Tarmac
Tarmac driveways on the Wirral
The most economical way to cover a large area, and the surface that most rewards a properly built base.
- Dig depth and sub base stated in writing
- Edge restraint haunched, not just laid
- Drainage designed, not left to the border
Tarmac driveways
Where tarmac is the right answer
Tarmac wins on area. On a small terrace frontage the difference between tarmac and block paving is modest, because the cost is dominated by the excavation and the sub base, which are the same either way. On a long drive or a large turning area the difference becomes substantial, and that is where tarmac genuinely is the sensible choice rather than the cheap one.
Laid properly it goes down in two layers: a binder course that provides the strength and a wearing course that provides the finished surface. A single thin layer over a sub base is the version that cracks at the edges and crazes in the sun within a few years, and it is what a surprisingly large number of cheap tarmac drives actually are.
The honest limitations are worth stating. Tarmac softens in real heat and will mark under a motorcycle stand, a trailer jockey wheel or a car jack. It fades from black to grey over a few years, which is normal. And a repair, however well done, is visible, because new tarmac does not match weathered tarmac. If an invisible repair matters to you, block paving is the better purchase. Often asked about alongside imprinted concrete driveways, gravel driveways and patios and paths.
Get a price for the tarmacA binder course for strength and a wearing course for the surface. A single thin layer is the one that crazes.
On a small frontage the saving is modest. On a long drive it is substantial, because the groundworks are the same either way.
New tarmac does not match weathered tarmac. If that matters, block paving is the better buy.
Done across Bromborough, Heswall, and everywhere else on the peninsula. Cleaning, sealing and re-sanding an existing drive is a different trade: that goes to Wirral Exterior Cleaning.
Tarmac driveways on the Wirral
What this job looks like
These are placeholders, not photographs of our work. There are no job photographs on this site yet and nothing here is borrowed from anybody else's. Real ones go in as jobs are finished and customers are happy for us to use them.
Why people use us
Edges, which is where tarmac fails first
Tarmac has no inherent edge, so an unsupported edge crumbles. A kerb, a block edging or a haunch is part of the job.
- Binder and wearing courses stated separately
- Laid thickness in writing rather than described as a layer
- A restrained edge, kerb or block edging, included
- Rolled while hot, in dry conditions
Frequently asked questions
Tarmac driveways: the questions people ask
The ones that come up most. If yours is not here, ring and ask.
How long before I can drive on new tarmac?
It is usable quite quickly but it continues to harden for weeks, and during that time it will mark under a point load. Avoid turning the wheels while stationary, and keep jacks, stands and jockey wheels off it with a board under them for the first few weeks.
Why do tarmac drives crack at the edges?
Because tarmac has no edge of its own. Without a kerb, a block edging or a proper haunch, the unsupported edge crumbles under wheels. Any tarmac quote without an edge detail in it is missing the part that fails first.
Will it go grey?
Yes, over a few years, as the bitumen at the surface weathers. That is normal rather than a fault. It can be sealed to restore the colour, which is maintenance work rather than ours.
Can you tarmac over my existing drive?
Sometimes, if it is sound and the levels work, and it saves the excavation. The levels are the catch: adding a layer raises the surface, which matters at a garage threshold, a door, an air brick or a manhole.
Done across Bromborough, Heswall, and everywhere else on the peninsula. Cleaning, sealing and re-sanding an existing drive is a different trade: that goes to Wirral Exterior Cleaning.
Tell us the area and the access
Tarmac is priced on area and on whether the plant can get to it, so both are worth saying up front.
About Wirral Driveways
How the work is actually organised
Wirral Driveways takes the job as main contractor and puts the labour and the plant on it. One person quotes it, one person is answerable for it, and you are not chasing a groundworker and a paviour separately to find out who is coming.
What you get is a written scope with the build up stated, a date, and somebody whose problem it is if the date moves.
We install. We do not clean
This matters enough to say on its own page. Cleaning, sealing and re-sanding an existing driveway is a genuine trade and it is not this one. It needs different equipment, different materials and a different way of pricing.
So we do not offer it, we do not quote for it, and when you ask we will point you at wirralexteriorcleaning.com, which does it properly. Saying yes to work we are not set up for would be the easy answer and the wrong one.
What else we will tell you we are not
Structural retaining walls above a modest height, anything involving a highway other than a straightforward vehicle crossing, and tree surgery on a protected tree are all other people's work. All three come up on driveway jobs and all three are worth bringing the right person in for.
No photographs of our work, and why the site says so
There are no job photographs on this site. The slots are placeholders and they are labelled as placeholders. Nothing here is a stock picture presented as a job and nothing is borrowed from another company.
Real ones go in as jobs are finished and customers are happy for us to use them. The same goes for anything that looks like a customer quote: there is a section built and ready, switched off, until there are real ones with permission attached.
Get in touch
Tell us roughly how big the area is, what is on it now and which way it falls. A photograph from the pavement and one from the house answers most of it before anybody rings you back.
- Phone0151 453 8836
- Emailcontact@wirraldriveways.com
- WhatsAppSend us a photo of the job
- Based inWirral, Merseyside
- HoursMon to Fri 8 to 6, Sat 8 to 2, closed Sunday