Bramleigh

What we do

Block paving

Laid on a compacted base with a haunched edge, because the edge is what fails first.

Block paving does not sink in the middle. It spreads at the sides, and then the middle drops to follow it. That is an edge restraint problem, not a block problem, and it is why every drive we lay gets a concrete haunch along every free edge before a single block goes down. It is the least visible part of the job and the part that decides whether it still looks laid in ten years.

01

A trial hole, not a glance

We dig a small hole at the first visit and look at what is under your drive. Clay, sand, or somebody else’s rubble. It takes ten minutes and it decides the price.

02

Drainage designed first

Where the water goes, what the falls are, and whether the job needs planning permission. Settled before anybody chooses a colour.

03

The quote, by depth

Itemised with the excavation depth and the sub-base thickness written on it. A quote without those two numbers is not comparable to anything.

04

Dig, base, edge

Excavate to the depth quoted, lay and compact the Type 1 in layers, then the concrete haunch to every free edge before a block is laid.

05

Surface and joint

Lay to the fall, cut the edges, kiln-dried sand brushed and vibrated in twice with a week between. Then we come back and do it a third time.

Asked often

Do I need planning permission for a new driveway?
If you are surfacing more than five square metres of front garden with something impermeable, and the water does not drain to a permeable area inside your own boundary, then yes. That has been the rule in England since October 2008 and it is the thing most quotes quietly ignore. Permeable block paving, gravel and resin bound over a permeable base all avoid it, as does directing the run-off to a border or a soakaway.
How deep should the sub-base be?
For a domestic car drive on reasonable ground, 100 to 150mm of compacted Type 1. Over clay, add 50mm and a geotextile membrane. For a van, a caravan or a horsebox, 200mm and upward. If a quote does not state a depth, it is not a quote you can compare with ours, and you should ask before you compare on price.
Why does block paving sink?
Almost always because the edges spread. Blocks are held by their neighbours, and at a free edge there is no neighbour, so without a concrete haunch the outer course creeps outward under every vehicle. Once there is a gap at the edge the whole field loosens and the middle settles into it. The base gets blamed and the edge was the cause.
Can you lay resin over my existing drive?
If the existing surface is sound tarmac or concrete with no movement, yes, and it is excellent value. If it is cracked, lifting or has been patched repeatedly, no. Resin bound is 15 to 18mm thick and has no structural strength: every crack underneath will reappear through it, usually within two winters. We will dig a trial hole and tell you which you have.

Resin bound surfacing

Permeable, seamless, and completely dependent on the base it is laid over.

Tarmac and repairs

New surfacing, overlays where an overlay is honest, and patching where it is not.

Drainage and groundwork

Falls, channels, soakaways and the paperwork that comes with paving a front garden.
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Demo build by Etari Digitals