Fixing an uneven parking space

I have an uneven car parking space. I don't want to break up the existing base but even it up.

Is it possible to level it off with new concrete over the old concrete? If the base has a fall of six inches over an area the size of a regular UK parking space, how much concrete is required at the highest point?

Responses from some of our very best tradespeople:

"I would never put new concrete on top of old so a new level base would need to be dug out and then re-concreted."

Shaun Purdie, Purdie Builders
Shaun and his team cover a wide area in the North West of England, in and around Cheshire. Shaun set up Purdie Builders in 2007 after 24 years experience as a stonemason in the Glasgow area.

"You shouldn't put a thin layer of concrete down. Anything less much than 75mm is likely to be brittle like a rice crispy cake, and break up when a car goes over it. If the area that needs levelling is 25mm or less he should use self levelling compound, which can be got from a builder's merchant. Follow the instructions on how to mix it, as there are several different products that all differ slightly. You then smear the compound in where you want it as if icing a sticky cake. Assuming the base isn't breaking up, he could also consider a course of tarmac which could be put down in a thinner layer than a concrete layer. If you want to use tarmac, you would have to make sure to paint the existing concrete with tack coat so that the tarmac will stick... Anyway I have to go now as I suddenly feel the urge to raid the larder for cake!!"

Andrew McMullan, Hilldean Construction
Andrew went into groundworks straight from school at 16 and attained the position of groundworks foreman. He's run sites for some of the country's biggest house builders and has worked on large civil engineering projects. As a result, there's hardly any area of groundworks he doesn't have experience in! Groundworks can be quite disruptive and Andrew and his team have to be respectful of the fact that a lot of the time they're working in or around people’s homes. They aim to give customers the job they want in the least disruptive, tidiest way they can and at a price hopefully considered good value.