Our published guide figures are £15–£40 an hour, £150–£250 a day per landscaper, £80–£150 per m² for a patio, £80–£120 per m² for a block-paved driveway with excavation extra, and £80–£150 per fence panel supplied and fitted. Access and spoil removal move the figure more than the surface material does.
- Access is often the biggest variable. No side gate changes the whole method.
- Spoil removal is a real cost people forget — a patio excavation is several tonnes.
- The base build-up is what you are paying for. The surface is the visible part.
- Front gardens have drainage rules that affect which surfaces are allowed.
Our published guide prices
These are the figures we publish across this site. They are planning ranges; every garden is surveyed, with levels taken, before it is quoted.
| Job | Typical Coventry guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Landscaper, hourly | £15–£40/hr | Task dependent |
| Day rate | £150–£250/day | Per landscaper |
| Patio | £80–£150 per m² | Material dependent |
| Block-paved driveway | £80–£120 per m² | Excavation extra |
| Fencing | £80–£150 per panel | Supplied & fitted |
The driveway figure is explicitly excavation-extra, which is honest and worth noting — on a driveway, excavation and spoil removal are a substantial part of the job rather than a detail.
What actually drives the cost
Access
Frequently the largest variable and the one clients least expect. A front driveway with the road alongside is straightforward: materials are delivered to the work and spoil goes straight into a grab lorry. A rear garden reached only through the house is a different job entirely — every tonne of aggregate and every barrow of spoil goes through your hallway, by hand. That can multiply the labour on an identical specification.
Spoil removal
Excavating a patio produces several tonnes of material that has to leave site and be disposed of legally. It is a genuine line item, not padding, and it scales with the depth of the base — which is driven by the ground conditions and what the surface has to carry.
The base build-up
What is under the surface decides whether it lasts. Excavation to an adequate depth, a compacted sub-base of the right material and thickness, and a proper bedding layer. It is invisible once finished, which is exactly why it is the first thing cut from a cheap quote.
Levels and drainage
Falls have to run away from the house, surfaces must finish at least 150mm below the damp-proof course, and the water has to go somewhere. Where levels need significant changing, or drainage has to be designed in, that is real work.
Materials
Porcelain above natural stone above concrete, broadly. But material is a smaller share of a landscaping budget than people expect — labour, excavation and disposal dominate.
Why the base is most of the job
A patio is not slabs. It is an excavation, a compacted sub-base, a bedding layer and then slabs, and the first three are what determine whether it is still flat in ten years.
The failures we are asked to put right nearly always trace to the same shortcuts: the excavation was too shallow, the sub-base was too thin or never properly compacted, or the slabs were spot-bedded on five dabs of mortar rather than a full bed.
Spot-bedding is the worst of them. It leaves voids under each slab which fill with water, and in frost that water expands and lifts or cracks the slab. It is faster and uses less material, and it is invisible from above until the surface starts rocking.
None of this can be inspected once the job is finished. The only protection is asking what the build-up will be — excavation depth, sub-base thickness, and whether slabs are laid on a full mortar bed — and getting it in writing. A contractor who answers precisely is telling you something.
Front gardens and the drainage rule
Worth knowing before you plan a driveway, because it constrains the options.
In England you need planning permission to lay more than five square metres of hard surfacing between the front of the house and a highway, unless the surface is porous or the water is directed to a permeable area within your property.
Permeable block paving, resin-bound on an open-graded base, and gravel all satisfy it. Impermeable concrete or tarmac draining straight onto the road does not, and would need an application.
It is a rule about where the water goes rather than about the material itself, so the practical answer is usually to design the drainage properly rather than to apply for permission. A soakaway or a permeable surface solves it.
Rear gardens are not covered by this, though the general principle — do not push your surface water onto a neighbour — still applies.
Where a cheap quote is cheap
- Shallow excavation and a thin sub-base, invisible once finished.
- Spot-bedded slabs rather than a full mortar bed.
- Spoil removal excluded, or spoil left in a heap at the end of the garden.
- No drainage provision, so water finds its own way — often towards the house or the neighbour.
- Falls not set out, so the surface ponds.
- Finishing too close to the damp-proof course, which causes damp inside.
- No edge restraint on block paving, which then spreads and settles at the perimeter.
- Artificial grass laid over existing turf rather than on a prepared base.
Where you can sensibly save
- Improve access if you can — even taking down a fence panel to get a mini-digger and barrows through makes a real difference.
- Reuse what is there where the existing base is sound, which occasionally it is.
- Keep the shape simple. Curves and complex cuts cost labour.
- Choose a standard paving size rather than a mixed-size pattern, which is slower to lay.
- Do the soft landscaping yourself — planting, topsoil, turf — and have us do the hard landscaping.
- Phase it, but complete each area properly rather than half-doing everything.
- Book out of season. Spring is the busiest period for garden work.
We take levels, check access and the damp-proof course, and set out the base build-up in writing rather than leaving it to trust.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a patio cost?
Our published guide figure is £80–£150 per m², depending on the material. Where a specific job sits in that range depends far more on access and excavation depth than on the slabs — a rear garden reached only through the house costs considerably more per square metre than one with side access.
Why is access such a big deal?
Because every tonne of aggregate in and every tonne of spoil out has to travel. With side access a digger and a grab lorry do it in hours. Without, it is barrows through your hallway, by hand, repeatedly. On an identical specification that can multiply the labour.
Do I need planning permission for a driveway?
In England, for more than five square metres of hard surfacing between the front of the house and a highway — unless the surface is porous or water is directed to a permeable area within the property. Permeable block paving, resin-bound and gravel all satisfy it. It is a rule about drainage rather than materials.
What should be under a patio?
Excavation to an adequate depth, a compacted sub-base of the right material and thickness, then a full mortar bed under each slab — not five dabs. Spot-bedding leaves voids that fill with water and crack or lift the slabs in frost, and it is invisible until the surface starts rocking.
Is spoil removal included in a quote?
It should be, and it is worth confirming. A patio excavation produces several tonnes of material that must leave site and be disposed of legally. A quote that excludes it, or that proposes leaving the spoil in a heap at the end of the garden, is not comparable with one that includes it.
How far below the house should a patio finish?
At least 150mm below the damp-proof course, with the fall running away from the building. A patio laid level, or up against brickwork above the damp-proof course, puts water into the wall — and that shows up as internal damp which no amount of treatment inside will fix.
The base is what you are buying
We take levels, check access and the damp-proof course, and write the base build-up into the quote so you can compare like with like. Free survey.