Coloured tarmac driveways
In short
Tarmac in red, buff, green or grey rather than black — either as a pigmented asphalt laid through, or as a surface coating applied over black tarmac. The two are very different products with very different lifespans, and knowing which you are being quoted matters.
Also called: Red tarmac driveway · Coloured asphalt · Green tarmac · Tarmac with a colour finish
Signs you need this
- Wanting something warmer than black across a large frontage
- Matching an existing red or buff surface elsewhere on the property
- A house where black tarmac would look heavy
- Marking out a parking bay or a separate path within a larger area
- A previous coloured drive that has worn through in the wheel tracks
- Wanting a seamless surface but not a black one
There are two quite separate things sold as coloured tarmac and they behave nothing alike. The first is a coloured asphalt: the mix itself is made with a clear or pigmentable binder and coloured aggregate, so the colour goes through the material. The second is a coating — a pigmented resin or acrylic slurry brushed or sprayed over ordinary black tarmac. Both look similar on day one. One of them still looks like that in ten years.
Coloured asphalt is the real product. Because the colour is in the mix rather than on it, it wears the way black tarmac wears: the surface gradually opens up and lightens slightly, but there is no coating to flake, peel or wear off in the wheel tracks. It costs meaningfully more than black, because clear binders and coloured aggregates are more expensive than bitumen and grey stone, and it is worth paying for if the colour is the point.
Coatings are cheaper and honest about nothing. A pigmented coating over black tarmac wears through first exactly where the tyres run, so within a few years you have a red drive with two black stripes down it. Recoating is possible and becomes a running cost. It is not a scam in itself — a good coating on a good base is a reasonable budget option — but it should be sold as what it is, and it very often is not.
Red is the colour people ask for most and it comes with one caveat worth knowing. Red pigments and red aggregates are more UV-sensitive than most, so a red drive will lighten over the years however it is made. A red coloured asphalt lightens evenly and gracefully; a red coating wears off in patches. Buff and green behave similarly. Grey is the most stable of the coloured options.
Underneath, none of this changes anything. A coloured tarmac drive is still a tarmac drive and still needs the same excavation, the same compacted stone base, the same binder course beneath the coloured wearing course, and the same restrained edge. Spending the extra on colour and saving it on depth is the wrong trade every time — the colour is the first thing you notice and the last thing that matters.
One planning note. Colour makes no difference to permeability. Coloured tarmac is as impermeable as black, so in a front garden the same rule applies: more than five square metres needs planning permission unless the water goes to a permeable area within your own property. That gets designed in at the start, whatever colour is going on top.
What the job covers
- A plain explanation of coloured asphalt versus a surface coating
- Full excavation, membrane and compacted stone base as standard
- Black binder course beneath the coloured wearing course
- Coloured asphalt laid and rolled hot, or coating applied to a prepared surface
- Edgings bedded and haunched in concrete to every free edge
- Drainage designed to satisfy the front-garden planning rule
- An honest expectation of how the colour will age
What it costs
We don't publish a price for this yet, because a number pulled out of the air is worse than no number at all — your contractor has to honour it. On driveways it would also be close to meaningless: the groundworks are usually the biggest single factor, and how deep the dig has to go varies enormously house to house. You'll get a firm price for your actual job when they ring you back, before any work starts. The quote itself is free and there's no obligation either way.
Common questions
Is coloured tarmac the same as painted tarmac?
No, and the difference is the whole question. Coloured asphalt has the colour through the material, so it wears like tarmac. A coating is pigment applied on top of black tarmac and wears off where the tyres run, typically leaving black wheel tracks within a few years. Ask which one you are being quoted, and get the answer in writing.
Does red tarmac fade?
It lightens, yes — red pigments and red aggregates are the most UV-sensitive of the common options. A properly made coloured asphalt lightens evenly and still looks like a red drive. A coating fades unevenly and wears through in the wheel tracks. Grey is the most colour-stable choice, with buff and green in between.
Does it cost much more than black?
Coloured asphalt does, because clear binders and coloured aggregates cost more than bitumen and ordinary stone. Coatings cost much less up front and carry a recoating cost every few years. We do not publish figures, but the honest framing is that coloured asphalt is a premium and a coating is a deferred expense rather than a saving.
Do I still need drainage or planning permission?
Yes — colour has nothing to do with permeability. Coloured tarmac is as impermeable as black, so in a front garden more than five square metres needs planning permission unless the water is directed to a permeable area within your own property. That is designed in at the start regardless of the finish.
Need this doing in Macclesfield?
Tell us the job and it goes straight to our local contractor — one call back, usually the same day. Free quote, no obligation.