Driveways and patios in Hyde

Entrances that take the lane's water. Where a drive sits below the road, the drive becomes the drain whether anyone designed it that way or not, and the surface water risk around Hyde is high enough that it is the first thing we look at. The fix is a channel drain across the mouth of the entrance, taken to a gully with a real outfall rather than into a soakaway that is already full, and a cross fall built into the apron so water is shed to the side instead of running the length of it. The apron itself is bound, in tarmac or resin, over a sub-base given more depth than the rest, because that first stretch takes every wheel that turns.

Loose gravel migrates downhill. It is not a defect, it is gravity, and edging alone will not stop it. On the steeper sections we either bind the surface or lay a stabilising grid and fill it, and on the flat runs plain gravel over a compacted sub-base and a geotextile membrane is still the cheapest thing that works. An edge restraint down both sides keeps it off the verge, and it is the part most often left out of a cheap quote.

Level, thresholds and steps. On the older houses the ground has usually crept up over the years, one surface laid on the last, which puts paving level with or above the damp proof course and pushes water at the wall. We take the level back down, keep the paving clear of the course, and where the garden will not allow the drop we run a gravel margin or a channel drain along the wall instead. Steps get reset to an even rise, because uneven steps are what people actually trip on.

A north facing path beside a wall gets little sun and dries slowly, so algae takes hold and smooth pressed concrete turns slippery. Riven natural stone and textured porcelain hold grip far better, and both go on a full mortar bed over a compacted sub-base rather than on blobs, which is what stops the rocking and the ponding in the first place. On block paving, sunken bays and rutting are a base and edge restraint problem, weed growth in the joints is lost jointing sand, and a dirty band along the bottom of the wall is splash back wanting a margin. Four faults, four different prices, and we will not sell you the big one to cure the small one.

No rate per square metre. What is under it decides more of the cost than what goes on top. A cottage with the front wall on the lane, a house set below the road with a steep entrance, and a bungalow with a long level drive behind a gate are three different jobs. Where a drive sits below the road the drainage is the job, and it is priced as its own item. Ask any quote how deep the dig is, what sub base goes in, where the water goes, and who takes the spoil.

We cover Hyde and the rest of SP6, out through Frogham and Godshill to Fordingbridge, Rockbourne and Sandleheath. Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free.