Type 3 Sub-base: Reduced-Fines Aggregate – cost per m³ – 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.

Type 3 sub-base

per m³ · supply & lay

£86 – £166 / m³

What is it

The supply and laying of Type 3 reduced-fines granular sub-base, spread in layers and compacted to form a load-bearing yet free-draining base beneath SUDS and permeable pavements, tree pits, drainage layers and working platforms, priced per m³ of compacted material in place. Type 3 is the same crushed rock as Type 1 but screened to an open grading with a low fines content, so water drains through it rather than being held in the layer. Material supply sets the delivered stone price, which is the bulk of the rate, and comes in three bands:

Near source — a local quarry on a short haul.
Standard — a typical regional haul.
Long haul — a remote source beyond about 30 miles.

Rate range by material supply

Near source£86 – £128 / m³

Standard haul£96 – £142 / m³

Long haul£115 – £166 / m³

Budget rate per m³.

3 key cost drivers

Material supply & haul

The delivered stone is around 90% of the cost, so the quarry source and haul distance are the top driver. Type 3 is screened to remove fines, so it costs more per tonne than ordinary Type 1.

Laying context

Standard machine-laid areas run fast; working around services, to tight levels or by hand slows the gang and adds over-supply, raising the rate per m³.

Location

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

Estimator

Budget rate generator

Material supply

Laying context

£96 – £124 / m³

Covers DfT Type 3 reduced-fines sub-base, the laying gang with its excavator & roller, and O&P · excl. prelims & VAT

Exclusions

Lifting & material distribution — the site dumper and any forward-haul plant (an attendance, in main-contractor prelims)
Excavation, formation preparation & capping layer
Geotextile / separation membrane, kerbs & edgings
Surfacing — tarmac, block paving or slabs
Disposal of surplus or unsuitable material
VAT