Tarmac Driveways St Albans
Red or black tarmacadam, a quick and low-maintenance way to upgrade your frontage. Add block paved borders or decorative chippings rolled into the surface for a smarter finish.
Driveway Contractors St Albans
New Driveway in St Albans from Local Driveway Specialists
Tarmac, block paving and resin bound driveways built by a family run team. Free survey · Free quote · No obligation.
- 10-year guarantee
- £5 million public liability cover
- Family run business
Free Driveway Quote in St Albans
Tell us about your drive and we will arrange a free, no-obligation survey.
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No obligation. Your details are only used to arrange your quote.
- Excellent references Long established, local and professionally run
- Free advice & quote No-obligation site visit and survey
- Experienced specialists A fully trained, qualified team
- Fully insured £5 million public liability indemnity
Laid with materials from leading UK manufacturers
Watford Paving & Asphalt at a glance
10 yrGuarantee on new driveways
£5mPublic liability insurance
1 dayTypical tarmac driveway install
32Towns and districts covered
Driveway specialists in St Albans
Driveway Ideas in St Albans AL1, AL3
Fleetville's Victorian terraces, the larger Edwardian houses around Clarence Park and the post-war family homes of Marshalswick each need a different kind of driveway, and as paving contractors St Albans homeowners can call on, we build for all of them. Our team works across the AL1 and AL3 areas, from Hatfield Road out to St Michael's, laying block paving, tarmac, resin bound surfaces and decorative borders, along with the walls, steps and kerbs that finish a frontage properly. The same team also covers nearby Redbourn, just a short drive up the road. Every project starts with a free survey and honest advice on what will suit your house and the way you use it.
Older St Albans houses deserve a drive that looks as if it has always been there. For Victorian and Edwardian homes we often use clay-look or tumbled blocks, granite-effect setts or a resin bound surface in a warm buff, with traditional rope-top or bullnose edging and a low brick wall to hold the front boundary. Materials come from manufacturers such as Bradstone, Marshalls and Natural Paving. We are family run, our workforce is fully trained, and we carry £5 million public liability insurance on every job.
- Red or black tarmac, often finished in a day
- Block paving in a wide range of colours and patterns
- Resin bound, tar and chip and mixed finishes
- Drainage, kerbs, walls, pillars and steps built in
Also covering Redbourn, Chiswell Green, Park Street, How Wood, London Colney, Sandridge
Reviews
What St Albans Customers Say About Our Driveways
Most of our work comes from recommendations. Here is what customers say about us.
Free survey · Free quote · No obligation · Read more reviews
What we build
St Albans’s Leading Driveway Builders
From a small reinstatement to a complete driveway, forecourt or car park, we have the team and the equipment to do the whole job.
Block Paving St Albans
Choose from a wide range of colours and patterns to suit your house. Laid on a properly compacted base with firm edge restraint, so the blocks stay level and do not sink.
Resin Bound Driveways St Albans
A smooth, permeable finish that lets rainwater drain through, with little upkeep. Also available as resin bonded or tar and chip for a textured, natural look.
Hard Landscaping St Albans
Walls and brickwork, brick pillars, steps and planters built to frame your new drive, so the whole frontage looks finished, not just the surface.
Driveway Repairs & Resurfacing
Potholes, sunken blocks, cracked concrete and failed edges put right, or a worn surface lifted and replaced on the existing base where it is sound.
Paving Services St Albans
Patios and paths, kerbs, channel drains and soakaways. Drainage provision is designed in, in line with current planning rules.
Our work
Driveway Styles We Build in St Albans
Time for a new drive?
Signs Your St Albans Driveway Needs Replacing
Cracks and potholes
Water gets in, freezes and breaks the surface up further every winter.
Sunken or rocking blocks
Usually a sign of a thin or failed sub-base, often with wheel ruts where the car parks.
Puddles after rain
Standing water or run-off towards the house points to poor falls or missing drainage.
Weeds and moss in the joints
Gaps have opened up and the jointing sand has washed out.
Not enough room to park
A narrow drive or old crazy paving that no longer suits two cars.
Loose or broken edges
Without firm edge restraint, the surface spreads and breaks away at the sides.
10-year guarantee
Local knowledge
Driveways St Albans: Built for Local Homes and Ground
Many of the oldest houses in St Albans have short, narrow frontages, especially the older cottages of St Michael's and the terraces around Bernards Heath, so fitting a car often means taking out a wall, reworking a step and keeping the drive inside a tight width with firm edge restraint. Ground varies across the city. The Ver valley below Verulamium carries gravel that drains well, while higher ground towards Jersey Farm and Batchwood has more clay, which holds water and moves with the seasons, so sub-base depth and drainage are decided on site. Mature trees line many roads, and their roots can lift a drive if they are ignored. Parking pressure near the station and city centre makes off-street space well worth having.
We cover St Albans from Fleetville and Marshalswick to St Michael's and Bernards Heath, along with Redbourn and the villages around the city.
Areas near St Albans
Driveway Specialists Near St Albans
We also cover these nearby areas with the same team and the same guarantees.
How it works
Driveway Services St Albans: How Your New Drive Is Built
What happens after you call, from the first visit to the day you park on it.
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Free survey and advice
We visit, measure up, check levels and drainage, and talk you through the options that suit your house and budget.
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Clear written quote
You get a free, no-obligation quote that sets out the surface, edging, drainage and any extras such as walls or pillars.
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Dig out and sub-base
The old surface is removed, the ground excavated to firm subgrade and a crushed stone sub-base laid and compacted.
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Drainage and edging
Falls, channel drains or a permeable build-up are set out, then kerbs and edges are fixed to hold the surface in place.
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Surface laid
Tarmac, block paving or resin goes down and is finished by hand. Many tarmac driveways are completed in a single day.
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Clean up and handover
We clear the site, walk you round the finished driveway and leave you with our 10-year guarantee.
Why us
Why trust Watford Paving & Asphalt as your Driveway Company in St Albans?
Family run, built on recommendations
Most of our work comes from customers passing our name to friends and neighbours, so every driveway has to be right.
Built from the ground up
Block paved driveways need expert building to avoid movement and sinking. We dig to firm ground, compact a proper sub-base and fix firm edges.
Drainage done properly
Every drive is laid to current planning rules, with correct drainage provision designed in from the start.
Guaranteed work and materials
A 10-year guarantee on new driveways, with materials from leading manufacturers that carry their own guarantees.
Why choose us as your Driveway Specialists in St Albans?
- Residential and commercial
- Fully qualified workforce
- Competitive prices
- Reputation for quality
- Free quotations
- 10-year guarantee
- Local to St Albans
- Full liability insurance
- Family run business
Watford Paving & Asphalting Ltd. Registered in England No. 09219477.
Prices
How much does a new driveway cost in St Albans?
In St Albans the biggest factors are frontage size and what has to come out first. Narrow Victorian frontages need careful work by hand, and removing a front wall, old crazy paving or concrete adds time. Clay ground on higher parts of the city usually needs a deeper dig and more sub-base than gravel near the Ver. Drainage, the material you choose, access on busy roads and any dropped kerb also matter. For a free, no-obligation survey, call 01727 530126.
What sets the price
- The size of the area
- The surface and finish you choose
- Dig-out depth and the condition of the old drive
- Drainage, kerbs, walls or steps
- How easy the site is to access
Free survey · Free quote · No obligation
FAQs
St Albans Driveways - Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the questions we are asked most. If yours is not here, call us.
Can you fit a driveway onto a narrow Victorian frontage in St Albans?
In many cases, yes. We measure the frontage, check the space needed to park clear of the pavement and look at how the front wall and steps can be reworked. Permeable block paving or resin bound surfacing often works best on small plots, keeping planning simple and drainage tidy. You will also need a dropped kerb from Hertfordshire County Council, and the frontage has to be deep enough for a car to park without overhanging the footway.
Do I need planning permission for a new driveway in St Albans?
Not usually, as long as the new surface is permeable or drains onto a lawn or border within your property. A new or replacement hard surface of more than 5 square metres in a front garden that sends water onto the road does need planning permission. We design to the current rules and explain the drainage at your free survey. A new dropped kerb is a separate application.
Do I need to provide any materials for the driveway installation?
No. On every new driveway we supply all materials, sourced from leading manufacturers, and they come with the manufacturer's own guarantee. You will not need to buy anything for your driveway installation.
I have no idea what I need / What would be best for my driveway and / or garden. Can you help?
Yes. We have wide experience of what works best for each situation in terms of use and budget, and can nearly always suggest something that will improve your driveway, path, patio or garden. We are happy to visit, give you our advice and supply a free, competitive quote.
Where do driveway drains go?
A channel drain is installed across the width of the driveway at its lowest point, usually where the drive meets the garage or the pavement, and it is connected to a soakaway or a suitable drainage run.
Can you put gravel on a sloping drive?
Loose gravel is not a good choice on a sloping drive, because it rolls downhill when cars drive over it. On a slope we recommend tarmac, block paving or a resin bound surface instead.
What is the minimum size requirement for a driveway?
A new driveway should be at least 10 to 12 feet wide (3 to 3.6 metres). Anything narrower makes it awkward to get in and out of the car.
What do you put under a driveway?
A well compacted, crushed stone sub-base on a firm, prepared subgrade. The sub-base is the foundation of the driveway, so we dig out to firm ground and choose the base material to suit your soil and the surface going on top.
What is the best type of driveway to have?
It depends on how long you want it to last, how much maintenance you are happy to do, the look you want and how much traffic it will take. For a hard-wearing, attractive surface with little upkeep we usually recommend tarmac or resin bound. Block paving offers the widest choice of colours and patterns.
Free quote
Get Your Free Driveway Quote in St Albans
Tell us a little about your driveway and we will arrange a free, no-obligation survey at a time that suits you.
- 01727 530126
- info@watfordpavingandtarmac.co.uk
- Covering St Albans AL1, AL3 and surrounding areas
- 10-year guarantee
- £5 million public liability cover
- Family run business
"*" indicates required fields
No obligation. Your details are only used to arrange your quote.