Resurface or replace your driveway?
If the surface is tired but the ground underneath is solid, renewing just the top is far cheaper than ripping the lot out. But if the drive is sinking, holding water or full of deep potholes, the base has failed and a resurface won't last. Tell us the surface, the size and how sound the base is, and we'll show you both costs side by side with a verdict. Free, no sign-up.
A guide, not a quote. The ranges are typical 2025/26 UK fitted prices, inclusive of VAT, from published industry averages: a resurface renews the top — an overlay, re-lay or re-coat — keeping the existing sub-base; a replacement digs out the old drive, lays a new compacted sub-base and a new surface. They exclude drainage, a dropped kerb, retaining walls and tree-root removal, and assume reasonable access. SuDS rules may require a permeable surface or soakaway if you're replacing — check before you commit. The only real number is a measured, written quote — get at least three. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
It all hangs on the base. Sound base: resurface. Failed base: rebuild.
A resurface only works on a sound base. If the cracks are surface-level, the colour's faded, there's a bit of moss or a shallow pothole or two — but the drive is flat and solid underfoot — then renewing the top layer is the smart money. A tarmac overlay, a block-paving lift-and-relay, or a resin coat over sound tarmac costs a fraction of a full rebuild and lasts well.
Sinking, pooling and deep potholes mean the base has gone. If the drive dips, holds puddles, has potholes you can lose a fist in, or blocks that rock when you stand on them, the problem is the sub-base, not the surface. Resurface it and the new top will crack and sink in the same places within a season — you'd be paying twice. A full dig-out and new compacted sub-base is the only lasting fix.
Drainage and SuDS. Since 2008, a new impermeable driveway over 5 m² that drains to the road or a soakaway can need planning permission — permeable surfaces (gravel, permeable block, resin-bound on the right base) usually don't. If water currently runs toward your house or floods the road, that has to be designed out as part of a replacement; a resurface can't fix it.
Changing the look means rebuilding anyway. If you want to go from tarmac to block paving or resin, that's a replacement by definition — you can't overlay a different material reliably without the right base prep. Factor that in: the "resurface" saving only exists if you keep broadly the same surface.
Beware the doorstep tarmac gang. "We've got leftover tarmac from a job up the road" is the oldest driveway scam there is. Use a reviewed local groundworker, get three written quotes that specify the sub-base depth and surface thickness, and never pay cash up front to a passing trader.
Keep your driveway project in one place.
Stead's home improvements log tracks the budget against what you actually spend, holds the workmanship guarantee with its expiry, and keeps the before-and-after photos and invoices you'll want at sale time — all alongside the rest of your home's record.