How much will an Imprinted Concrete driveway Cost?
Before we get started on how to save money, lets make two assumptions.
- You’re not paying over the odds. That means you haven’t been talked into, pressured, or taken some sort of sales gimmicky incentive- to have a pattern imprinted concrete installation.
- You have been provided with a plan that shows the exact area and exact specification of concrete to be used.
Now, whatever the price is that you’ve been quoted halve it….yes that’s right, halve it.
For example, if you’ve been quoted a price of £8,000 halve it to £4,000 because that’s how much you can save by simply completing the ground works (which is the preparation stage yourself).
Imprinted Concrete Driveway Cost Savings – What you’ll need
An electric breaker – These machines will get through almost all concrete and tarmacadam surfaces.
Having a decent breaker means fence posts can be easily removed as well as any layers of concrete and tarmacadam. They are very easy to use but make sure you use good protection equipment.
So. you have the gear now you need an idea of where to start.
Firstly, locate where any utilities are. Think water, gas and electric.
Secondly, dig out an area at the front of your drive. An area of a few square metres or so will do.
Thirdly, start ‘breaking’ and pile up pieces of concrete/taramcadam in the area at the front of your drive.
As you get towards edges that are near your house or garage take extra care and use a hammer and bolster.
Fourthly, use a shovel to clear any smaller pieces of debris and use a spade to make all edges nice and tidy.
Lastly, have a cup of tea and look at the pile. Ring a Grab Lorry company.
Excavated Concrete and Soil ready for Pick up by Grab Lorry
I know what your thinking! How do you get the material piled up like that?
Just use a wheelbarrow!
They’re designed to be pushed and anybody with a muscle – can do it….yes, even you! It helps if you have two or more muscles though but even if you don’t you will definitely develop some by doing this hard manual labour.
Once you have pushed a wheelbarrow over unstable terrain a few times – believe us you will feel it!
Other useful tools include (but are not limited to):
Chisels, Hammers and Bolsters. And don’t forget a shovel, rake and spade.
If that all sounds expensive – it isn’t. Everything for under £350 or so. Then all that is needed is to pay for is the grab lorry to take all excavated materials away.
Everything you Need to Know about Grab Lorry Costs – (including prices)
What you really need to cut down on imprinted concrete driveway costs are muscles and time.
IF saving money is important to you then doing the preparation work yourself (with the help of the husband or boyfriend) will save you thousands.
Check out the movie below which we made….it gives a good overview of the pattern imprinted concrete installation process.
Imprinted Concrete Driveway Cost – Save by Using a Micro Digger
Of course, if the area is more than 50 or so square metres you could hire a digger. These are easy to operate and just have some levers. It’s best practice to dig up using a bucket and grade (to right level) with a wider bucket.
A digger can also be used to distribute TYPE 1 Road stone (a must have for a decent sub base).
WARNING: Hiring a micro digger is not a good idea if you will be swinging its arm/bucket near a building (house/garage). If the area to work on is clear, it really will be easy and probably make you feel good (though caution is urged. Do not be tempted to dig deep without somebody keeping lookout as you may wrench up electric, water or gas pipes – not pleasant and will cost ££££ to put right).
So, take your time.
Give yourself a week or two and do some proper work. As a result of all your hard work and effort the savings you’ll make on your imprinted concrete driveway cost will be hugely satisfying.
Lastly all you’ll need is a decent and professional decorative concrete installer to finish off.
Fortunately for you, we only use the best pattern imprinted concrete installers out there. We’re specialists in the driveway market and only partner with companies that pass our stringent quality assurance standards.
What are you waiting for? Get digging and simply fill in your details below.
