Binder-Course Regulating Layer: ~50 mm AC20 – cost per m² – UK 2026 Rate Guide

Budget rate for supply & lay · typical budget rate before your adjustments

Labour, plant, materials, outputs and waste — yours to edit, as an Excel. Three free.

Rates are UK national (non-London): central London and constrained urban sites typically run dearer — adjust the labour, plant and access lines in the build-up accordingly.

Binder-course regulating layer (~50 mm)

per m² · supply & lay

£23 – £44 / m²

What is it

The supply and laying of a ~50 mm AC20 binder / regulating course, machine-laid in a single pass to a prepared, structurally-adequate base, priced per m² of finished course. A sprayed tack (prime) coat, then the binder course laid to line & level by the paver and compacted by the roller — used to regulate and level a base before the surface course, or as a strengthening base course. This rate prices the binder / regulating course ONLY — the surface (wearing) course on top, planing of the old road, kerbs, ironwork, markings and traffic management are separate items. The rate carries three operations:

Tack / prime coat — a sprayed bitumen-emulsion coat to key the binder course to the prepared base.
Machine-lay — the ~50 mm AC20 binder course laid to line & level by the paver to regulate the surface.
Compaction — the mat rolled to density by the tandem roller.

Rate range by binder spec

Close-graded AC20 base£23 – £29 / m²

AC20 dense binder (standard)£27 – £35 / m²

Heavy high-binder AC20£34 – £44 / m²

Budget rate per m².

3 key cost drivers

Substrate, thickness & access

A sound base with long, open paver runs at the standard ~50 mm regulating thickness lays fastest. A thicker base lift or a thin regulating skim changes the tonnage; short runs, many joints, ironwork to box out, night working with traffic management and restricted access all slow the gang and lift the rate per m². The London & South-East market runs dearer. Region rides this note, not a dropdown.

Binder spec

An AC20 dense binder course is the priced default. A close-graded AC20 base is the lighter-duty option; a heavier high-binder AC20, for high-stress or heavily-trafficked bases, runs dearer. It is the driver of material cost — the calculator flexes the binder course across its delivered price band. Material dominates the m² rate, so the spec is the main lever.

Location

London and the South East typically add around 20% to labour.

Estimator

Budget rate generator

Binder spec

£27 – £35 / m²

Covers the tack/prime coat, the machine-laid binder course, the surfacing gang, paver & roller and O&P · excl. planing/excavation, the surface course, kerbs, ironwork, markings, traffic management & VAT

Exclusions

Lifting & material distribution — telehandler / forklift, hoist and site-distribution labour (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
Planing / milling or excavation of the old road, and the surface (wearing) course on top (a separate line)
Kerbs & edgings, ironwork adjustment, road markings, traffic management, prelims & VAT
Scaffold supply (usually in preliminaries)
Preliminaries — main-contractor site set-up, management & welfare
VAT