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Last updated: 21 August 2023
Minimum depth of hardcore and tarmac required for residential drive
In order to ensure the integrity of your tarmac driveway, it's important to ensure the various layers of the drive are sufficient.
In order to ensure the integrity of your tarmac driveway, it's important to ensure the various layers of the drive are sufficient.
Once you have prepared and compacted the sub-base, below are recommendations for the minimum depth of hardcore and tarmac required for residential drives:
100-150mm of quality type 1 hardcore base (ideally laid and compacted in at least two layers of 50mm-75mm each)
50-80mm of binder base course
20-40mm of surface wearing course (ideally use a 6mm SMA to reduce any scuffing from modern vehicle power steering)
If you live in an area where there's a lot of rain and the soil has poor drainage, it's a good idea to lay a heavy duty geotextile membrane underneath the hardcore and tarmac. A geotextile membrane allows water to pass through whilst keeping the layer of substance above apart from the soil beneath.
Wondering how much a new tarmac drive will cost? Find out in our guide to tarmac driveway costs.
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