Comfortable around period property
25 years in the trade means working around old walls, shallow historic footings and buildings that do not have a straight line in them is familiar rather than a surprise.
Driveways And GroundworksIn Canterbury,Done With Care
Canterbury throws up the awkward jobs: period property, conservation areas, chalk under the North Downs villages, and city-centre gardens you can only reach through the house. All of it is normal groundworks, it just has to be assessed properly first.
25 years on the tools · Full digger ticket and NRSWA street works · Priced in person after a site visit · 10% deposit secures the booking
Get Your Canterbury Job Priced
Tell us the basics and Shane will arrange a visit to price it properly.
Local Coverage
Groundworks In Canterbury
And The Surrounding Area
CT1 to CT4, and the surrounding villages
Serving Canterbury
We work across Canterbury and the surrounding area: the city itself, Wincheap, Thanington, Hales Place, Sturry, Blean, Bridge, Chartham, Littlebourne and the villages on the North Downs and out towards the coast, covering driveways, patios, concrete bases, fencing, decking, cleaning, underpinning and clearance.
Getting to you
Canterbury is a regular run for us from the Faversham and Ashford side of the county. Site visits are arranged around the diary, we work 7am to 5pm and seven days a week when a job needs it, and Shane gives you a realistic date at the point you call.
The property types here
The stock here is unusually varied: medieval and Georgian buildings in and around the city walls, Victorian terraces through Wincheap and St Dunstan's, a large stock of student and rental houses around the universities, 1930s and post-war semis in the outer suburbs, and flint-and-brick village cottages on the chalk to the north and east.
What we're asked for most
Most Canterbury enquiries are patios and garden terracing, driveway replacement and front-garden parking conversions, bases for garden rooms and studios, boundary fencing, and moss and algae cleaning, the last of which is heavy here because of the number of shaded, north-facing period frontages and mature trees.
What We Do Here
Services Available In Canterbury
Driveways
New driveways dug out, sub-based and laid properly, with drainage and edging finished to last.
Patios
Patios laid on a correctly prepared base, set to fall so water runs away from the house.
Concrete Bases
Bases for garages, garden rooms, sheds and hot tubs, excavated, shuttered, reinforced and poured level.
Fencing
Boundary and garden fencing with posts set solid, lines run straight and levels taken across slopes.
Decking
Timber and composite decking built on a properly supported frame, level and free of movement.
Driveway Cleaning
Pressure cleaning to lift moss, algae and staining from block paving, slabs and concrete.
Roof Cleaning
Careful removal of moss and build-up from tiles, with gutters and surroundings left clear.
Underpinning
Underpinning works carried out to specification. Structural engineer and building control sign-off remain the customer's responsibility.
Tree Work
General tree and vegetation clearance as part of groundworks. Tell us what's involved and we'll advise on the right approach at the site visit.
Why SMB Groundworks and Servicing
Why Use Us In Canterbury
Assessed before it is priced
Canterbury jobs are rarely uniform. Shane visits, looks at access, levels and what the ground is actually made of, then gives you a figure for that job.
Groundworks qualifications that matter
NRSWA street works, a full digger ticket, core drilling and ducting, the practical tickets for excavation work, not a wall of badges.
Founder-led by Shane Brooker, with 25 years in the trade, NRSWA street works, a full digger ticket, core drilling and ducting. Every job is priced in person after a site visit; a 10% deposit secures the booking and the balance is settled on completion. If anything isn't right once we've finished, you call and Shane comes back and sorts it.
Local Conditions
What Makes Canterbury Ground
Different To Work On
Conservation areas and listed property
Large parts of central Canterbury sit within conservation areas, and there is a high concentration of listed buildings. Materials, surface choice and sometimes the work itself can need consent, and that is a matter for the city council and the customer, not something to be assumed away. It is far better checked before a drive or patio is specified than argued about afterwards.
Chalk on the Downs, clay-with-flints on top
North and east of the city, the ground is chalk with a capping of clay-with-flints in places. Chalk digs cleanly but softens badly when it gets wet and trafficked, so excavations left open in the rain deteriorate quickly and formations have to be protected. Flint in the dig is hard on kit and slows progress. Both are priced in once the ground has been seen.
Shallow historic foundations
Older Canterbury property was frequently built on very shallow footings by modern standards, and anything that changes the ground close to a wall: a deep drive excavation, a retaining structure, a new base, needs thinking about before digging starts. Where movement is already being investigated, that is engineer-led work and the design has to come first.
Damp, shade and heavy moss growth
The city has a lot of enclosed gardens, high walls, mature trees and narrow north-facing frontages. Those conditions grow moss and algae fast on paving, paths and roofs, making surfaces genuinely slippery through autumn and winter and filling gutters with debris that then sends water down the wall.
In Detail
Working In Canterbury
Working in and around the city walls
Jobs inside and near the city centre are defined by access rather than by the work itself. Narrow lanes, restricted vehicle access, controlled parking and gardens reachable only through the house mean plant often cannot get near the job, spoil is barrowed, and deliveries have to be timed and placed carefully. None of that stops the work, but it changes how long it takes and therefore what it costs, which is exactly why it is looked at in person. On top of that sits the conservation and listed-building question: consent for what you are proposing is the property owner's responsibility, and it is worth resolving before anything is booked.
Patios, terracing and the slope out of the valley
Canterbury sits in the Stour valley with ground rising north and south, so a great many gardens here run uphill or downhill from the house. Turning that into somewhere you can put a table means cutting into the slope and retaining on the opposite side, with steps between levels. Retaining structures get real foundations and drainage behind them, because a retaining wall with nowhere for water to escape is a wall that eventually moves. On the older properties we also check the finished patio level against the damp-proof course, since a century of relaid paths tends to have raised the ground well above where it started.
Student housing, rentals and hard-wearing surfaces
The two universities mean a substantial rental sector across Hales Place, Wincheap and the streets around the city. Landlords generally want the opposite of a show garden: hard standing that survives bikes, bins and heavy turnover, secure and solid boundary fencing, bin and cycle areas, and surfaces that can be jet washed without falling apart. That is straightforward groundworks, the emphasis simply shifts to durability and to getting drainage right so nobody is chasing a damp problem between tenancies.
Village and rural work around Canterbury
Out at Bridge, Chartham, Littlebourne, Sturry and Blean, the work changes again: longer drives, gravel and resin surfaces, larger gardens, bigger bases, more clearance and more fencing runs. Access is usually easier but ground conditions vary from chalk to flint to clay within a short distance. We also cover Faversham and Whitstable's direction from here, and Ashford to the south, if you are in a village not named above, call and ask, because for a larger job the postcode matters far less than the work.
How It Works
Four Steps From First Call
To Finished Job
- Step 1
Tell us the job
Call or send the form with a sentence about the work and where you are.
- Step 2
Site visit and price
Shane comes out, looks at the ground, levels and access, and prices the job for what it is.
- Step 3
10% deposit books it
Happy with the price? A 10% deposit secures your booking and a start date goes in the diary.
- Step 4
Work done and cleared
We dig, base and finish the job, clear the site, and come back if anything isn't right.
Questions
Canterbury: Frequently Asked
Do you cover Canterbury?
Yes, the city and the surrounding villages, including Wincheap, Thanington, Hales Place, Sturry, Blean, Bridge, Chartham and Littlebourne.
How quickly can you get to Canterbury?
Canterbury is a regular run for us from the Faversham and Ashford side of the county. Visits are arranged around the diary; we work 7am to 5pm and seven days a week when a job needs it, and you will be given a realistic date.
How much does a driveway or patio cost in Canterbury?
It is priced after a site visit. In Canterbury the biggest cost drivers are access, whether a machine can reach the work or everything has to be barrowed, and ground conditions, which range from chalk to flint to clay.
My house is in a conservation area. Can you still do the work?
In most cases yes, but consent and material restrictions are a matter for the city council and are the property owner's responsibility. Check before the job is booked and we will build to what is permitted.
Can you get a machine into a city-centre garden?
Often not, and we will tell you straight. Where access is through the house or a narrow lane, spoil is barrowed out and materials barrowed in. It is slower and it is priced for that.
Why is the moss so bad on my Canterbury patio or roof?
Enclosed gardens, high walls, mature trees and north-facing frontages keep surfaces permanently damp and shaded, which is exactly what moss and algae need. Cleaning helps, and cutting back overhanging growth extends the interval between cleans.
My period house has cracking. Do I need underpinning?
Possibly not, cracking has many causes. A structural engineer's investigation establishes the reason. If underpinning is specified, we carry out the works to that design; appointing the engineer and getting building control sign-off remain your responsibility.
Do you work for landlords and student lets?
Yes. Hard standing, bin and cycle areas, secure fencing and durable surfaces for rental property are common jobs across Canterbury.
Do you take a deposit?
Yes, 10% once you confirm, which secures your slot in the diary. The balance is settled on completion.
Which nearby areas do you also cover?
Faversham, Ashford and Sittingbourne, as well as Maidstone, Medway and the rest of Kent.
Get Your Canterbury Job Looked At And Priced
Describe the job and where in Canterbury you are, or call Shane directly. Site visit, honest assessment, straight price.
7am to 5pm, seven days a week when needed. 10% deposit secures your booking; the balance is settled on completion.