Groundworks
Dig Outs & Groundwork
Excavation, drainage and sub-base preparation, the work under the surface that decides how long it lasts.
Nearly every surfacing failure we are called out to is a groundwork failure wearing a tarmac coat. The surface is the last few inches of a job and the cheapest part to get right. What holds it up is the excavation, the drainage and the sub-base, and that is work you only ever see once.
What our groundwork service includes
Excavation and dig outs
Digging out to the depth the finished surface actually needs, carting away the arisings and preparing a clean formation. Where the ground below is soft, we deal with it then rather than building on top of it and hoping.
Drainage
Channel drains, gullies, soakaways, French drains and land drainage. Getting the water off and away is the single highest-value thing you can do for the life of any surface.
Sub-base construction
Stone laid in layers and compacted as it goes, rather than tipped to depth in one go and rolled once on top. A sub-base compacted in layers is a different thing structurally from one that merely looks the same when finished.
Levelling and regrading
Reshaping ground so the water runs where you want it to. On farmyards and paddock entrances this is frequently the whole job, and it is often the cheapest fix available.
How we work
- Survey the ground and the water. Where it comes from, where it currently sits and where it needs to go.
- Written quote setting out depths, materials and drainage.
- Excavate and cart away.
- Install drainage, then build and compact the sub-base in layers.
Soft spots and made-up ground
Old farmyards and long-used tracks are frequently built on decades of made-up ground, and it is rarely uniform. When we open a formation up and find a soft area, we tell you what we have found, what it will take to deal with and what it costs, before we cover it over. Building a surface across a soft spot is how a brand new yard develops a dip in its first winter.
Our work
Dig outs and groundwork
Our work
Jobs we have finished
Every photograph here is Laymac's own, taken on the job.
What people say
In their words, not ours
Farm track had been breaking up for years and we had patched it twice. They dug it out properly, sorted the drainage first and it has been through a winter now without moving.
Yard resurfaced around a working farm. They phased it so we could still get the milk lorry in and out every day, which nobody else quoting for it had even mentioned.
Came out, walked the drive with us and told us it did not need replacing, just dressing. Saved us a lot of money and they still turned up to do the smaller job properly.
Everything else we do
Not quite the job you have?
Surface Dressing
Hot bitumen and granite chippings, the traditional tar and chip finish that seals and re-textures an existing surface.
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Road Surfacing
Private roads, estate roads and access routes surfaced, resurfaced and repaired.
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Tarmac & Asphalt
Machine-laid tarmac and asphalt for drives, yards, car parks and access roads.
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Driveways
Tarmac, tar and chip, block paved and gravel driveways, laid on a base built to last.
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Commercial & Industrial Surfacing
Yards, car parks, loading areas and industrial hardstanding built for real weight.
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Traditional Stone Tracks
Stone farm tracks and estate drives, built to carry weight and to look right in the landscape.
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Road Planings
Recycled road planings supplied, laid and rolled, the low-cost hard surface for tracks and yards.
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Rural & Farm Access
Surfacing for farms, estates, equestrian yards and rural businesses, planned around a working site.
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Questions we get asked about dig outs & groundwork
Do you take the spoil away?
Yes, and it is in the quote rather than added afterwards. On rural sites there is sometimes somewhere on the holding it can go, which saves money, and we will ask.
How deep does the dig need to be?
It depends on the ground and on what will drive over it. A domestic drive and a yard taking loaded lorries need very different formations. We set the depth on the quote so you know what you are paying for.
Can you just do the groundwork and I will sort the surface?
Yes, that is a normal arrangement and we are happy to prepare a formation for someone else to surface. We will tell you what we have left it at so whoever follows knows exactly what they are laying on.
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