Driveways and patios across South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire tilts from west to east. Sheffield is built on hills at the edge of the Peak District, with terraces stepping up the slopes and drives that drop steeply towards the house. Out to the east, Doncaster sits on flat, low ground beside the Don, where surface water has nowhere quick to go and the water table can be close to the surface.

In between, Rotherham and Barnsley grew up around coal and steel. There are stone and brick terraces, large interwar and post-war estates, and newer housing built on land that was once industrial. On those sites the ground under a garden can be made-up fill rather than natural soil, which is why we never assume a sub-base depth until we’ve dug down and seen what’s there.

Plenty of homes still have the concrete drive they were built with in the 1960s or 1970s, now cracked, sunken or patched. Sometimes a sound concrete slab can take a resin bound overlay. More often it’s worth digging out and starting again with block paving or tarmac on a proper sub-base. We’ll tell you which applies after a close look, a few taps with a hammer and, if needed, a small test hole.

Flood risk is real in parts of the county. The Don and the Dearne have both flooded homes in recent years, so on low-lying plots we keep surfaces permeable where we can and make sure new paving never sends water towards the house. Dropped kerbs are approved by Sheffield, Doncaster, Rotherham or Barnsley council, depending on which side of the boundary your house sits, and we’ll explain the process at the survey.