Dorset
Road planings in Blandford Forum
Recycled planings supplied and laid across DT11, a low-cost firm surface for tracks, gateways and yards.
On heavy Dorset clay, the gap between a mud track and a proper surfaced road is expensive to cross. Road planings are the middle ground, and for a lot of holdings around Blandford they are the most sensible money you can spend.
Gateways and field entrances
The single best use of planings on clay ground is gateways. A field entrance takes every vehicle that uses that field, turning and often waiting, on the wettest and most churned patch of the whole holding. A modest area of planings, laid at a decent depth and rolled, turns an entrance that is impassable in February into one that works all year, for very little outlay.
It is a small job with a disproportionate return, and it is one we are always happy to quote even though it is not a big ticket.
Tracks and yards
Planings also work well laid over a tired stone track, giving a firmer and cleaner surface without lifting anything, and for machinery standing and overflow parking where a full construction is not justified.
Clay needs a base first
This is the important caveat here and it is where planings get a bad name. Tipped straight onto soft wet clay, they will be pushed down into it and disappear within a season, and you will conclude planings do not work. On soft ground they need a stone base, or a membrane, or both, underneath them.
We will tell you honestly which your site needs. Sometimes it is planings straight onto a firm existing surface and it is cheap. Sometimes the ground has to be dealt with first and the job is bigger than you hoped. Being told that before the lorries arrive is worth more than a low quote.
Supply, or supply and lay
Plenty of farms here have a loader and would rather spread them themselves, and we are happy to deliver by the load. If you want it done, we grade the falls and roll it while it is workable, which is what makes it bind rather than stay loose.
- A great deal cheaper than new tarmac
- Reclaimed material, so it keeps a usable product in use
- Binds into a firm surface when laid and rolled properly
- Supply only, or supply and lay, whichever suits you
- Can be laid over a tired stone track without lifting it
Our work
Jobs near Blandford Forum
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.
Before you ring
Road Planings in Blandford Forum: common questions
Will planings sink into our clay?
They will if they are tipped straight onto soft wet ground, which is why they sometimes get a poor reputation. On a firm base they are excellent. We will look at the ground and tell you whether it needs a stone base or a membrane underneath first.
Is it worth doing just a gateway?
Very much so. Gateways are the best value planings job there is: a small area, a big improvement, and it stops the churning that spreads out into the field. We are happy to quote small jobs like that.
How long do planings last on a farm track?
Well, if they are laid on something firm, rolled properly and the water is kept off them. They can be topped up rather than replaced, which is part of the appeal. Standing water is what shortens their life, as it is with everything else.
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