Hitchin

Gravel Driveways in Hitchin

Gravel laid over membrane and a compacted base, edged so the stone stays on the drive. Free survey, a fixed written price, and you only pay when you're happy with the work.

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Gravel Driveways in Hitchin, explained

Gravel is the least expensive surface we lay and the quickest to finish. It is also the one most often done badly, because tipping stone onto bare ground takes an afternoon and looks perfectly good for about a season. Nearly all of what you are paying us for disappears from view the moment the stone goes down: the membrane, the compacted base and the edge detail.

The decision that moves the figure most is loose stone against stabilised. Loose is traditional, cheapest and simple to add to later. A grid costs more up front and changes how the drive behaves under a wheel and underfoot for the rest of its life.

Where it is a close call we price both, so you are choosing between two numbers rather than taking our word for which suits you. We are based in Hatfield and this area is part of our normal round. The survey and the written price are free, there is no deposit, and you pay when the job is finished.

We cover the SG4 and SG5 postcodes in Hitchin, and the rest of Hertfordshire.

What your quote covers

A free survey, with stone types, sizes and colours to look at
One fixed price in writing, no deposit, nothing to pay up front
Excavation to depth, with the spoil cleared away
A geotextile membrane and a compacted sub-base under the whole area
Edgings or restraints at every boundary so the stone is contained
The stone you picked, laid at the depth it actually wants, and the site left clean

Choosing gravel driveways in Hitchin

More gravel is not better gravel. The most frequent fault we are asked to put right is a drive laid too deep, where someone has tipped in a generous quantity of stone in the belief that it would last longer. What it actually produces is a surface that cars struggle through and people sink into.

A correctly raked drive sits at an even, moderate depth over a properly built base. It drives better, walks better, and moves less, because deep loose stone has more freedom to shift around than a thin, well-supported layer does.

That aside, gravel earns its place in Hitchin for the usual reasons: the most ground for the money, drainage as good as any surface, and the easiest of all to alter or extend later. Where loose stone travelling or being hard to wheel across is a concern, a grid or bonded finish fixes it.

Thinking about gravel driveways in Hitchin?

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From first visit to finished job

Step 1
Free Site Survey
We look at the ground, the levels and how the drive is edged, and pick a stone with you.
Step 2
Written Quotation
A clear fixed written price, agreed up front.
Step 3
Base and Membrane
We build a firm sub-base and lay a membrane to keep weeds down.
Step 4
Edging
Edges and restraints go in so the gravel stays on the drive.
Step 5
Gravel Laid
The decorative stone is spread to an even depth and raked off, and you sign the job off.

What happens on site in Hitchin

The drive is excavated to the depth required and a geotextile membrane is laid to separate the stone from the subsoil. That is what prevents gravel sinking away into soft ground, and it keeps weeds from coming up from below.

A sub-base goes over the membrane and is compacted. Where a cellular grid has been chosen, it is laid over the base and filled with stone, which holds the depth even across the drive and stops wheel-track ruts developing.

Edgings are fitted along every boundary so the stone stays where it belongs, and the gravel is spread and raked to an even depth. Getting that depth right is the part that makes the daily difference, and it is the step most often got wrong.

What affects the price in Hitchin

We do not publish a rate per square metre, because the number would be wrong for most properties. The survey is free and the price you get afterwards is fixed and in writing. These are the things that move it:

The area, and the depth of stone the drive needs to look full and drive well
The stone you choose, since decorative blends cost more than a plain angular chipping
How much edging or restraint the perimeter needs, and what it is made of
Loose stone or a cellular grid, which is the biggest single choice in the quote
Clearing the existing surface and getting the spoil away
Any falls, drainage or steps the ground forces on the layout

Looking after gravel driveways

Once or twice a year, rake a loose drive to pull the high spots back into the hollows. Most of the movement is where the car turns in off the road. A gridded drive needs almost none of this.

Stone leaves slowly on tyres and shoes, so expect to top up occasionally with the same blend. A light scattering is usually all it takes.

The membrane deals with weeds from underneath. Airborne seed can still root in the surface stone, so pull them as they appear or treat the drive from time to time.

Ready to book a free survey in Hitchin?

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Around Hitchin

As well as Hitchin itself, we take on gravel driveways work in Astwick, Barton-le-Clay, Hexton, Herring's Green and Steppingley, and across the rest of Hertfordshire. If you are just outside the towns listed here it is still worth a call, because we cover more ground than any list of names can sensibly show.