01633 759336wegotyoucovered45@gmail.comNewport, Cardiff, Bristol & South Wales 4.7/5 from 57 MyBuilder reviews HomeAboutServices Service Areas Our WorkReviewsContact01633 759336Free Estimate Home/Services/Driveways & PatiosDriveways & Patios # Driveways & Patios in NewportBuilt on What's Underneath, Not Just What You See A driveway that dips, cracks or pools water within two winters almost always failed below the surface, not on it. We excavate to proper depth, compact a correct MOT Type 1 sub-base, and lay resin, block paving, tarmac or patio slabs the way they're specified to be laid: with every option and its reasoning set out in writing before you commit to anything. Request Your Free Estimate01633 759336 Rated 4.7/5 from 57 verified MyBuilder reviews, free written estimate, no obligation, options laid out clearly before you commit. 4.7/5 from 57 reviews Verified feedback from real customers on MyBuilder, covering roofing, guttering and driveway work. Options laid out clearly Excavation depth, sub-base compaction and drainage are all explained before they're covered over. Priced against your budget All surface options are laid out with their pros and cons so you choose what suits the property and the budget, not what's easiest to sell. Insurance-backed guarantee Work over £3,000 comes with an insurance-backed guarantee, confirmed in writing with your quotation. ## What a proper driveway or patio installation involves A driveway is a structure, not a surface, it has to carry the weight of vehicles repeatedly over years without shifting, and it has to shed rainwater somewhere it's legally and practically allowed to go. That means the work underneath, excavation to the right depth, a compacted MOT Type 1 sub-base, a geotextile membrane to stop the sub-base migrating into the subgrade below it, matters more to how the driveway performs in five years than the surface material you eventually see. Patios have lighter loading but the same principle applies: get the base wrong and the slabs will move regardless of how well they were laid on top. The surface finish is where most of the decision-making happens because it's what you see and live with. Resin bound, block paving, tarmac and natural stone or slab patios each have a different install method, a different maintenance routine, and a different lifespan under different conditions; a resin driveway on a gentle slope behaves differently to one laid flat, and block paving next to a lot of tree cover needs different jointing than block paving in an open, dry-swept spot. Drainage is the part most self-installed or budget jobs skip. Since 2008, planning rules in England and Wales generally require new or replacement impermeable driveways over a certain size to include permeable drainage: either a permeable surface like resin or block paving laid with open joints, or a separate soakaway or linear drainage channel. Getting this wrong isn't just a maintenance issue, it can be a compliance one. ## Who needs this work, and when New driveways get built when a garden is converted to parking, when an existing drive has failed structurally, cracking, potholing, sinking at the edges, or when a house sale or renovation makes the existing surface look tired against everything else that's been done. Patios tend to follow extension or garden landscaping work, or replace an old concrete slab area that's cracked, algae-stained or simply dated. Existing driveways showing standing water, sunken sections, weeds pushing through joints, or edge stones working loose are telling you the sub-base or edge restraints have failed, not just that the surface needs a refresh. In those cases resurfacing on top of a failed base is a false economy; the same faults reappear within a season or two because the underlying problem was never fixed. New build plots and properties converting front gardens to off-street parking also need to think about permeability and runoff from day one, because getting the drainage wrong at installation is far more expensive to correct afterwards than to plan for up front. ## Why the groundwork is the part that matters Compaction is the single biggest variable in how long a driveway lasts, and it's the part that's invisible once the surface goes down. Sub-base laid too shallow, or compacted with a light whacker plate instead of a roller on a larger area, will consolidate under vehicle weight over the following months, which is why so many driveways develop wheel-track ruts or a dip near the gateway within the first year or two. The other invisible factor is drainage falls. Every surface needs to be laid with a fall away from the house: typically a minimum gradient to stop water pooling against the building or, worse, running back toward the foundations. Getting this fall wrong on a patio is one of the most common causes of damp problems in ground-floor rooms, because water sitting against a wall eventually finds its way through the damp-proof course. None of this is visible in a finished job; you're trusting that the contractor did it properly before they covered it up, which is exactly why we talk you through excavation depth, membrane placement and compaction before the surface goes on, so you know exactly what's actually under your driveway. ## What it costs to leave it A driveway that's had its sub-base skimped on doesn't fail on day one, it looks fine for the first summer, maybe the first winter. The failure shows up gradually: a slight dip where the car wheels sit, hairline cracks radiating from one corner, block paving that starts to rock underfoot at the joints. By the time it's obviously wrong, the only fix is to dig it out and start again, because you can't compact a sub-base that's already got a surface bonded to it. Poor drainage causes a slower but more expensive problem. Water that should be running to a soakaway or permeable joint instead pools against the house wall, and over a couple of winters that moisture works its way through render, through pointing, and eventually through the damp-proof course into the property itself. What started as a driveway complaint becomes a damp survey and a plastering bill, and by then the driveway itself often needs re-grading anyway to fix the fall that caused the problem in the first place. There's also a cost that isn't about damage at all: getting drainage rules wrong on a new or replaced impermeable driveway can mean planning enforcement action, which is rare but not unheard of, and is entirely avoidable by specifying a permeable surface or proper soakaway from the outset rather than as an afterthought. ### Mistakes we see most - Excavating too shallow and skimping on sub-base depth to save on aggregate and labour - Compacting with a small whacker plate instead of a roller on anything beyond a small patio - Skipping the geotextile membrane, letting the sub-base sink into soft ground beneath it - Laying a surface with no fall, or a fall toward the house instead of away from it - Fitting an impermeable driveway over the legal size threshold with no soakaway or permeable joint provision How the job runs ## Our five-step process - 1 ### Survey and ground assessment We look at the existing surface or garden area, check ground conditions, existing drainage and levels, and talk through what you actually want the space to do: parking, patio seating, or both. - 2 ### Options and written quote Resin, block paving, tarmac and slab patio options are set out with their real differences in appearance, maintenance and lifespan, priced against your budget with nothing hidden in the small print. - 3 ### Excavation and sub-base The area is excavated to the correct depth for the surface chosen, geotextile membrane laid where needed, MOT Type 1 sub-base laid in compacted layers, and edge restraints set and haunched to hold the whole structure square. - 4 ### Surface installation Resin is laid at 15–18mm over the bound base, block paving is set on its laying course with kiln-dried sand brushed into the joints, tarmac is laid in base and wearing courses, or slabs are bedded on a full mortar bed with a consistent fall away from the house. - 5 ### Drainage check and handover Falls and any linear drainage or soakaway are checked with a hose test where practical, and you're talked through the excavation, sub-base and finished surface so you know exactly what's underneath it. What you get ## The result you are paying for ### Faster than a repeat job Doing the sub-base properly the first time means you're not paying to dig it all out again in two years, most domestic drives are completed within a matter of days once groundwork starts. ### Safer underfoot and for vehicles Correct compaction and falls stop the standing water and ice patches that make a driveway or patio genuinely hazardous in winter. ### Built to carry real loads over years A properly compacted MOT Type 1 base with the right depth for the surface and traffic it carries won't rut, sink or crack the way an under-built one will. ### No surprise costs later The written quote covers excavation, drainage and edge restraints up front, not just the visible surface, so there's nothing left to discover once the job's underway. ### Drainage that keeps you compliant Permeable surfacing or proper soakaway provision is built in from the start where it's needed, rather than left as a problem for you to solve later. ### One team for the whole job The same crew that handles your roofing and guttering also handles the driveway, so there's a single point of contact and accountability from survey to handover. In detail ## Materials, methods and the variations that matter ### Sub-base: the part that decides everything else Excavation depth depends on the surface and expected loading, a pedestrian patio needs less depth than a driveway carrying regular vehicle traffic. MOT Type 1 crushed aggregate is laid and compacted in layers using a whacker plate for smaller areas or a roller for larger driveways, because compacting too thick a layer in one pass leaves the lower material loose regardless of how solid the top looks. A geotextile membrane goes down first on softer or clay-heavy ground to stop the sub-base working its way into the subgrade over time, which is what causes gradual sinking on ground that looked firm enough at installation. Edge restraints, concrete haunching, kerbs or edging units, are set at the perimeter to stop the whole structure spreading sideways under load. Without proper haunching, block paving in particular will slowly creep outward at the edges, opening gaps that then let the jointing sand wash out and the whole surface loosen from the sides in. ### Surface options and how each is actually laid Resin bound surfacing mixes UV-stable aggregate with a clear resin binder and is trowelled over the compacted, bound base at a thickness of around 15–18mm, giving a smooth, permeable, low-maintenance finish that doesn't shift or rut. Block paving is laid on a compacted sharp sand laying course over the sub-base, with individual blocks bedded by hand and kiln-dried sand swept into the joints and vibrated in to lock the pattern together: re-sanding every few years keeps this locking effect working. Tarmac is laid in two layers, a coarser base course for structural strength and a finer wearing course on top for the finished surface, both compacted with a roller while still hot to bond them properly. Patio slabs, whether porcelain, natural stone or concrete, are bedded on a full mortar bed rather than dabs at the corners, which stops rocking and cracking under foot traffic, and are always set with a fall away from the house to keep water moving off the patio rather than pooling against the wall. ### Drainage, permeability and planning rules Since planning rules changed in 2008, new or replacement driveways over 5 square metres in England (and equivalent rules apply in Wales) generally need to either use a permeable surface, such as resin, block paving with open joints, or gravel, or direct runoff to a soakaway or garden area rather than straight to the highway drain. Linear ACO drainage channels are used at thresholds and low points to intercept surface water before it reaches a garage, house wall or the road, particularly on sloped driveways where water naturally collects at the bottom. Getting the balance of permeability and fall right avoids two separate problems: standing water sitting on an impermeable surface with nowhere to go, and drainage that dumps water onto a neighbouring property or the public footpath, which can itself become a dispute regardless of whether it was intentional. ### Residential versus commercial and larger areas Domestic driveways and patios are sized for car loading and pedestrian traffic, but larger residential drives serving multiple vehicles, or light commercial areas such as small business forecourts, need a thicker sub-base and often a heavier wearing course to cope with more frequent and heavier traffic. The principles don't change, excavation, compaction, membrane, drainage, but the depths and specification scale up with the loading the surface is actually going to see, which is why we survey before quoting rather than pricing by area alone. Questions we get asked ## Driveways & Patios: straight answers ### How is a driveway or patio priced? We survey the area, ground conditions and access, then price the groundwork, drainage and chosen surface as a single written quote. Size, ground condition and the surface you choose all affect the figure, so it's never a flat rate per square metre without seeing the site. ### How long does a typical driveway installation take? A standard domestic driveway is usually completed within a matter of days once excavation starts, though larger areas or ground that needs extra preparation can take longer. We'll confirm a realistic timeline once we've surveyed the site. ### What's the difference between resin, block paving and tarmac? Resin gives a smooth, permeable, low-maintenance surface; block paving offers pattern and colour options and can be lifted and relaid if ever needed; tarmac is a durable, cost-effective option for larger areas. We'll talk through which suits your property, budget and how the space is used. ### How do I look after a new driveway or patio? Block paving benefits from re-sanding the joints every few years and occasional sealing; resin and tarmac need very little beyond keeping drainage channels clear of debris; patio slabs should be swept and occasionally treated to stop algae building up, which we cover as part of our cleaning service. ### How long should a properly installed driveway last? A driveway built with the correct sub-base depth, compaction and drainage should perform well for many years, but lifespan depends on ground conditions, usage and ongoing maintenance, so we won't put a guaranteed figure on it without knowing the site. ### Can you fit us in for an urgent driveway repair or resurfacing? Get in touch and we'll look at what's realistic: some sunken or cracked sections can be assessed and scheduled quickly, though a full excavation and relay needs proper planning around weather and ground conditions. ### Does weather affect driveway or patio work? Yes, sub-base compaction and surface laying, particularly tarmac and resin, need reasonably dry ground and suitable temperatures, so heavy or prolonged rain can shift the schedule. We'll keep you updated if conditions mean a delay. ### Do drainage rules differ across Newport, Cardiff and Bristol? The underlying planning rules on permeable surfacing are broadly consistent across England and Wales, but local drainage conditions differ: Newport and Cardiff's clay-heavy ground behaves differently to some of the more sloped sites we see around Bristol, which is why we assess ground conditions on every survey rather than assuming. ## Related services - Roof Moss & Driveway CleaningMoss, algae and staining removed to restore the surface and stop moisture sitting where it shouldn't. - Gutter RepairsBlockages cleared, joints sealed and sagging runs re-hung so water leaves the building, not the brickwork. - Lead WorkCode-correct flashings, chimney aprons, valleys and soakers dressed by hand where sealant never lasts.All servicesOur workReviewsContact ## Where we do this work Driveways & Patios carried out across Newport, Cardiff, Bristol and the South Wales valleys, same team, same standard, whichever town you are in. - Newport - Cardiff - Bristol - Ebbw Vale - Pontypool - Bridgend - Swansea - Port Talbot - Neath - Magor and Undy - Caldicot - Chepstow ## Get a driveway or patio built properly from the ground up Free written estimate with every option explained, call Ashley King on 01633 759336. Request Your Free Estimate01633 759336 Roofing, guttering, roofline, driveway and landscaping specialists working across Newport, Cardiff, Bristol and South Wales. A family trade with 85 years of combined experience across three generations. Insurance-backed guarantees on all work over £3,000. Registered at Companies House, company number 16345662. Read our 4.7/5 MyBuilder reviews ## Services - Roof Repairs - New Roof Installations - Gutter Repairs - New Gutter Systems - Fascia & Soffit Repairs - New Fascia, Soffit & Guttering - Lead Work - Driveways & Patios - Roof Moss & Driveway Cleaning ## Service Areas - Roofing & driveways in Newport - Roofing & driveways in Cardiff - Roofing & driveways in Bristol - Roofing & driveways in Ebbw Vale - Roofing & driveways in Pontypool - Roofing & driveways in Bridgend - Roofing & driveways in Swansea - Roofing & driveways in Port Talbot - Roofing & driveways in Neath - Roofing & driveways in Magor and Undy - Roofing & driveways in Caldicot - Roofing & driveways in Chepstow ## Contact We’ve Got You Covered Roofing & Driveways 01633 759336wegotyoucovered45@gmail.com16 Caerleon Road, Newport, United Kingdom, NP19 7BWMonday to Saturday, 9am to 5pmRequest Your Estimate © 2026 We’ve Got You Covered Roofing & Driveways. All rights reserved. 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