driveway

Eddie lays tar and chip driveways from Mullinavat across Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, Carlow and south Tipperary, with his own materials and machinery. The quote is free and there's no obligation. It's based on the length, the ground, the access and where the water goes on your driveway, not on a figure from a table.

Call Eddie on 087 120 4286, or send a WhatsApp to the same number.