Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
Coastal frontages that have taken a battering
Wind, salt and years of patch repairs undone properly, with sandy subsoils designed for rather than discovered.
Clacton-on-Sea, Essex
Patch repairs stop working eventually
Clacton-on-Sea and the coastal stretch through Frinton and Holland-on-Sea give us a good number of larger properties where the outside space has taken a beating from wind, salt and a decade of patching.
The common thread is a frontage that has been repaired three times and needs doing once. Failed tarmac over failed concrete over sand, with no drainage and nothing holding the edges, is not a surface to build on, and we price the removal honestly rather than covering it.
To talk through a Clacton-on-Sea project, call 07770 880587 or email enquiries@breakinggroundltd.com.
Request a consultation
We take on new build contracts and substantial driveway and garden projects. Give us the detail and Matt will come back to you personally.
A recent Clacton job
Three layers of failed surfacing removed, Holland-on-Sea
A wide seafront frontage with tarmac over concrete over sand, rutted by a caravan and spreading at every edge. Everything came out, a membrane and engineered base went in, and the finish was block paving with a full haunched kerb line.
- All three failed layers removed rather than overlaid
- Geotextile membrane over soft sandy subsoil
- Every edge kerb haunched in concrete on both sides
- Falls set to a channel drain and soakaway on the plot
On the ground
Building on the Tendring coast
Sandy and mixed subsoils
Sub base depths and foundation design set from what we find on site, with membranes used to stop the base migrating into soft ground.
Coastal exposure
Salt resistant fixings, robust jointing and planting chosen to survive onshore wind rather than to shelter from it.
Full frontage rebuilds
Tired concrete and failed tarmac removed entirely, then resin or block paving laid over a properly built and drained base.
Where to next
Coastal work we take on
Services
- Block Paving
Traditional and contemporary block paved driveways on a properly built sub base, with edging that stays put.
- Resin Driveways
Resin bound surfacing over a correctly specified base, laid to a seamless finish with crisp detailing.
- Extensions and New Builds
Full build packages from footings to finished shell and beyond, backed by our ten year structural guarantee.
Useful reading
- Resin or block paving? An installer's honest comparison
We fit both, so we have no reason to sell you one. Here is how they actually differ on the things that matter after year five.
- Block paving cost per square metre, explained properly
What a block paved driveway costs, broken down by the parts of the job most quotes leave vague.
- Driveway drainage done properly: permeable bases, soakaways and SuDS
Where the water actually goes, and why it is the part of a driveway quote most worth interrogating.
Failed surfaces removed properly, bases engineered for sandy ground, and drainage kept on your own plot.
FAQ
Clacton-on-Sea questions we get asked
Can a failed tarmac drive just be surfaced over?+
Very rarely, and never by us if the base is unsound. On this coast the problem is usually beneath the surface, so overlaying it buys a season and wastes your money.
Does sandy ground need different foundations?+
It needs designing for. Sand can be a good bearing material but it migrates, so membranes matter and sub base depths are set from what we find rather than a standard figure.
What holds up best against salt and wind?+
Concrete and clay pavers with the right jointing, resin with a UV stable binder, stainless or galvanised fixings, and planting picked for salt tolerance. Softer stone and standard fixings do not.
Do you build new homes along the coast?+
Yes, new builds and extensions both, with exposure and ground conditions designed in at the start. Our structural work carries the same written ten year guarantee here as anywhere else.
Can you work around a caravan or boat on the drive?+
We will design for the loading, which is the part usually missed. A drive carrying a caravan or a boat trailer needs a deeper base and proper edge restraint, or it ruts within two years.
Nearby
Other towns in our patch
Breaking Ground. Building Trust.
Planning something substantial in Clacton-on-Sea?
Tell us about the plot, the property and what you want the finished result to be. We will visit, survey and quote properly.
Ten year guarantee / 30 miles of Colchester / New builds and substantial projects