Domestic & Commercial Builders · Tyne & Wear
Driveways & Landscaping
Driveways, patios, walls and garden works, our Bespoke Landscaping division.
Block-paved driveways, patios, retaining walls and full garden works across Tyne and Wear, through our Bespoke Landscaping division. Paving fails because of what is underneath it, so that is where the money and the time go. The blocks on top are the easy part.
Driveways
A driveway has one job: take the weight of a car for years without dipping, rocking or holding water. That comes down to three things done properly. Dig out to firm ground. Build a compacted sub-base deep enough for what will park on it. Set the falls so water runs where it should, away from the house and, where the rules require it, onto your own land rather than the road. Then the bedding, the blocks, the edging and the final compaction.
On a front driveway the design matters as much as the build. We think about where the car actually stops, how you get from it to the door, where the bins live, and how the new surface meets the house, the path and the neighbour’s boundary.
Patios, walls and gardens
The same thinking runs through the rest of the garden. Patios laid on a proper base with falls away from the back door. Retaining walls built to hold the ground behind them, not just look tidy for a summer. Lawns, sleeper beds and planting areas finished so the garden is ready to use on the day we leave.
A lot of our landscaping is done alongside building work. In Cramlington a new patio and garden were built with the kitchen extension so the bifolds opened onto something finished. In Shiremoor the garden was reworked around a new rear extension, and in Cresswell a new lawn and sleeper beds were brought right up to the glazing of the new gable. In Jarrow the drive was part of a new frontage after a garage conversion.
Where we work
We lay driveways and build gardens across Tyne and Wear and the surrounding towns, from Whitley Bay and Cramlington down to Sunderland and Washington, and across to Newcastle, Gateshead and South Shields. The free survey is where we check the levels, the ground and the drainage before quoting.
Every landscaping job we do is fully insured and carries a 10-year workmanship guarantee.
Recent driveways & landscaping work.
Common questions
Asked about driveways & landscaping.
Do I need planning permission for a new driveway?
Usually not, as long as it drains properly. In England, a new or replacement front driveway over five square metres needs either a permeable surface or falls that run the water onto a lawn or border on your own land. If it drains onto the road, it needs planning permission. A new dropped kerb is a separate application to the council. We tell you which applies at the free survey.
What goes underneath a block-paved driveway?
The part that decides how long it lasts. The ground is dug out, a compacted stone sub-base is built up to suit what will drive on it, and the falls and drainage are set before the bedding and the blocks go down. The edges are restrained so the blocks cannot creep. Get the base right and the surface stays flat; skimp on it and the blocks start to move within a season.
Do you build patios, walls and gardens as well as driveways?
Yes. Patios, retaining walls, lawns, sleeper beds and full garden makeovers are all part of our Bespoke Landscaping division, and the same rule applies to each: the groundwork underneath gets the money and the attention.
Can you do the garden at the same time as an extension?
Yes, and it is usually the better way to do it. On our Cramlington, Shiremoor and Cresswell jobs the garden and patio were built as part of the same programme, so the owners stepped out of the new kitchen onto a finished garden rather than a building site.
Will my old driveway need digging out completely?
Often, yes. Laying new blocks over a tired base just copies the old problems into the new surface. We look at what is there at the survey and tell you honestly whether it can be built on or needs to come out.
What does a quote cost?
Nothing. We come out, measure up, look at the levels and drainage, and give you a written quote with no obligation. Landscaping work carries the same 10-year workmanship guarantee as everything else we build.
Where we work
Driveways & Landscaping across the North East.
Planning driveways & landscaping?
Quote, advise, or sound it out before you commit. The first call costs nothing.