Every build starts with the ground. We excavate and prepare foundations for extensions, outbuildings and new structures, checking the soil and any existing services first so the depth and specification actually suit the site rather than a standard assumption.
A driveway lives or dies on what is underneath it. We excavate and compact a proper sub-base to suit the traffic it will carry, and get the falls and drainage right before a single block or tarmac layer goes down.
Water finds the weakest point in any job, and getting drainage wrong is the single biggest reason driveways sink, patios heave and gardens stay waterlogged long after the rain has stopped. We assess where the water needs to go before we start digging, whether that is a soakaway, a land drain for a wet patch of garden, or a proper connection into the existing surface water system, and design the groundworks around it rather than treating drainage as an afterthought.
Paths, patios, retaining walls and the levelling that goes with them are groundworks in the end. We take these on both as part of a larger build and as standalone landscaping projects.
The same team that digs the trenches and lays the sub-base can also be the team building the extension or new structure on top of it, so nothing gets lost between separate contractors. Get in touch and tell us about the job.
We come out and look at the site before saying what the job involves. That means checking the soil type, working out where existing drainage and services run, and understanding what the finished driveway, patio or foundation actually needs to carry or support. From there you get a written quote setting out what is included.
Soil type, existing drainage, tree roots and buried services all affect what a groundworks job actually needs. We check these before quoting rather than pricing from a photo, because getting the ground assessment wrong is what leads to a driveway that sinks or a foundation that is not deep enough.
Once we know what the ground is doing, we design the drainage to suit it, whether that is a soakaway, a land drain, or tying into an existing system, and route any new services before anything gets covered over. Re-digging a finished driveway or garden to fix a mistake is expensive and avoidable.
With the ground properly prepared, we lay the sub-base and the finish itself, block paving, tarmac, resin bound surfacing or gravel for a driveway, or paths, patios and retaining walls for a landscaping job, and finish it properly rather than rushing the visible part once the hard work underneath is done.