Richard wrote:

Hi, I'm looking for a bit of advice on a choice of construction
technique for a drive I want to put in...
I'm trying to determine the cheapest option which will meet my
criteria, and need to work out approx costs for both a DIY and a
contractor solution, as I'm not sure if I'll have the time myself for
this particular job. The actual area, if I allow a 2m wide strip and a
rectangle of 3x3.5m2 to turn on will be about 66m2.

The cheapest option is dig down a couple of inches, lay down an anti
weed membrane, then dump 3 or 4 tonnes of gravel on it, then rake flat.
Gravel is typically £35/tonne delivered loose. A membrane sheet will be
£40, and a skip, if needed to take away the turf will be £80ish.
Edging stones if needed (round top concrete) are £3/metre.

A better option would be 2 lines of slabs for the driveway (spaced at
between the wheels width), then a slabbed area for the turning. More
expensive, but worthwhile.
A quick calculation shows around 200 450mm square slabs needed, so the
slabs would be ~£325. Add in 3 tonnes of sand(£110), 10 bags of
cement(£35), and a skip (£110), and total materials cost is roughly
£600.
I could do that in 3 days, add another £300 for labour, so around £900
if you pay someone, though I am dead cheap, so you'd probably pay more
labour cost than that.
Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.