Christchurch · Dorset
Driveways in Christchurch
Digging out a Christchurch drive can turn up three different kinds of ground, and which one appears decides how the rest is built.
01
The dig, and what it has to reach
Open a hole on the low ground either side of the Stour and the Avon, or anywhere behind the harbour, and it comes up fine, dark and damp, with the wet starting close to the surface. Material like that will not carry a car. It has to come out until something firm is reached, which is a deeper dig and more muck away than most people are expecting, and a geotextile membrane goes down before the stone so the sub-base does not work its way into the soft going underneath. Away from the rivers the same hole is gravelly and drains freely, the dig is shallower and the build-up can be lighter. Towards Highcliffe it turns again, to a heavy clay that holds water instead of letting it through, so the surface has to shed rather than soak and the drainage is designed on that basis. Three streets in this town can sit in three of those conditions, which is why what worked next door is not a specification for your drive.
02
Wide frontages, and getting a car on and off them
A frontage here tends to be broad and open, with the garage set back and the front door in the middle, which leaves a lot of hard surface facing the street. It is worth breaking up. A border, a change of unit or a soldier course stops a large frontage reading as a car park, and near the Priory and the old town a smaller traditional block keeps the scale of the paving in step with the buildings around it, where a large modern unit fights them. Two cars parked side by side need more width than two nose to tail, plus the room to open a door on both. Step-free access from the front door to the pavement is far easier to build in now than to add later, and it does not mean a flat slab: an even fall from the door down to the footway, with no lip at either end, is step-free and sheds water at the same time.
Covering Christchurch
We provide driveways throughout Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and the surrounding parts of Dorset. Call 07926 470907 for a free, no-obligation estimate.
How it works
Simple, straightforward process
- 1
Get in touch
Call, message or use the enquiry form. Tell us roughly what you need and we’ll arrange a convenient time to come and look.
- 2
Free estimate
We visit, measure up and talk through the options and materials — then give you a clear estimate, free and with no obligation.
- 3
The work
We agree a date, turn up when we say we will and get on with it, keeping you informed and keeping the site tidy as we go.
- 4
The walk-round
We walk the finished job through with you and leave everything clean. If anything isn’t right, tell us and we’ll put it right.
