Driveways Design and Supply Contractors in London - Driveways Photo Gallery

Driveways; Front Drives; Courtyards; Coach yards; Courts; Parking Areas

Examples of Old London Riven Paving

Voted London’s Best Landscape Designers, Belsize Landscapes are one of the United Kingdom’s most sought after garden design companies for the Construction of Driveways and Patios.

Their Chairman, the highly energetic and ever enthusiastic Robert Sergent-Fairley, a keen ex Latin scholar, was always fascinated with the Construction Methods as used by the Romans. He always marvelled at the speed and the precision with which they laid their Roads, their Concourses, their Courtyards, their Driveways and their Atriums.

Paths Patios and Driveways >>> | Patios 1| Patios 2 | Patios 3 | Patios 4 | Patios 5 |

He has copied many of their Construction Techniques, particularly in ground preparation and in the laying of sub bases. His Award Winning Team of Professional Craftsmen also work with speed and in complete unison as did the Roman legions of 2000 years ago.

Drives and Paths >>> | Patios 1| Patios 2 | Patios 3 | Patios 4 | Patios 5 |

As with the Romans, nothing daunts Robert Sergent-Fairley; no project is too difficult or too complicated for him and for his Professional Patio Construction Team and his Professional Patio Paving Team. He has many times been faced with seemingly impossible tasks; he purely smiles, ponders carefully and then provides a Brilliant London Garden Design to solve the problem. His attitude is that if a client wishes a level driveway to go through a hill, his professional construction team will handle it; if there is no hill but a client would like a driveway to go over a hill, his team will create one.

Robert’s Garden Design Process for a London Driveway is speedy and simple.  He visits personally all prospective London clients and listens intently to their wishes; he combines these with his own highly imaginative ideas; he takes careful notes of ground measurements, contours, drainage and the general surrounds.

Paths Patios and Driveways >>> | Patios 1| Patios 2 | Patios 3 | Patios 4 | Patios 5 |

He then supplies within 48 hours a beautiful Free Hand Scale Garden Design Drawing of the proposed London project; he makes no charges for his consultations and he provides his Scale Drawings totally free of charge. Robert estimates that on average it takes 3 weeks from the initial consultation, to the final completion of each London construction project.

London Driveways, London Courtyards and London Parking Areas can be laid in a variety of fashions utilising a large range of materials. In recent years the majority of the London Front Drives constructed by Belsize Landscapes have been laid with large and medium sized flagstone pavings.

Belsize Landscapes Design and Construction of Front Drives, Courtyards ad Parking Areas can be of any shape or of any size; they can be square, rectangular, symmetrical, triangular, hexagonal, octagonal or thin, wide, L shaped, star shaped or of any angular shape imaginable; they can also be circular, oval, amoeba shaped, kidney shaped or of any desired curved shape.

These beautifully designed Driveways are generally laid in a random fashion; sometimes the pavings are laid in lines, if a client requests.

Most of the Flagstones are newly cut and have a slightly riven surface; the 2 most popular ones are of a light beige sandy colour or of light grey shades.

Belsize Landscapes professional team of patio pavers also lay beautiful Black Slate Flagstones, either in lines or in a random fashion. This style of Black Slate Drive or Patio is very calming, very soothing and quite stunning.

Other styles of London Front Drive include Reclaimed Bricks laid in a Basket Weave fashion, or in a Herringbone Brick fashion. Another popular style for certain older properties, such as the Hampstead Garden Suburb, is the construction of a Crazy Yorkstone Driveway.

For Driveway Construction the Belsize Professional Groundworks Team clear the area and dig out the ground to a depth of 12 inches. The bottom is then filled with a layer of hard core to a depth of 4 inches; alternatively the bottom is sometimes filled with MOT TYPE 1 (this is an aggregate of crushed limestone chippings) to a depth of 4 inches; the MOT TYPE 1 is then beaten down to a depth of 3 inches by the use of a petrol driven Compactor Plate. This 3 inch to 4 inch sub base (of hard core or MOT TYPE 1) is then covered with a 5 inch layer of concrete; with an eye to the time of year and the weather conditions, the Belsize Professional Construction Team often add a Frost Proofer to the concrete.

According to the ultimate usage of the London Driveway or London Parking Area, the Belsize Landscapes Construction Team normally lay A142 steel mesh over the sub base prior to the addition of concrete. The A142 steel mesh is generally laid in 12 feet by 6 feet 6 inch panels (it can be cut into shapes with a small steel angle grinder); the purpose of the A142 is to give added strength to the base for the Driveway, particularly in areas of known ground movement or clay areas.

If the Belsize Construction Professional Team are laying a particularly large or long London Driveway, they insert Expansion joints every 6 feet.

It should be noted that one must NEVER PUT CONCRETE DIRECTLY ONTO CLAY GROUND as when the clay dries out, the concrete will crack and the pavings above will appear eventually as if a Meteor from outer space had landed on them!

The Belsize Professional Construction team then lay the chosen Flagstone Pavings onto a special cement mix, on top of the concrete slab; a small gap of half inch to three quarters inch is left between each paving stone; this gap is then “pointed” with another different special cement mix.

Paths Patios and Driveways >>> | Patios 1| Patios 2 | Patios 3 | Patios 4 | Patios 5 |

Prior to the laying of the pavings, the Belsize Professional Construction Team give careful consideration to the “run off” of rain water. This “run off” can ultimately be into a road, into plant beds, into drains or if no drains exist, they put in drains with drainage pipes. On certain properties, it is necessary to install an ACO drain to take away excess water. Care also is taken by the Belsize Professional Construction Team over existing manholes; these, they normally replace with a “sunken manhole cover” which is ultimately filled with carefully selected paving pieces.

A final embellishment to their London Front Drives and London Courtyards is the possibility of a “Stone Sealant”. Car tyres, oil and engine stains can affect the beauty of a Natural Stone Driveway; if the Flagstone Pavings are covered with a “brush on” stone sealant, any debris or oil can be washed off.

An average small London Front Drive is around 20 feet by 12 feet although a standard “Drive In And Drive Out” Driveway is in the region of 35 feet by 20 feet. Recent Projects of Belsize Landscapes have included a Driveway of 300 feet by 18 feet which lead to a turning area of 100 feet by 40 feet; another of their achievements was a twisting uphill Driveway of 500 feet by 15 feet which lead to 6 separate Courtyards around Stable Blocks, a Gymnasium and a very large “Front Turning and Parking Area” overlooking a lake – the paved areas were approximately 6000 square yards. Another smaller but equally intricate project was a reclaimed Crazy Yorkstone Driveway of 15 feet by 24 feet.

The team at Belsize Landscapes are Professional Pavers and have in recent years constructed a medley of the most stunning Front Drives in North London.

Hard landscaping generally needs softening with plants, shrubs and trees. Belsize Landscapes often create Raised Beds around the Driveways in order to maximise the Landscaped Parking Spaces or the Designed Driveways. They normally construct the Raised Beds from Reclaimed Bricks, or from Rendered and Painted Walls or from Newly Cut Railway Timbers (Sleepers). Alternately, planting spaces are often created whilst a Front Drive is being laid.

The Song of The Beechnut Fairy O the great and happy Beech Glorious and Tall! Changing with the changing months Lovely in them all:Lovely in the leafless time Lovelier in green; Loveliest with golden leaves And the sky between

Belsize Landscapes, being Award Wining Garden Designers, have no difficulties in filling these new planting areas. Robert Sergent-Fairley’s Planting schemes are as plain or as awe inspiring as a client wishes. His plantings are generally either of a Traditional Planting Style (evergreen flowering shrubs with flowering borders) or of an Exotic Planting Style (Palms, Bamboos, Lemons and brightly coloured Tropical Plants).

Gates, railings and fencing are often required for Driveways. Belsize Landscapes construct many styles of Wooden Fencing and also supply and fit beautiful Spear Topped Railings and Spear Topped Gates.

If Front Drives (and the new plant areas) require Garden Lighting, Belsize Landscapes organise amazing London Garden Lighting systems, which at night, add a new dimension to the area.

Customer Quotes Richard and Belinda Savours – St Johns Wood

We are most impressed at your make-over of our front driveway. It looks so good it actually puts our main garden to shame! Belinda loves the plants and we are both delighted with the way your team has relaid the front steps. We have had many building teams in the past but yours is definitely the best; you should consider house construction!

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