Home / Cost guides / What changes a concrete price per cubic metre?
What changes a concrete price per cubic metre?
In Cheshire, a concrete price per cubic metre depends on the mix the supplier names, how much you order, how far it travels and how it is placed. This page does not print a supplier tariff, and it explains the questions that make two quotations for the same pour comparable.
Last reviewed:A cubic metre is a volume, not a finished job
Concrete price per m3 is the question suppliers are asked, and it is the wrong question if it is the only one. In Cheshire the delivered price of a cubic metre still leaves out the pump, the barrow run, the time the wagon waits, and the labour that places it. This page prints no tariff. It lists what to specify so two quotations describe one pour.
Crewe, Nantwich and Sandbach are the starting towns. A short run to a back garden in Crewe can cost more in placement than the concrete itself, which is why the cubic metre on its own misleads. Builders and driveway and paving firms both buy concrete. Ask which one is placing yours.
Anyone in the UK can post or register.
What to name before anyone talks about volume
Tell the supplier the strength or the mix designation they use, the volume in cubic metres, the date, the address, and whether a pump is required. If you do not know the mix, say what the concrete is for: a shed base, a driveway bay, a fence-post footing, or a foundation under an extension. Those are different specifications. Do not invent a strength class. Let the person who is responsible for the design name it.
A minimum load is a commercial term you will see on quotations. This page does not print one, because it would be a supplier's rule rather than a public standard we are citing. Ask each supplier what their minimum is, in writing, for your postcode.
Waiting time, part-load charges and a failed pour because nobody was ready are the lines that make a cheap-looking cubic metre expensive. "Cheap-looking" is a description of a quotation that omits lines, not a claim that any supplier is the low one. Citizens Advice says a written quote should separate the work and the materials and state whether VAT is included, and that a much lower price can mean the work is not the same [S6].
Skin, dust and who should handle the material
Cement-based products, including concrete and mortar, can cause dermatitis and burns [S1]. Wet cement is highly alkaline, and a serious burn can develop if it is trapped against the skin [S1]. Powder is a respiratory irritant. Dust made by cutting or drilling dried concrete can cause more serious lung disease [S1].
The Health and Safety Executive tells the people doing the work to consider pre-mixed concrete so they are not exposed to powder, to use waterproof gloves suitable for alkaline substances, and to wash skin promptly [S1]. Those are workplace controls. They are not a method for a householder to mix structural concrete in a wheelbarrow under a wall. If the pour is a foundation or a suspended slab, the firm that places it should also be the firm that props and finishes it.
For silica, concrete is listed at 25% to 70%, and the workplace exposure limit for respirable crystalline silica is 0.1 mg/m3 over eight hours [S3]. Construction work that cuts concrete is one of the occupations that page names [S3]. Ask the contractor how they will cut, if cutting is required, and do not stand in the dust to "help".
When the pour is part of a building
The Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings [S2]. If you cannot tell whether approval is needed, GOV.UK says to check with a building control body [S2]. Concrete in a house foundation is part of that construction. Concrete for a path may not be. Say which, because the quotation and the paperwork diverge.
GOV.UK: building regulations approval. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation. GOV.UK: find your local council for building control. QuoteZila is not affiliated with this organisation.
A driveway is a common reason to buy concrete or a concrete alternative. Scope for the hardstanding itself is discussed in the driveway cost guide. Fence posts that sit in concrete are a different small pour. The fencing cost guide is about the fence, not a cubic-metre tariff. Keep the concrete lines visible inside whichever contract is leading.
If the trench is near a neighbour's foundation and goes below it, the party wall rules can apply. GOV.UK includes excavation near to and below the foundation level of neighbouring buildings [S7]. A party wall notice is how adjoining owners are told when the Act covers the work [S7]. A patio in the middle of a lawn is not that case. A foundation on the boundary might be. Read the guidance when the drawing shows the boundary.
A quotation you can compare
| Line | What to ask | Why two quotations split |
|---|---|---|
| Mix | The designation the designer or supplier will actually send | "Concrete" with no class is not a specification |
| Volume | Cubic metres, and who calculated them | A guess and a measured pour are different orders |
| Minimum and part load | The supplier's own rule for your address | A small pad can be priced as a minimum load |
| Pump or barrow | Distance from the wagon to the pour | A pump is a machine, not a courtesy |
| Waiting | What happens if the site is not ready | Standing time is often a separate rate |
| Placement | Who levels and finishes | Delivered-only is not supply-and-lay |
| Waste | Who washes out and where | A wagon wash on a drive is a complaint |
| VAT | Whether 20% is inside the figure, where a contractor is doing the work [S4] | Net and gross |
Try to get at least three written quotations when a contractor is doing the whole job, which is the Citizens Advice step [S6]. For a pure material delivery you may only have two local plants. Say so, and still make them quote the same mix. A deposit, if the contractor asks for one and you cannot avoid it, should stay at or under 25% with a receipt [S6]. The VAT registration line is £90,000 of taxable turnover in the last 12 months [S5].
Access in Crewe is a measurement
Crewe station sits on the West Coast Main Line. That does not set a concrete price. The width of the side passage does. Measure it. A wagon that cannot leave the road means a pump or a lot of barrowing, and the quotation should say which. Nantwich, on the River Weaver, and Sandbach, on the Trent and Mersey Canal, raise the same access question on a different street. Photograph the kerb, the gate and the manhole the pour must not bury.
Ready-mix, a site mix, and the order you actually place
A cubic metre on a delivery ticket is not the same purchase as a cubic metre of foundation that has been dug, shuttered, poured and finished. Ask the supplier whether the quotation is for material only, and ask the contractor whether their quotation assumes that ticket or includes the labour to place it. If both numbers are in one document, the lines should still be separate, so you can see which one moves when the dig comes up short or long.
The mix name belongs on the order. A general-purpose mix and a mix specified by a structural designer are not interchangeable just because both are grey. If an engineer has written a grade, the order should repeat that grade. If nobody has written one, the job post should say so, and the quotation should not invent a grade and hide it in a code. No grade is named, because the right one is a design decision for that pour.
Placement is the other half of the conversation. A chute from the road, a pump, wheelbarrows through a side gate, and a skip of bagged material are four different jobs. The quotation should say which one is priced, what happens if the wagon cannot wait, and who supplies water and wash-out space. Waste wash-out is not a detail to leave until the wagon is on the street.
Curing and protection after the pour are easy to omit. Ask who covers the surface, for how long the area stays closed, and whether the price includes striking any temporary shuttering. None of that is a reason to mix structural concrete yourself. HSE's cement page is about the harm wet cement and concrete dust can do to the people who handle them, which is why the pour stays with people who do that work for a living [S1].
Jobs you might post
These are examples, not taken from real job posts.
- Supply and lay of a measured shed base in Nantwich, mix to be confirmed by the builder, no structural foundation for a house.
- Ready-mixed concrete delivered to the kerb in Crewe for a builder who is already on site, volume and mix named by that builder.
- Foundation concrete for a single-storey extension in Sandbach, building control in the builder's scope, party wall checked because the trench is on the boundary.
- A small post-footing pour, with the fence itself described in a separate line so the concrete is not the whole fence price.
QuoteZila is free for customers and local businesses [QZ1].
A job can be sent to up to five matched local businesses [QZ2].
Posting a job is not open yet
Questions about concrete
Does QuoteZila check the businesses?
No. We don't check insurance, qualifications or registrations, so please check these yourself before you hire. You can report a quote or a business from your job page.
Why is no pound figure given for a cubic metre?
A supplier's price moves with the mix, the postcode of the pour, the volume and the waiting time. No dated public tariff for a Cheshire cubic metre was used, so none is printed. Ask two suppliers for the same mix, the same volume and the same placement method, and compare those quotations rather than a number from somewhere else.
Is ready-mixed concrete only a price choice?
It is also a health control. The Health and Safety Executive says one way to avoid exposure to cement powder is to use pre-mixed concrete or mortar, because cement-based products can cause dermatitis and burns and wet cement is highly alkaline. That advice is written for people who handle cement. Ordering a wagon is not a reason to place a structural pour yourself.
What if the concrete is for a house foundation?
GOV.UK says the Building Regulations 2010 cover the construction and extension of buildings, and that you should check with a building control body if you are not sure approval is needed. A foundation for an extension is part of constructing or extending a building. A garden pad for a bin store may be a different question. Say which one you are buying so the quotation is not for the wrong job.
Does cutting cured concrete create dust that matters?
The Health and Safety Executive says dust from cutting or drilling dried concrete can cause serious lung disease. Separately, it lists concrete at 25% to 70% silica and gives a workplace exposure limit of 0.1 mg/m3 for respirable crystalline silica as an eight-hour average. Those limits are for workers. Do not dry-cut a slab in a closed garage as a weekend task.
How should VAT appear on a concrete quotation?
GOV.UK states a standard rate of 20% for most builder's work on houses, which is the context if a contractor is supplying and placing the concrete. The registration threshold is taxable turnover over £90,000 in twelve months. Citizens Advice says a written quote should say whether VAT is included. A per-cubic-metre rate that hides the waiting charge is not the full quotation.
Part of Cost guides. All services
Related trades
Cost guides
Related pages
- Concrete Shed Bases in Cheshire: What to Ask. What to ask about a concrete shed base in Cheshire before anyone digs. This guide prints no pound figure. It points at outbuilding limits, not a slab tariff.
- Conservatory Roof Insulation: Cheshire Guide. Conservatory roof insulation in Cheshire covers a lining, an inner panel or a new build-up. Compare quotes for the same roof and the same inside finish.
Sources
- QZ1: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila pricing line.
- QZ2: QuoteZila product fact. QuoteZila matching cap.
- S1: Cement, Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/healthrisks/hazardous-substances/cement.htm
- S2: Building regulations approval, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/building-regulations-approval
- S3: Silicosis, Health and Safety Executive. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.hse.gov.uk/lung-disease/silicosis.htm
- S4: VAT for builders, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/vat-builders
- S5: Register for VAT, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/register-for-vat
- S6: Before you get work done on your home, Citizens Advice. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/getting-home-improvements-done/before-you-get-building-work-done/
- S7: Party Wall etc. Act 1996 guidance, GOV.UK. Accessed 2026-10-26. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance