Tarmac Driveway Rebuild in Woking | Case Study

The brief

Bramble Homes was asked to replace a tired, cracked driveway at a detached house in Woking. The existing surface was a mix of old tarmac and patched concrete that had been laid in the 1990s and had started to break up. Weeds were growing through the cracks, water pooled every time it rained and the surface had become an eyesore for a house that the owners had recently spent money renovating. They wanted the driveway to match the fresh appearance of the rest of the property.

The clients wanted a clean, modern tarmac finish with block-paved edgings and a slight fall so that rainwater drained towards the road rather than back towards the garage. They also wanted the driveway widened slightly at the garage end so two cars could park side by side. The front garden was small, the pavement was busy with pedestrians, school-run traffic and a bus route, and the only place to store materials was the driveway itself, which meant every drop had to be carefully timed around the surfacing programme.

Bramble Homes priced the job with two surfacing contractors and then came to us for the sub-base, bedding sand, edgings and fixings. For the Woking driveway we measured the site plan, calculated the compacted sub-base depth and confirmed next-day availability on the 20mm shingle and sharp sand. We also checked the location of the existing surface-water gully so the channel drain could be tied in without extending the work. The homeowners knew the material cost before the old surface was lifted.

• Client: Bramble Homes
• Location: Woking, Surrey (GU21, GU22)
• Project: Tarmac driveway rebuild
• Duration: 1 week
• Star Hawk material cost: £1,360

The challenge

Driveway rebuilds in busy residential streets always have three pressure points: access, sequencing and keeping the front of the property presentable. On this Woking job we addressed all three before the first lorry arrived.

Access. The driveway opened straight onto a pavement that was used by parents walking to a nearby primary school. There was no front garden to speak of and no room for a large wagon to wait. We used a 7.5-tonne tipper that could pull up, tip and leave within a few minutes. Deliveries were booked for 9.30am, after the morning school run, and the driver was briefed to keep the tailgate closed until the pavement was clear. The driver had the site manager's mobile number and would delay by ten minutes if a parked car blocked the usual tipping spot.

Sequencing. A Woking driveway rebuild is a multi-stage job. The old surface had to be planed off, the sub-grade inspected, a geotextile layer laid, the sub-base compacted in two layers, edgings set on a concrete bed, the bedding screed laid and finally the tarmac rolled in two courses. We split our material supply into three matched drops so the site never had surplus aggregate blocking the pavement, and each gang had exactly what they needed for the day ahead.

Drainage. The existing driveway was flat, which is why it had started to hold water. Bramble worked with the tarmac contractor to introduce a gentle fall towards the pavement and install a new channel drain in front of the garage. That meant the sub-base thickness varied across the driveway, so our quantities had to be adjusted after the first excavation. The channel drain connected to the existing surface-water gully at the pavement edge.

Neighbour impact. The house was part of a 1970s estate with semis on either side. The clients were concerned about dust, noise and the view from the neighbour's windows. We supplied dust-suppressed shingle and made sure the sand was delivered in sealed bags rather than loose, which kept the pavement cleaner.

Finish quality. The clients wanted crisp edges and a smooth, even tarmac surface. We made sure the sharp sand was clean and consistent so the bedding layer could be screeded accurately, and that the concrete edgings were straight and free from chips. The shingle was also checked for contamination because even small amounts of clay can prevent proper compaction.

Same-day contact. Every driveway order in Woking went through one named scheduler at Star Hawk, not a national call centre. When the excavation revealed a section of old soakaway that needed to be filled and compacted before the sub-base went in, Bramble's foreman called at 8am and an extra 4 tonnes of shingle were on site by 1pm the same day.

Compaction and testing. The tarmac contractor carried out a plate-load test on the compacted sub-base before the bedding screed went down. The shingle held firm across the whole area, which meant the tarmac could be laid with confidence and the finished surface would not settle over the following winter.

Because the family was living in the house, quiet, clean, timed drops mattered as much as the price. The staged delivery schedule kept the disruption to a minimum.

Materials we supplied

Bramble sent us the dimensions and the tarmac contractor's specification and we priced the structural layers that sit underneath the finished surface. The items we supplied were:

• Sub-base: 17 tonnes of 20mm Shingle. This was used as the main permeable sub-base layer on the Woking job, laid and compacted in two passes to give a firm, free-draining base for the tarmac. The shingle was a clean, angular aggregate that locked well under compaction.
• Bedding layer: 3 tonnes of Sharp Sand. This was screeded over the sub-base to provide a smooth, level bed for the block-paved edgings and to help regulate any minor undulations before the tarmac course went down.
• Edgings and kerbs: On the Woking driveway we supplied concrete edgings and kerbs from stock, bedded on a mortar mix that used sand and cement sourced through the same account.
• Fixings: 5 boxes of Galvanized Nails and 8 boxes of High Performance Wood Screws for the timber formwork, temporary edging supports and any timber features around the perimeter.

The finished tarmac surface course, the block paving for the edgings and the channel drain itself were supplied by the surfacing contractor and groundworks merchant respectively. We stayed in our lane on the Woking driveway and made sure the layers we did supply were on site exactly when the digger and roller were ready. This was particularly important because tarmac has to be laid and rolled while hot; any delay in the sub-base would have forced a reschedule of the hot-load delivery.

Delivery and logistics

A one-week Woking driveway job cannot afford to wait for materials. We structured the Woking drops around a simple principle: the right aggregate, at the right time, in the right quantity.

First drop — strip and sub-base. On the Woking site, the old surface was planed off and we delivered 10 tonnes of 20mm shingle. The tarmac gang spread and compacted the first layer while the excavation was still open, which saved a day because they did not have to rehandle the material.

Second drop — top-up and sand. After the first compaction pass, the levels were checked and a further 7 tonnes of shingle were delivered, along with the 3 tonnes of sharp sand. This Woking drop also included the concrete edgings and the fixings for the formwork. The sand was delivered in sealed bags to keep the pavement clean.

Third drop — reserve and final bed. We kept a small reserve of shingle and sand at the yard in case the levels needed adjustment. In the event, the reserve was not needed, but having it available meant Bramble could press on with the final screed and tarmac laying without a last-minute merchant run.

All drops on the Woking driveway were kerbside tipped onto the stripped area. The driver swept the pavement after each tip and carried a shovel to make sure no aggregate was left on the road. The Woking site was on a bus route, so keeping the carriageway clear was a safety issue as well as a courtesy.

The build

The build ran for one intensive week, which we broke into a day-by-day programme under a single weekly phase.

• Week 1, Day 1 — Strip and excavation. The old tarmac and concrete were planed off and removed in a skip. The sub-grade was inspected and any soft spots were dug out and replaced with compacted shingle.
• Week 1, Day 2 — Sub-base layer one. The geotextile membrane was laid and the first 100mm of 20mm shingle was spread and compacted with a twin-drum roller. The levels were checked with a straight edge and the fall towards the road was confirmed. Any high spots were raked back into the low areas before the second layer went on.
• Week 1, Day 3 — Sub-base layer two and edgings. The second layer of shingle was added and compacted. Concrete edgings were set on a mortar bed along both sides of the driveway and at the garage threshold. The edgings were checked with a spirit level and string line to make sure they were straight.
• Week 1, Day 4 — Bedding and preparation. The sharp sand was screeded to a fine, level bed. Timber formwork was fixed at the pavement edge and the channel drain was set in concrete in front of the garage door. The drain was tested with a hose to confirm flow before the tarmac was laid.
• Week 1, Day 5 — Tarmac laying. The binder course and surface course tarmac were laid in two passes and rolled while hot. The edgings were checked for line and level as the tarmac cooled.
• Week 1, Day 6 — Jointing and cleanup. The block-paved edging haunch was pointed, the channel drain cover was bedded level with the finished surface and the pavement and road were swept clean.
• Week 1, Day 7 — Handover. The driveway was left to cure, the skip was removed and the clients parked on it for the first time the following weekend.

The programme finished on the Friday as planned. The only minor adjustment was on Day 2, when the extra shingle drop was needed to fill the old soakaway pocket.

The result

The finished driveway is a clean, dark tarmac surface with neat block-paved edgings, a consistent fall and a new channel drain that takes the runoff away from the garage. It is wide enough for two cars, it no longer holds water and it gives the front of the house the fresh appearance the clients wanted. The block-paved edgings match the paving on the neighbouring drives and give a crisp boundary to the tarmac.

Bramble billed the clients £9,800 for the rebuild. The Star Hawk material pack was £1,360.

For a relatively small material spend on the Woking driveway, the value was in the timing and the cleanliness. Because the shingle and sand arrived exactly when the Woking digger and roller were ready, the job was completed in a single week rather than spreading over two. The neighbours also commented that the pavement stayed clean, which matters on a busy estate road. The clients were able to park both cars on the driveway the following weekend, and the surfacing contractor noted that the sub-base was easy to work with because the shingle was clean and consistently graded.

What we don't supply on a driveway

On a tarmac driveway rebuild like this one in Woking, the following items sit outside our range:

• Tarmac surface course and binder course on the Woking job — supplied by the surfacing contractor in hot-load deliveries.
• Block paving, setts or resin-bound finish if used for decorative edgings or feature areas on the Woking driveway.
• Channel drains, gullies, underground drainage pipes and soakaway crates — supplied by the drainage contractor.
• Geotextile membranes, weed suppressants and driveway sealants if not in our standard range on the Woking driveway.
• Specialist surfacing plant such as pavers, planers and large rollers — hired by the contractor on the Woking site.
• Drop kerbs, pavement crossovers and any council highway works — arranged through the Woking local authority.
• Landscaping, planting, fencing and final garden make-good on the Woking driveway.

Everything else — the sub-base aggregate, bedding sand, edgings, cement, mortar and fixings — stays on the single Star Hawk account for this Woking driveway.

Cost transparency

The materials Star Hawk supplied came to £1,360 and broke down as follows:

Category	Materials supplied	Cost
Sub-base aggregate	17 tonnes 20mm shingle	£850
Bedding sand	3 tonnes sharp sand	£180
Edgings & kerbs	Concrete edgings and bed material	£190
Fixings & hardware	5 boxes nails, 8 boxes screws	£140

The remaining £8,440 covered the tarmac supply and laying, block paving, channel drain, plant hire, skip hire, labour and profit for the surfacing contractor.

Why Woking homeowners choose Star Hawk

We are 15 minutes from the GU21 postcode district and our round covers Woking, including Horsell, Knaphill, St Johns, Maybury and Goldsworth Park. From Woking we also deliver to Guildford, Camberley, Farnham and Staines-upon-Thames on the same day for driveway rebuilds.

Most of our Woking driveway customers are homeowners who want a tidy, reliable aggregate supply for a one-week surfacing job on a busy residential street. They want a supplier who sends clean vehicles, tips neatly, answers the phone when the levels change and does not block the school-run traffic. We keep 20mm shingle and sharp sand in stock for same-week driveway jobs and can usually deliver within 24 hours of order. If your Woking driveway rebuild needs a measured sub-base pack, send your dimensions through the quote builder and we will come back the same business day.