Frequently asked questions

In everyday UK use the words are interchangeable. Strictly, tarmac is short for tarmacadam — aggregate bound with tar — while modern surfaces use bitumen as the binder, which makes them asphalt. Nothing laid today uses coal tar. If a specification calls for SMA or hot rolled asphalt, that is a particular asphalt mix rather than a different trade.

A domestic driveway is usually one to two days including preparation. A commercial car park depends on the area and whether it has to be phased — a 1,000m² resurfacing job with the site closed might be three to four days, and considerably longer if it has to stay half open throughout.

Yes, though there are limits. Material has to be laid and rolled while hot, so very cold, wet or frosty conditions shorten the working window and can affect compaction. We would rather move a day than lay in conditions that compromise the finish.

They are the same family of material; the useful question is which mix suits the loading. For a domestic driveway, standard macadam is usually the sensible choice. For a distribution yard with slow-turning HGVs, SMA will hold its shape far longer and is worth the extra.

Stone mastic asphalt has a coarse stone skeleton held together with a rich binder mortar. It resists rutting under heavy, slow or turning traffic, which makes it the right choice for bus stops, loading areas, entrances and busy car parks.

Yes. Porous asphalt lets water through the surface into a designed sub-base, which can be a way of dealing with SuDS requirements on sites where run-off cannot simply be piped away. It needs a properly designed build-up underneath, so it is a design decision rather than a material swap.

Yes. Evening, overnight, weekend and holiday-period working is common on commercial sites and is often the only practical way to resurface a car park that has to stay in use.

Usually. Most jobs are phased in sections, with barriers and pedestrian routes set out before each phase begins. We will tell you at survey stage how many phases the area realistically needs.

Yes, including re-marking the existing layout or setting out a new one to fit more spaces in. Say so at enquiry stage and it is priced as part of the job.

It depends far more on preparation and drainage than on the surface itself. A straightforward overlay on a sound base is at the cheap end; a full rebuild with new drainage, kerbs and lining is several times that per square metre. We give a fixed price after a site survey, with the build-up stated so you can compare quotes properly.

Yes, and most are done that way. We agree the phases with you before starting so you know which areas are out of use and when.

We can form and mark the bays and lay ducting while the surface is up, which is much cheaper than retrofitting. The electrical installation itself would be by your contractor. [Confirm scope before publishing]

A well-built car park surface usually lasts 15 to 20 years, but that depends on loading and drainage far more than age. Sites where water ponds, or where HGVs turn on an area built for cars, wear out much faster. Small repairs carried out early extend the interval considerably.

Often, yes — provided the base is sound and levels allow. Where the base has failed, an overlay simply cracks through, so we check before recommending it.

They have to be adjusted to the new level as part of the job. If a quote does not mention covers and gullies, ask — leaving them proud or sunk causes damage and complaints within weeks.

Usually the frontagers — the owners of the properties it serves — or a management company, depending on the deeds. We are happy to quote in a form that can be circulated among several owners, with the cost split shown, since that is often what the decision needs.

Where works affect the public highway, permits and notices are required from the highway authority. We will tell you what your scheme needs and what it adds to the programme. [Confirm whether traffic management is in-house or subcontracted]

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Fifteen to twenty years is normal for a properly constructed driveway, and longer where drainage is good and small defects are repaired as they appear.

Usually 24 to 48 hours for vehicles, sooner for foot traffic, depending on depth and weather. We will give you the figure before we leave.

Not usually. Permission is only needed where a new or replacement driveway over five square metres drains directly onto the public road. Directing water to a soakaway or a border on your own land avoids it.

Meaningfully — you are not paying for excavation, disposal of spoil, or a new sub-base, which together are most of the cost of a new drive. The saving only holds if the existing base is genuinely sound.

On a sound base, comparable to a new surface — well over a decade. On a failing base, a couple of winters, which is why we survey before quoting.

There will be a joint at the edges where new material meets existing surfaces. Laid and rolled properly it is tidy and sealed; it will not be invisible.

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As a temporary measure to make something safe, they have a place. As a permanent repair they do not compare to a hot-laid, cut-out repair, and we would not present one as a lasting fix.

Yes. Most repair work we do is on surfaces laid by somebody else.