How long does a driveway take?

By Taylor Teasdale, Owner · 28 October 2026

For a normal two-car domestic driveway, four to six days on site is typical. The useful thing to understand is where those days actually go, because it explains why a quote promising two days should worry you.

A typical week

Day one — excavation. The existing surface comes up and the ground is dug out to depth, usually 200mm or more for a driveway a car sits on. All of that spoil has to be loaded and carted away. This is the noisiest, most disruptive day and the one where the skip or wagon comes and goes.

Day two — sub-base. Stone goes in and is compacted in layers rather than in one drop, because a compactor only consolidates so far down. This is the part that decides whether the driveway is still flat in ten years, and it cannot be hurried.

Day three — edgings and drainage. Edge restraints bedded and haunched in concrete, any channel drains or soakaways installed, levels and falls set so water goes where it should.

Days four and five — the surface. For block paving: laying, cutting in around the edges, then jointing sand swept in and vibrated down. For resin: the binding layer has to cure fully before any resin goes near it, then the resin is mixed and trowelled out.

Day five or six — finishing. Final compaction, a second sanding where needed, clearing the site and washing the road down.

Resin takes a little longer

Resin-bound needs a solid, cured base beneath it — either concrete or tarmac — and that base must be properly dry before the resin goes on. On a new build-up that adds curing time, which is why a full resin driveway is usually five to seven days rather than four to six.

The exception is laying over a sound existing concrete or tarmac surface. Where the slab underneath is level, sound and draining properly, resin can go straight over it, and that turns the whole job into one or two days. We will dig a test hole and tell you whether yours qualifies.

What causes delays

• Weather — resin cannot be laid wet or onto a damp surface, and no honest contractor will try
• What is found on day one — an old concrete slab, a soakaway, made-up ground or a service nobody knew about
• A dropped kerb — a separate council application that should be approved well before we start
• Access — where a wagon cannot reach, material is shuttled in smaller loads and that adds days

What to plan for

Park elsewhere for the week. Expect noise and a lorry or two in the first couple of days. Keep children and pets off the fresh surface while it cures. And if anyone quotes you a two-day turnaround on a full driveway, ask exactly what depth they are excavating to — the answer is usually the reason.