Asphalt surfacing contractors
Where a site needs more than a standard macadam wearing course — higher traffic, heavier axle loads, tighter skid resistance or a written specification to meet.
In short
Asphalt surfacing covers bitumen-bound materials laid as a wearing course, binder course or base. The mix matters: stone mastic asphalt for heavily trafficked areas, hot rolled asphalt where a traditional highway finish is specified, dense bitumen macadam for general use and porous asphalt where surface water has to drain through rather than off.
On this page
Choosing the mix · Working to a written specification · Compaction and joints · Testing and evidence
Most surfacing enquiries do not arrive with a material specified, and they do not need to. But on heavily trafficked sites, adopted roads and anywhere working to a written spec, the mix is the decision that matters most — and it is where a contractor either knows the material or does not.
We lay the common UK asphalt mixes and will tell you plainly which one suits your site and why the cheaper option might not.
Choosing the mix
| Material | Typically used for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| SMA (stone mastic asphalt) | Busy car parks, bus routes, HGV areas | Stone-on-stone structure resists rutting and deformation under heavy or slow-moving traffic |
| Hot rolled asphalt | Adopted highways, traditional specifications | Dense, durable and long established; usually chipped for skid resistance |
| Dense bitumen macadam | General car parks, access roads, driveways | Cost-effective, widely available, quick to lay |
| Porous / permeable asphalt | Sites with drainage or SuDS constraints | Lets water drain through the surface rather than running off it |
| Coloured asphalt | Entrances, bays, shared surfaces | Colour comes from the aggregate, so it wears rather than peeling |
Working to a written specification
If your project comes with a specification — a developer's requirement, a Series 700 highway spec, an insurer's or landlord's standard — send it with the enquiry. We will price against it rather than against an assumption, and we will flag anything in it that will not work on the site as it stands.
For adoptable work, the specification usually dictates layer depths, material grades, joint detailing and testing. That is a different exercise from a standard commercial resurfacing job and is priced as one.
Compaction and joints
Two things separate a surface that lasts from one that does not, and neither is visible once the job is finished:
- Compaction. Asphalt has to be rolled while it is within its working temperature. Under-compacted material has voids, water gets in, and it comes apart at the first hard frost.
- Joints. Longitudinal and transverse joints are the weakest points in any surface. They should be planned to fall away from wheel paths where possible, cut clean and sealed, not left where the paver happened to stop.
It is worth asking any contractor how they will handle both. On our jobs, the answer forms part of the method rather than being decided on the day.
Testing and evidence
On larger contracts we can provide delivery tickets, material certificates and, where the specification calls for it, core testing and compaction records. Ask at quotation stage if your scheme needs them so the cost is included rather than added later. [ACCREDITATIONS]
How projects run
The same five stages on every job, scaled to the site.
Site survey
We measure the area, assess the existing surface and ground conditions, and check access for plant and deliveries.
Specification and quote
A written quote setting out the build-up, depths, materials, drainage, edgings and what is excluded.
Preparation
Planing or excavation, removal of arisings, sub-base laying and compaction, plus any drainage and kerbing.
Laying
Binder and surface courses laid and rolled to the specified depth, with joints and levels set out against falls.
Handover
Line marking where required, site cleared, and written guidance on when the surface can take traffic.
Questions we get asked
Anything not covered here, call 0208 050 7207.
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.
On contracts that require them, yes. Tell us at quotation stage so the testing regime is priced in.
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