Hard surfacing, what you need to know!

Hard surfacing for driveways can feel like you are going down a twisty road, with lots of different names and terms being used and this makes it hard for consumers to know what they need / want! In this post we are breaking down some of the different names being used and highlighting key benefits of our most popular driveways to help you chose which surfacing is best for you.

Tarmac / Stone Mastic Asphalt

Tarmac, Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA), Macadam, Bitumen are all different names used to describe a tarmac driveway. Tarmac driveway has been a very consistent driveway offering that we have supplied our customers over the last 40 years. Tarmac driveways are highly weather resistant and can survive a range of different weather types that we have; especially being in Britain! Like all of our driveways they key is getting the most suitable and correct base installed ready for the team; we prefer to use Type-1 Granite. Once the base has been installed, we have a range off different machinery and skilled specialists on hand to do the installation from the standard driveway, all up to long roadways.

There are a number of benefits of using a tarmac driveway, these include:

• Strong and durable surfacing material
• Highly resistant
• Weather resistant
• Low maintenance
• Easy installation
• Can add decorative stones to help add colour to the driveway

Tar and Shingle

A tar and shingle driveway has proved to be a popular choice for a few of our clients. The tar and chip driveways provide a traditional and classic look, which is perfect for rural locations around the Norfolk and Suffolk areas. The installation process is very simple to do, the start is to ensure there is a suitable base to build upon; we prefer to use road planning’s or Type-1 Granite. Once a suitable base is in place, the next process is to pour hot liquid K170 Tar over the base and then this is followed up by lose gravel being coated over the hot tar. The final process is to roll the lose stone into the hot tar to ensure these are firm and completes the look.

There are a number of benefits of using a tar and shingle driveway, these include:

• Low cost
• Good traction
• More durable than lose gravel
• Attractive to look at
• Old driveways can be transformed in a simple process

Resin  Bound

A resin bound driveway is a new surfacing type that we have had our skilled experts trained on over the last 5 years. Since then we have undertaken and completed numerous Resin Bound driveways across Norfolk and Suffolk. Resin driveways are a great modern driveway to have, these are a fully porous surface which allows the surface water to drain from the top. Due to this it is extremely important to ensure that all bases being used for Resin Bound driveways are constructed from porous materials.

There are a number of benefits of using a Resin Bound driveway, these include:

• Durable and hard wearing
• Smooth finish, no loose stones
• Naturally drains water
• Range of different coloured aggregate to chose from – personalise your driveway!
• Low maintenance
• No planning permission needed

 

If you would like to know more about our Driveways & Surfacing services, then please make an enquiry through our email: [email protected] or give us a call on: 01508 470674.