Tarmac Driveways in Poole
Send us the postcode and roughly how big the drive is. Tarmac firms covering Poole come back to you with a price.
A tarmac drive for two cars in Poole runs from about £3,000 to £5,000. The ground across much of Poole is clay, which holds water and moves with the weather, and both change how a tarmac drive has to be built. Ask what came up when they dug before you weigh one quote against the next.
Tarmac is one of the five surfaces we price for Poole drives. Block paving, resin, concrete and gravel line up beside it on our driveways in Poole page.
What a tarmac drive costs in Poole
The prices below come from two UK cost guides, both refreshed for 2026. Allow about 20m² for one car and 50m² for two, then read across.
Swipe the table sideways to see every column.
| Drive size | Roughly | Typical cost | Days on site |
|---|---|---|---|
| One car | 20m² | Around £1,500 | 1 to 2 |
| Two cars | 50m² | £3,000 to £5,000 | 1 to 2 |
| Wide or multi car | 80m² and up | £5,000 and up | 2 to 3 |
Laid, that is £60 to £110 the square metre, the cheapest of the solid surfaces. Pulling out the old drive and carting it off adds £30 to £50 a square metre on top. That low price per metre is why tarmac is the common answer on a long Poole drive, where a dearer surface runs the bill up fast.
Tarmac on Poole’s clay
Poole sits on layered clay and sand, and clay is the harder ground to lay tarmac on. It moves, and it holds water, so the base matters more here than the black surface on top.
- Clay moves with the weather. Wet weather swells it and dry weather shrinks it, so a thin base laid straight onto clay cracks as the ground shifts beneath, often within a couple of winters. A deeper dug out and well compacted sub-base is what holds a tarmac drive flat here. The named Poole clays are on our block paving in Poole page.
- The water has to go somewhere. Tarmac is sealed, so it sheds every drop off the top. On clay a soakaway often fills and stops working, so the drive has to fall to a border or a drain that can take it. Where the water can go on Poole ground is set out on our block paving in Poole page.
- Porous tarmac needs draining ground beneath it. The open version that lets water through only works if what is under it can take that water away. On clay it rarely can, which is covered alongside the free draining gravel it does suit on our tarmac driveways in Christchurch page.
What goes under a Poole tarmac drive
The black you see is only the top of a tarmac drive. Under it sit three more layers over a dug out base, and the middle layer is the one a cheap quote thins down. The full build, layer by layer, with the depths worth asking about, is on our driveways in Christchurch page. On Poole clay the dig goes below the usual minimum, because the ground underneath gives less to build on.
Which black surface you are getting
Tarmac and asphalt are not one material, and which one a firm lays changes the price and the life of the drive. The full comparison, and the handful of ways a tarmac drive fails when the job is skimped, are on our tarmac driveways in Christchurch page.
Poole drives and getting the lorry in
Tarmac goes down hot and has to be rolled while it is still hot, so the lorry and the gang need to reach the front of the house. Across Poole that is not always simple.
- Sandbanks and the Old Town. Tight plots and single routes in and out, with nowhere to leave a lorry standing. Hot material barrowed a long way loses its heat, so raise access when you ask for a price.
- Branksome Park and Canford Cliffs. Long drives on large plots, where tarmac keeps the bill down over a wide area. Mature pines are the catch here, because spreading roots push up a tarmac surface and crack it.
- Parkstone and Ashley Cross. Older frontages, often only one car deep. A short tarmac drive is quick, usually a day on site.
- Canford Heath and Creekmoor. Later estate housing, standard drives and easy access. These are the simple tarmac jobs.
Laying tarmac over an old drive
Tarmac is the surface most often laid straight over an old one, which skips the dig and the sub-base and saves the most money. It works only where the old base is solid and the new level still sits below the damp course and clear of the front door. The levels to hold to are on our driveways in Christchurch page.
Getting tarmac quotes in Poole
Send the postcode and the rough size, and say whether this is a fresh drive or a surface going over an old one. If the lorry cannot get to the front of the house, or a tree sits near the drive, mention both, because they change the price.
Where we cover
All of BH12 to BH17. Parkstone, Branksome, Canford Cliffs, Sandbanks, Broadstone, Creekmoor, Hamworthy and Upton.
- BournemouthCheck Now
- PooleAll Surfaces
- ChristchurchCheck Now
Two other towns, two different grounds under the same surface: tarmac driveways in Christchurch on gravel, and tarmac driveways in Bournemouth on sand.