# Cost of gravel?



## bragan (21 Oct 2008)

Hello,

I am hoping to start building a house next year, and i'm trying to figure out the cost etc so i know how much to borrow.

We are going to have a very long drive, around 250m to our house. I'm wondering how much it will roughly cost to get gravel\hardcore to cover that area. I'm guessing it will be about 8 or 9 feet wide. ballpark figure, anyone?


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## Silvergirl (21 Oct 2008)

We paid about Eur 240 incl vat to John A Wood Ballygarvan in Cork per load (20 tons approx) of blinding for our drive way. Not a clue how many you'd need for your drive. Hard core may be a bit cheaper per load. Your best bet is to ring a few quarries around you.

We needed 2 loads for the front of our house - would park 5 cars or so with a small bit of room to turn.


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## wexford dude (21 Oct 2008)

bragan,

A good basic guide for calculating how much gravel/stone you will need is 6m2 @ 100mm deep = 1 tonne of compacted stone.
At 3m wide (which is quite narrow) you will have approx 750m2.You will really want a minimum if 6'' (150mm of stone).This means you will need approx. 180 tonne of stone.A standard lorry carries 20 tonne => you would need 9 lorries.
Currently I can get good quality stone for €220 per load.At this price it would cost €2000.

Some notes of interest:
- at 3m wide this would barely take a block or cement lorry.
- before kerbing you should probably put in 1 or 2 layby's to avoid excessive reversing if 2 cars meet
-this is just the drive.There will be additional stone around the house.I have allowed 6'' of depth which is minimum.As the depth increases so does the cost.You may hit soft spots as you dig out the drive which will have to be filled with stone.
- I would recommend three inch down for the drive.A big stone with a bit of dust for cohesion.
- Your main job will be to find ''GOOD QUALITY'' stone for the right price.
- Are you sure you shouldn't get some help pricing this house.It's a good time to build but the worst thing you can do is under-budget.

Best of luck with it.


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## bragan (21 Oct 2008)

Thanks everyone. 

I was guessing the width so I could get an initial idea of cost. Nothing has been decided. 

Wexford dude....when you mean getting some help pricing this house, what do you mean?? I thought we were on our own here.

Currently we have got quotes from the building contractor, and i'm adding on all costs that I can think off - ESB, Water, Solictior Fees, Architects Fees, Kitchen & Bathroom, Tiles, Furniture, driveway, garden conditions of planning permission, etc. Contractor covers all from site clearance to second fixing.

We think the total will come in around €260,000. We are applying for €280,000, plus we will have €30,000 in savings. I'm hoping that covering the risks will enough. And worst comes to worse, we can put off building our garage...just put in the foundations & floors and save another €15,000. I'm worried about not borrowing enough too. Better to have too much than too little....


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## wexford dude (22 Oct 2008)

Hi bragan,

From your original post I did not realise that you had your project priced and that the only outstanding item really is the drive - apologies.

In fairness you seem to be covering all the bases.

Have you considered going direct labour.You would save the builder's fees and possibly get a better product.


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## airgead07 (27 Feb 2012)

*chipping/pebble driveway*



wexford dude said:


> bragan,
> 
> A good basic guide for calculating how much gravel/stone you will need is 6m2 @ 100mm deep = 1 tonne of compacted stone.
> At 3m wide (which is quite narrow) you will have approx 750m2.You will really want a minimum if 6'' (150mm of stone).This means you will need approx. 180 tonne of stone.A standard lorry carries 20 tonne => you would need 9 lorries.
> ...


 
Hi wexford dude

I am trying to calculate how much chipping/pebble I would require to cover our driveway. I don't have an exact measurement of the driveway to hand but someone be able to help do the maths.

we currently have a layer of 804 which is to be rolled using a ride on roller. What dept of top stone would we then require?


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