A tar and chip driveway is a surface dressing of hot bitumen sprayed over a sound tarmac or compacted base, with stone chippings spread and rolled into the binder to form a fixed, textured surface.
Cost
£35 – £60 per m²
Lifespan
8 – 15 years
Permeable
No
Best for
Long rural drives, farm tracks and a gravel look without loose stone
Tar and chip needs a sound base. An existing tarmac driveway in fair condition, or a new compacted Type 1 sub-base with a base course, is prepared and cleaned before the bitumen emulsion is sprayed.
Single-dressing tar and chip uses one layer of binder and chippings. Double dressing adds a second layer of smaller chippings and lasts longer under car loading.
Surplus chippings are swept up after rolling and again after a few weeks of use, once the stone has bedded into the binder.
Tar and chip suits long access drives in the towns and countryside around Glasgow, where the area makes resin or monoblock expensive.
Tar and chip costs £35 to £60 per square metre in Glasgow, depending on whether a new base is needed and whether a single or double dressing is used.
A tar and chip driveway lasts 8 to 15 years, and a fresh dressing over the existing surface extends its life.
No. Gravel is loose stone, while tar and chip bonds the chippings into bitumen so they stay fixed in place.
Send your measurements, or ask us to measure on site. We quote by material, sub-base build-up and drainage solution, so you can compare like with like.