Groundwork, dig outs and drainage across Sussex and Surrey

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

1. Survey the ground and the water. Where it comes from, where it currently sits and where it needs to go.
2. Written quote setting out depths, materials and drainage.
3. Excavate and cart away.
4. 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.