Before work starts
The practical questions come first. Where will you park while the drive is out of use? Where can a skip or grab lorry stand, and where can stone and slabs be dropped? Are there manhole covers, meter boxes or cables that need to stay accessible? Sorting these out beforehand keeps the programme moving and avoids surprises for neighbours.
If the work involves a new or widened entrance onto the road, the dropped kerb itself is a matter for the council's highways team. It is worth checking where you stand on that before the driveway is designed around it.
Setting out and digging
The shape of the drive is marked on the ground and the finished height agreed, usually taking account of the house damp course so the new surface sits safely below it. Then the old surface and soil are dug out to the depth a car needs. This is the noisiest, messiest part of the job and generates the most waste, which is taken away as the digging goes on.
Soft spots, old foundations and buried rubble often show up at this stage. Soft ground is dug out further and built back up; hard obstructions are broken out. A contractor who shrugs and carries on over a soft patch is building in a future dip.
The base and edges
The excavation is filled back with crushed stone in layers, each one compacted before the next goes in. Compacting in thin layers is what stops the drive rutting under a car's weight. A membrane is often laid to keep the soil and stone separate, particularly under gravel.
Edging is set next. Whether it is kerbs, sleepers or a concrete haunch, its job is to hold the surface in place and stop it spreading. Levels and falls are checked here too, so rain runs away from the house and, where needed, into a channel or soakaway.
Driveways
- Full groundwork preparation
- Drainage considered from the start
- Clear, tidy finishing
The surface and finishing
Gravel goes down quickly once the base is right and can be used almost immediately. Slabs and stone take longer because each piece is bedded and levelled, and joints need to set before heavy use. You will be told when it is safe to drive on the finished surface.
The last day is usually tidying: making good around edges, clearing the pavement and road, and walking the drive with you to check you are happy with how it looks and drains.
Signs the job is being done right
- The dig is noticeably deeper than for a path or patio.
- Stone goes in and is compacted in stages, not tipped in one go.
- Someone talks to you about where the water will go.
- Edges are fixed before the surface is laid.
Booking a driveway in the colder months
Digging and base work carry on through most autumn and winter weather, so the cooler months are a sensible time to book. AJ Adams Landscaping lays gravel, stone and slabbed driveways across Southampton and within 20 miles. Call Ashley on 07904 481178 to arrange a visit.