North Watford

Tarmac Driveways in North Watford

Tarmac laid hot in two courses and rolled, over a base built for what it carries. Free survey, a fixed written price, and you only pay when you're happy with the work.

01923 388567 Get a Free Quote

Free Quote in North Watford

Rated on TrustATrader

From 107 genuine customer reviews

Award-Winning

Driveway & Landscaping Company of the Year

Family-Run & Insured

Recommended by repeat customers

Guarantee

You don't pay until you're happy

Tarmac Driveways in North Watford, explained

Tarmac is usually the sensible answer when the area is large, the budget is real, and you want one continuous surface with nothing to maintain between the joints. What it is not is the cheap option that happens to look like the expensive one. A tarmac drive laid badly shows you inside a winter, and it shows you at the edges and in the low spots.

Which is why most of our quote is levels and drainage rather than the black stuff on top. Tarmac sheds water instead of absorbing it, so a tarmac drive is only ever as good as the fall somebody set before the first load turned up. We work that out at the survey and write it into the price, rather than finding it on the day and coming back to you for more money.

We are based in Hatfield and cover this area as part of our normal work. The survey and the written quotation are free, there is no deposit, and you pay when the drive is finished and you are happy with it.

We cover the WD24 postcode in North Watford, and the rest of Hertfordshire.

What your quote covers

A free survey, with the falls and the drainage worked out before anything is priced
One fixed price in writing, no deposit, nothing payable up front
Excavation, clearance of the old surface and removal of the arisings
A compacted sub-base, and edgings or kerbs haunched in concrete to roll up against
A base course and a finer wearing course, laid hot and rolled while hot
Joints cut and sealed against thresholds and manholes, and the site cleaned down

Choosing tarmac driveways in North Watford

Tarmac is a material with a clock on it. It is delivered hot, it has to be laid hot, and it has to be rolled while it is still hot, because the rolling is what compacts it and gives it density. Once it has cooled, the opportunity has gone.

That makes access part of the job rather than a detail. We need to get the material to the drive quickly, which is something we look at during the survey in North Watford, along with where the wagon can stand and how far the barrow run is. It is better established beforehand than discovered on the morning.

The surface itself is a good one: continuous with no joints to maintain, quick to lay, hard-wearing under vehicles and economical across larger areas. Since it is not permeable, the falls are built to send rain to a channel, gully or soakaway.

Thinking about tarmac driveways in North Watford?

Get a Free Quote 01923 388567

From first visit to finished job

Step 1
Free Site Survey
We check levels, drainage and the existing base and agree the finish with you.
Step 2
Written Quotation
A clear fixed price in writing, agreed before we begin.
Step 3
Groundwork
We excavate to the right depth and lay a compacted sub-base.
Step 4
Surfacing
The tarmac is laid hot in layers, raked to falls and rolled to a smooth finish.
Step 5
Sign-Off
We tidy the edges and site, and you pay once the job is complete and you are happy.

What happens on site in North Watford

We excavate the drive, clear the arisings and build a compacted sub-base to suit the traffic. Edgings or kerbs are installed first and haunched in concrete, because tarmac needs something solid to roll against or the edges will not compact and will break up.

Falls are set in the groundwork so water goes deliberately to the agreed drainage point instead of collecting at the lowest part of the drive.

Laying is done in two layers on most domestic jobs, a base course for strength and a finer wearing course for the finish, each one laid and rolled while hot. Joints at thresholds, manholes and adjoining surfaces are cut and sealed so water cannot get beneath the new surface.

What affects the price in North Watford

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, which is where tarmac earns its keep against the other surfaces
How much excavation it needs and how far the arisings have to travel
Whether the drive takes one course or the full base and wearing course build-up
The drainage the levels call for: a channel, a gully connection or a soakaway
Edgings or kerbs, and whether you want a block-paved border
Plain black, red, or a decorative chipping finish on top

Looking after tarmac driveways

Take care with it for the first few weeks, particularly when it is warm. Turning the steering wheel while stationary scuffs a new surface, and point loads such as a trailer jockey wheel, a motorbike stand or a skip leg will press in. A board under them does the job.

Keep the drainage running and the edges free of soil and growth. Tarmac generally fails at an edge or at a low spot where water has stood, rather than in the open middle of a drive.

After a couple of years, sealing restores the colour and slows the surface drying. Potholes and cracks are cut out and patched instead of the drive being relaid, and a well-built one should give 15 years or more.

Ready to book a free survey in North Watford?

Get a Free Quote 01923 388567

Around North Watford

As well as North Watford itself, we take on tarmac driveways work in Bushey Heath, Wembley, Greenford and Neasden, 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.

Tarmac Driveways in North Watford: Common Questions

Do you cover North Watford?

Yes, WD24 is one of our areas. We are based in Hatfield and the survey and written quotation are free.

Do you need the lorry close to the drive?

Reasonably close, yes. Tarmac arrives hot and has to be laid and rolled hot, so we look at access, where the wagon can stand and the barrow distance when we survey.