Foundations and Groundworks
Foundations, drainage and groundworks in Essex and Suffolk
Dig, drainage and concrete set out to the engineer's drawings and signed off by building control without argument.
The approach
The part nobody sees, and the part everything else depends on.
Groundworks is where a project is quietly won or lost. Trench depths, reinforcement cover, falls on drainage runs and the compaction of a sub base are either right or they are a problem that surfaces in year three. We work from the structural engineer's drawings, we record what we pour, and we invite building control in at every stage rather than hoping the inspection is missed.
We handle the full package on a plot: setting out from the boundary, trench or pad foundations, oversite, beam and block or reinforced slabs, foul and surface water drainage, soakaways, attenuation, service ducting and the finished platform ready for the bricklayers.
Typical cost
Trench fill foundations typically £180 to £320 per linear metre, sub base £28 to £42 per square metre, drainage £110 to £180 per linear metre. Guide figures only, because levels, access and drainage decide the final price. Every quotation we issue is fixed and itemised.
Setting out and levels
Laser levels and profiles used to set the building out accurately against boundaries, datum and drawings before a bucket goes in the ground.
Foundations
Traditional strip, trench fill, pad and raft foundations, with reinforcement fixed to specification and pours booked to suit the weather.
Drainage and services
Foul and storm runs at correct falls, inspection chambers, soakaways, attenuation crates and ducting for power, water and data.
Slabs and sub bases
Beam and block floors, power floated slabs, and compacted MOT sub bases tested layer by layer rather than tipped and hoped for.
Who this suits
New build plots, substantial extensions, garden rooms with real foundations, and driveway projects where the ground needs rebuilding rather than resurfacing.
- Engineer led design
- Building control sign off
- Drainage and ducting
Read before you commit
- How much does a resin driveway cost in Essex?
Honest square metre figures for resin bound surfacing, and why two quotes for the same drive can differ by thousands.
- 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.
- Groundworks cost per square metre, and what moves it
Excavation, muck away, sub base, drainage and slab work, priced the way we price them on real plots.
- Extension foundations: what they cost and how deep they go
Depths, concrete volumes and the two things that most often push an extension foundation budget upwards.
- Does your extension need planning permission?
Permitted development limits, prior approval, and the building regulations that apply whatever the planning answer is.
- Getting a dropped kerb in Essex: rules, costs and refusals
The vehicle crossing application, what the highway authority checks, and how to avoid the common refusals.
- 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.
- Demolition and site clearance: costs and what has to happen first
Garage and outbuilding removal, plot clearance, muck away, and the paperwork that has to precede the machine.
- New build groundworks, stage by stage
What happens between a cleared plot and a platform ready for the bricklayers, and who inspects what.
Covering 30 miles of Colchester, including Colchester, Chelmsford, Ipswich, Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Sudbury, Clacton-on-Sea and Halstead.
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.
Questions we are asked
Foundations and Groundworks: your questions
How much do groundworks cost per square metre?+
Compacted sub base sits around £28 to £42 per square metre and floor slabs £85 to £135, with excavation and cart away charged by volume at £45 to £70 per cubic metre. Depth and access move all three.
How deep do foundations need to be on Essex clay?+
On the boulder clay across much of north Essex, 1500mm to 1800mm is typical, rising beyond two metres where mature trees are within influencing distance. Your engineer and building control set the depth, not habit.
Who books the building control inspections?+
We do, and we attend them. Excavation, reinforcement before the pour, drainage before backfill and oversite are all inspected, and the records come to you at handover.
Do you take on groundworks packages for other builders?+
Yes. Setting out, foundations, drainage and oversite packages for self builders and main contractors are regular work, priced in clear stages against the engineer's drawings.
What happens if the ground is worse than the survey suggested?+
Work stops on that element, the engineer and building control are informed, and a revised detail is agreed before we continue. Any cost change is issued in writing before it is incurred.
Also worth reading
Other things we build
Demolition and Site Clearance
Controlled demolition and full clearance that hands over a plot ready for setting out, not a mess for someone else to sort.
Extensions and New Builds
Full build packages from footings to finished shell and beyond, backed by our ten year structural guarantee.
Hard and Soft Landscaping
Complete garden schemes with a full design service: levels, terraces, walls, lighting, planting and lawns.
Breaking Ground. Building Trust.
Planning a project worth doing once?
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