Paving Services In Buckinghamshire

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Paving services in Buckinghamshire

There is no doubt that when seeking paving services in Buckinghamshire or neighbouring areas it pays to find the perfect contractor. Buckinghamshire landscape gardeners have been paving Buck’s gardens for over ten years with a good knowledge of all types of paving surfaces.

​Not only do we have a thorough knowledge of laying paving we are experts in patio design. This means we can soon work to realise a solution to your paving needs. Our paving services in Buckinghamshire have experience of both patio and driveway construction.

Some examples of our paving projects below

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Identifying the style of paving and materials you wish to use is a very important part of planning new paving. Paving can be the most permanent type of garden construction. A well built patio or driveway will last at least 60 years so it is important to get it right the first time around.

We create videos of our paving construction projects to show you how we build our paving. We use the correct excavation depths and sub grades in conjunction with British standards. We do our upmost to ensure our paving services in Buckinghamshire are the very best. We have provided some of our project examples below.
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What makes Buckinghamshire Landscape Gardeners stand out from other contractors is we have an excellent understanding of external design. Our director is a fully qualified landscape architect and also a landscape builder. Not only will we help you plan your new paving we will build it to an extremely high specification. We take great care over every cut, manhole, and joint consistency so we can show off our work examples to potential clients and social media.

During one of our typical onsite, free, consultations we will take measurements and work out your gardens opportunities and constraints. After we have completed our initial consultation we will email over our formal quotation for the project. Our quotation will provide a description of the work and a potential start date.
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Our paving services in Buckinghamshire are always in line with British standard specification and in response to your ground conditions. This includes digging down to the correct depths and using the appropriate depths of substrates. This is our guarantee to you so your new paving will last the test of time and look amazing for many years to come.
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Why not look at some of our paving services in Buckinghamshire work examples portfolio here.

What to consider when paving your Buckinghamshire home. ​

Orientation ​

A very important consideration of planning new paving and especially patios is the orientation. Orientation allows you to plan for one of the most important factors, sunlight! Sunlight provides warmth and a light space to relax and socialise. Very often the unpredictability of the UK’S weather means every second of sunlight should be capitalised on.  Our paving services in Buckinghamshire will ensure you are making the most of the available sunlight around your property.
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All paving is either made of natural stone or moulded concrete pavers. These stone like materials do a very good job of absorbing the heat from sun. Not only do they absorb it they retain it and release it back slowly. This ‘thermal emittance’ means paving can create warm micro-climates around our outside spaces.

​This can be enhanced further if new paving is situated next to the walls of the building. If you have a south facing garden this situation can be exaggerated even further. Paving in these environments can create microclimatic temperatures much warmer than the surrounding locality.

These conditions are perfect for early morning breakfasts and early evening dinners, drinks parties and family get together’s. A garden paving scheme which is planned to enhance microclimate will enable you to grow exotic plants and even fruits. If you like this idea and have room you can grow fruits like citrus and bananas in pots taking them inside for the winter.

​This may be a push for the hilly parts of Buckinghamshire such as the Chilterns. Microclimate however can certainly extend a gardens planting palette a great deal.
Our paving services in Buckinghamshire always seek to enhance the beneficial effects of microclimate. We do this by always looking at potential orientation opportunities in any garden. Orientation and microclimate are a very important element to good paving design.

Design

What kind of paving design you opt for will depend on a few different factors. Use, orientation, material, drainage and shape are all paving design factors which need consideration and planning. Most of the time our clients have a good idea of what want. This usually encompasses the location, size and style of the new paving.

Our paving services in Buckinghamshire have many years experience in helping people achieving the paving effect they desire. During an initial consultation we will listen to your needs and expectations and work with you to make them a reality.

If there is one thing that is taught in garden design schools across the land it is function before form. Function is one of the most important parts of planning a new paving project. This includes how your paving spaces will interact with and give host to other garden elements. Paving and patios should be planned to the sites strengths and compliment both inside and outside.
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Our paving services in Buckinghamshire can work with you to work out the best spatial solution for your home.

Material

When choosing the type of paving you want the material will depend on texture, usage and effect. Adequate grip will be requires if the paving will be used by children, the elderly or if the space is regularly wet. This is a very functional requirement with extra grip to be found on well textured paving. This can be chiselled or sand blasted or a naturally textured paving such as riven sandstone or course granites. If you require textured paving our paving services in Buckinghamshire can advise you on the best choice for you.

 When choosing what aesthetic qualities or style of paving you wish there are many ways of reaching a decision. Very often potential clients have got an idea of the effect they want or have seen examples of what they want. We always do our utmost to involve clients in the design process of their new paving.  We find conducting a web search of images locate great precedent examples to develop ideas from.  This enables clients to get new ideas and narrow down the type of scheme they would like.
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A very common desire of many clients is the idea that the inside flows outside on one simultaneous level. Achieving a harmonious flow from the back of the building through to a spacious paved area is the desire of many. This is a common tool of architectural design allowing space to flow uninterrupted creating a feeling of light and space.

We have noticed many Buckinghamshire properties extent the back of the home to create extra space. These extensions are a great way to extend a kitchen or living area. These are the kind of open plan design schemes perfect for flowing onto outside paving. Many extensions have large foldable sliding doors perfect to give entrance to a Grande new patio. 
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In these situations or clients wish for the garden paving level to be flush with the floor level of the building. This may or may not be possible depending on where the air bricks are situated on the building. The moisture content of the ground and drainage can also be an issue here. Our paving services in Buckinghamshire can advise you on the best way to proceed with this kind of scheme. 

What type of paving to choose?

As laid out above there are many things to consider planning new paving around your property. Functionally paving should complement the building and create cohesion between the inside and outside.  More important it should complement the theme of the garden and look fantastic!

Our paving services in Buckinghamshire team can work with you to bring these attributes to your project. With our creative ability to formulate multiple design ideas we can make this process easy. With using precedent images of other landscape projects you will find the process easy and even fun! Our aim is to reach a big vision for your garden and build landscapes of magazine quality.  Our process usually safes our clients in landscape design costs.
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Our paving services in Buckinghamshire do our best to combine a sound knowledge of design and construction to work up quick schemes. This can be seen below in the simplistic landscape design using black slate. This is a low maintenance garden consisting of paving, a concrete shed base, lawn and retaining seating wall. This scheme was sketched out on paper within the first 10 minutes of meeting the client. The result was a fresh, clean, practical garden design with a beautifully paved patio.
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If you would like to benefit from our paving services in Buckinghamshire including a quick sketch proposal contact us here.

Paving a front garden or driveway in Buckinghamshire

If you wish to pave your front garden it is very possible you are trying to make way for a new parking space. If you have no private front parking and with more cars today people have no choice but to pave over them. In the past 20 years Buckinghamshire’s population has risen quite substantially. This has led to busier roads and some large road building projects. This has led to a greater demand for parking surfaces and front gardens has felt the full force of this trend.

Paving the front garden however does not have to be about creating new parking facilities. A well designed front garden scheme can frame your greatest asset and even add value. If you’re planning to add paving to your front garden you may have to add a drainage system. Our paving services in Buckinghamshire can advise you on the best way to move forward. Feel free to contact us here.

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Driveway construction in Buckinghamshire

The majority of driveway projects across Buckinghamshire are what we would recognise as block paving. Traditionally there are two main types of block paving. The first is the brick type block paver which comes in the colours brindle, charcoal, and buff. These are the most common type of block paving which is laid in a Herringbone pattern.

The second type is the cobbled effect three sizes block paving. These usually come in three sizes and are square and oblong in shape. Marshall’s range is called tegula with other brands coming under other names. These usually cost about £5.00 more per square metre and in my opinion look much better than the traditional block paving.
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One of the downsides to using the typical brick shaped block pavers is there colours will usually fade to a smokey hue of their original colour. The reason for this is the sun’s ultra violet rays eventually fade the dyes inside the block. The concrete dyes of the charcoal, buff and brindle are a much stronger tone than that of the tegula variety. As the tegula are a more cobble effect they make use of more grey type tones. This is more like the natural colour of the material they are made out of. This means there is less fading and a block paving which will look good for much longer.

Many people wonder why block paving is just so popular for driveways across the country. The reason driveways are paved with block paving is down to their construction. Block paving is laid on a compacted layer of sand this allows for small movements in the wearing surface. These movements are tiny and unnoticeable but allow for the uneven weight distribution of heavy vehicles to not crack the surface.

This kind of construction is called flexible paving. Block paving also allows water to permeate the surface so spilt oils and engine metals cant access the road. Laying a driveway on a rigid mortar base means the likely hood of it eventually cracking. If you wish to pave your driveway with paving slabs it is possible but a much deeper excavation will be needed. To ensure no cracking it would be best to lay a reinforce concrete slab base. Paving will then have to be laid on a strong 1:4 mortar mix with a consistent mortar bed at least 40mm thick.
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Many people like the idea of a moulded concrete drive with dyes. This is another option however be aware! If you have a large driveway you will probably have to install expansion joints. These can interrupt the pattern of the driveway. It is worth noting that councils do not allow water runoff from impermeable drives onto the road. With non permeable paving a drainage gully with a soak away must be installed with the project. Our paving services in Buckinghamshire can advise you on the best course of action here.

For a typical block paving driveway the ground should be dug down to a depth of 250 millimetres. Depending on the ground conditions this may need to be slightly deeper. Buckinghamshire has an underlying chalk geology which is usually very stable and durable. Then 150 millimetres of MOT Type one compactable hardcore should be spread evenly as a base.

 This should then be compacted with a vibro-compaction plate. This should be followed by a 50 millimetre layer of sharp sand which should be compacted. It should be then screened to a consistent, evenly graded level. The blocks should then be laid tightly to the straightest edge and cut in neatly around the edges. The blocks should then be sanded with dry kiln dried sand and compacted once again with the compaction plate.

Want to know about block paving construction the correct way? Why not watch a step by step video of one of our driveways below. Here you can observe the correct excavation, base preparation and block laying. See this video below.
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A professional paving company should leave the project, road and pavement cleaner than the day they started. If you would like any advice on the best driveway option for you please feel free contact us. Our paving services in Buckinghamshire also serve Home Counties and North West London. Typical localities for our projects include High Wycombe, Aylesbury, Amersham, Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross and the Chalfont’s.

Watch a video of our driveway construction below!

Drainage considerations of new paving in Buckinghamshire

Due to an increase in Buckinghamshire’s traffic and population many gardens are now covered with paving. Traditional garden spaces occupied with lawns and flower borders absorb large amounts of excess storm water. This water re-absorbs into the ground replenishing the natural water table. This natural process keeps the moisture content of the ground consistent. In some cases this process has led to the underlying ground to shrink and crack. This has led to instances of ground movement and subsidence.

The more human development and household paving there is the more water runoff there is. This has caused a huge rise in the flood risk to our low lying towns and cities. Rainwater passes over patios and driveways extremely quickly. This flushes toxins from our surfaces into the drainage network. This has led to pollution pouring into the natural hydraulic cycle and affecting the ecology of watercourses. 
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For these reasons Councils seek to ensure that all new driveways do not accelerate these problems even further. For new driveway paving in Buckinghamshire there are some facts you may wish to consider. If you are creating a driveway where there was once lawn or flower bed the following applies.  If possible water runoff should be directed into a suitably sized flower bed so it can drain. If the whole garden is to be paved all storm water must be directed into a drainage gully. The gully must then be plumbed into a 1 metre cubed soak away underneath the paving.
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This will enable all excess runoff water to be reabsorbed by the ground slowly. If you’re planning a driveway and need drainage advice please contact our paving services in Buckinghamshire today.

Paving a back garden patio in Buckinghamshire

A Patio can be a truly fantastic multi use instalment to your back garden. A well laid patio will provide the opportunity for endless outside entertainment and past times. The level consistent surface can host dinner parties, barbecues and even garden games. Patios also set the stage for numerous garden gadgets and gifts. Check out a great article with a selection of patio gadgets here.
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The most typical garden patios we build are using natural stone paving. Some of the most popular natural paving on the market is Indian Sandstones, Limestone’s and Slate. There is an advantage to using these natural paving materials over concrete paving. Firstly these natural stones are not as expensive as they used to be. Competitive labour rates in places like India and Brazil have meant reasonably affordable prizes. If you have a budget of £45 per metre you have quite a range of natural stone to choose from.

In my opinion natural stone looks far more superior to concrete alternatives. One of the main problems with concrete aggregate paving is they rely on dyes for colouration. After a series of years the sun bleaches out the colours and tones leading to a worn look. Acidity from the rain weakens the alkaline in the concrete leading to weathering and algae penetration. Natural stone will always maintain their colour and are easy to keep clean especially if sealed.

For back garden paving that will not be exposed to heavy vehicular traffic we use rigid construction.
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This involves digging out the new paving to a depth of 150 millimetres down from the finished level. We then supply and spread 100 millimetres of MOT Type 1 compactable hardcore. We then compact with a vibro-compaction plate. For all natural paving we lay on a consistent 40 millimetre 1:4 mortar mix bed. For clean cut paving like slate we sometimes but up the slabs for consistency and then sand the joints. This depends on the client’s preference or style they wish to achieve. For sandstones and 5 size multipacks we will point the joints with a 3:1 mortar mix.

It is important that all paving is laid on a mortar bed wet enough to create a suction seal on the underside of the slabs. This also allows the mortar to be absorbed into the paving creating a firm bond. The mortar bed should be consistent and touch all parts of the underside of the paving. To lay this way requires much more skill than dobbing but is the only way to ensure durability. Paving build this way will last the test of time.
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For more information on our paving services in Buckinghamshire please do not hesitate to contact us here.

Beware of paving companies that knock on your door

There is a very common worry and common phenomenon today in the paving industry. Very often a area is hit by a frenzy of driveway construction. A single paving company of which no one has ever heard before sweeps the area. Driveways and patios are built on mass with workers and advertising boards on every corner. Most often these gangs operate under a false name and disappear as quickly as they appeared. They move area changing their name resulting in no accountability for the work they have done. Their construction methods fall short of correct specification and the materials are inferior.

Persuasive sales people are enrolled to knock door to door to try to talk them into their services. Their sales teams are extremely charming and very good at offering extremely low prices. This results in them carrying out a huge number of paving projects at once. This reassures other potential clients who happily agree to allow work to begin. Sometimes they will actually start work without any agreement taking place!

Beware of the cowboys!

Our paving services in Buckinghamshire are very familiar with the aftermath of these kinds of contractors. We are very often called to put right many of these paving projects of which are nothing less than robbery. We find they are excavated to only one third of the required depth and use substrates which do not compact properly. The paving materials are the cheapest they can find and the workmanship is awful. These contractors soon become intimidating when it comes to payment and there is no way to hold them account.

Most of these companies carry out these works on a ten year rotation and change their name for every area. Even if clients are happy with the poor workmanship the drive will soon fail. Tyre sink marks are usually visible in a couple of years soon becoming an accident waiting to happen. The brick work these companies build is absolutely shocking! We have seen 1 metre high walls built on only 3 inches of concrete. One wall was collapsing only after five weeks! The mortar ratio was so weak the rain was washing it out of the pointing.

  We recommend anyone using paving services in Buckinghamshire reference our construction description above. Ask them what depth they will excavate? What sub grade they will use? What mortar ratios they use? And insist on a specific brand of paving. 

When considering paving services in Buckinghamshire remember a few key facts. Anyone knocking on your door has no demand for their services. If you want cheap you will pay once and then the actual price in a few years time. We recommend checking out company reviews and recommendations online. The internet has given extra accountability to tradesmen ask yourself do these people put effort into what they do? Here at Buckinghamshire Landscape Gardeners we spend much time making videos of our projects. We also have a fully updated project portfolio.
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Please do not waste your money on these paving companies! Our paving services in Buckinghamshire have a long track record of successful projects and construction videos for your reference. Feel free to contact our Buck's paving services today. ​

Paving on Buckinghamshire geology

Buckinghamshire has a rather unique topography and subsequent geology. North western pressure in tectonic forces from Italy pushing into Europe has helped to influence our landscape. These forces have led to the buckling of chalk bedrock forming the North, South Downs and Chiltern Hills. The Chilterns acted as a dumping line of materials from the huge glacier of the last Ice Age.  

This has led to a unique combination of chalk escarpments with flint, clay loams and silt sands. This has led to various soil types any competent paving contractors mush be aware of. Paving companies should follow British standard guidelines on excavation and construction of paving. A professional paving expert should assess every projects soil type to ensure correct methods are implemented.
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Chalk is an extremely robust substrate to build on and so is clay. If you have sandy loams typical of areas north of the Chilterns some concrete base work may be required. Our paving services in Buckinghamshire are experts in identifying soil types. This allows us to execute successful patios and driveways based on your unique conditions.

Our paving services also cover Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire. If you require a competent paving company contact Buckinghamshire landscape gardeners today!

Examples of Buckinghamshire landscape gardeners paving.

Buckinghamshire landscape gardeners have over ten years experience in paving both patios and driveways. We have strived for many years to be fully transparent in our approach and work examples. For this reason we put in extra work to create videos of our projects and built and online portfolio. 

​ This gives you the opportunity to research our methods and work standards before we even visit you. This safe you time and the peace of mind we are an excellent contractor that takes pride in their work. Please do not hesitate to contact our paving services in Buckinghamshire today.

Paving patios & driveways what is our approach?

Buckinghamshire landscape gardeners are highly experienced in both paving design and laying paving. Our first consultation will try to establish your desires and needs as well as your properties opportunities. This will enable us to come up with the best paving strategy for you and your family.

​Our vast expertise in garden design and landscape architecture means we can come up with that big vision.  By utilising simple sketches and precedent images we can come up with the perfect paving proposals fast. We want all of our paving to be worthy of coverage in a national magazine. This is why we are constantly striving to push the boundaries of garden landscaping.

Contact us for paving services in Buckinghamshire

One thing we pride ourselves with is our closeness to our clients. Not only will our director Paul work with you to come up with the perfect scheme he will personally be there on site to deliver it. With a sound knowledge of both design and construction it is possible for us to reach an extremely high standard. Our attention to detail is held to account by our ambition to have the best work examples including videos on the web.
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When contacting us we feel email is the best line of enquiry. Feel free to call but due to our very hands on nature we may be onsite, with a client of physically building a project. This means we can get back to you and plan a consultation straight away. For these reasons we feel email is much better. Just leave your name, contact details and a brief description of your project and where you are based.

There is usually a wait of 5-10 weeks from agreeing a project to starting based on how busy we are. There is always a little wait for good quality contractors feel free to contact our paving services in Buckinghamshire today.
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