Between two areas we work constantly
Sittingbourne sits on the A2 between Medway and Faversham, both regular ground for us, which makes it convenient to reach and to service.
Driveways And GroundworksIn Sittingbourne,Dug And Based Properly
Between the older terraces off the London Road, the post-war estates and the sprawl of new housing towards Kemsley and Iwade, Sittingbourne is a town where the ground under the garden is rarely what it looks like on the surface.
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 Sittingbourne Job Priced
Tell us the basics and Shane will arrange a visit to price it properly.
Local Coverage
Groundworks In Sittingbourne
And The Surrounding Area
ME9 and ME10, and the surrounding villages
Serving Sittingbourne
We cover Sittingbourne and the surrounding area: Milton Regis, Kemsley, Murston, Bapchild, Teynham, Newington, Iwade, Borden, Bredgar and the villages towards the Swale, for driveways, patios, bases, fencing, decking, cleaning, underpinning and clearance.
Getting to you
Sittingbourne sits on the A2 and M2 corridor between Medway and Faversham, both areas we work in constantly, so it is convenient ground for us. Visits are arranged around the diary; we work 7am to 5pm and seven days a week when a job needs it.
The property types here
Victorian terraces around the town centre and Milton Regis built for the brick and paper industries; large inter-war and post-war estates; former industrial and infill plots; and a very large volume of recent housing at Kemsley, Iwade and the town's southern and eastern edges, where gardens are compact and the subsoil is compacted construction ground.
What we're asked for most
Most enquiries here are driveway replacement and widening for two-car households, patios on new-build gardens that never drained properly, concrete bases for garden rooms and hot tubs, replacement boundary fencing after winter winds off the Swale, and pressure cleaning of tired block paving.
What We Do Here
Services Available In Sittingbourne
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 Sittingbourne
25 years of groundworks
Drives, bases, drainage and hard landscaping are the day job, with a full digger ticket and NRSWA street works behind it.
Priced on what is under the turf
Brickearth, made ground and buried industrial rubble are all in play here. The dig gets priced once it has been seen.
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 Sittingbourne Ground
Different To Work On
Made ground and buried industrial material
Sittingbourne was a brick, paper and cement town, and a lot of housing sits on former industrial or infill land. Digs here turn up brick, clinker, concrete and made ground with no consistent bearing. That changes how deep you have to go, whether a membrane is needed between subgrade and stone, and how much spoil is going off site, all things found at the visit, not guessed at.
New-build gardens that will not drain
On the newer estates around Kemsley, Iwade and the town fringes, gardens are typically compacted construction subsoil with a thin skin of topsoil and turf. Water sits on it all winter. Laying a patio straight onto that ground just gives you a wet patio, so it needs proper excavation, sub-base and falls instead.
Exposure and wind off the Swale
The north of the town is open ground running down to the Swale, with little shelter on the newer developments. Tall panel fencing on shallow posts does not survive a winter of that. Post depth, concrete footings, gravel boards and the choice between panels and close board all matter more here than in a sheltered town garden.
Victorian terraces with tight access and raised levels
In Milton Regis and the older streets, rear gardens are reached through the house or a shared alley, so everything is barrowed. Those properties also tend to have ground levels that have crept up over a century of relaid paths, leaving patios and paths sitting too close to the damp-proof course.
In Detail
Working In Sittingbourne
Driveways and two-car parking
A very large share of Sittingbourne housing was built when one car per household was the norm, and the most common job we price here is making parking work for two. That might be widening an existing drive, converting a front garden, or replacing block paving that has rutted in the wheel tracks because the original sub-base was too thin. The technical points are consistent: dig to a depth that suits the traffic, compact the sub-base in layers, set edge restraints on concrete so the surface cannot spread, and deal with the water, a new impermeable drive must not discharge onto the public highway, so it is handled with permeable construction, a channel drain or falls to a permeable area inside the boundary. Any new crossover over the footway needs the council's permission.
Fixing a new-build garden
The estates around Kemsley, Iwade and the southern fringe share the same pattern: a small slabbed square, thin turf over rolled subsoil, and lap panel fencing on timber posts. Making that garden usable means digging out rather than laying over the top, building a real sub-base, setting falls away from the house and giving surface water somewhere to go. Replacement fencing gets post holes dug to depth and concreted, with gravel boards keeping panel timber out of permanently wet soil. It is more work than the original because the original was built to a plot budget, but it is the last time it needs doing.
Bases for garden rooms, hot tubs and garages
Bases are steady work across Sittingbourne, and the made-ground issue matters most here. A slab is only as good as what it bears on, so soft or variable formation gets dug deeper, membraned and properly compacted before anything is shuttered. We work to the building manufacturer's base drawing, lay and lap a damp-proof membrane, set the shutters dead level and square, reinforce as the use requires and pour. Hot tub bases get a thicker reinforced slab and surrounding drainage, because a filled tub with people in it is a heavy, concentrated load. Power and water ducting goes in before the pour so nothing has to be cut into a finished slab.
Coverage along the A2 corridor
From Sittingbourne we cover Milton Regis, Kemsley, Murston, Bapchild, Teynham, Newington, Iwade, Borden and Bredgar, and the town links directly to our work in Faversham, the Medway towns and Canterbury. Sheppey and the villages towards the Swale are worth a call. Travel depends on the size of the job as much as the postcode, and you will get a straight answer either way.
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
Sittingbourne: Frequently Asked
Do you cover Sittingbourne?
Yes: Sittingbourne and the surrounding area, including Milton Regis, Kemsley, Murston, Bapchild, Teynham, Newington, Iwade, Borden and Bredgar.
How quickly can you get to Sittingbourne?
It sits between Medway and Faversham on the A2, both areas we work in constantly, so it is convenient ground. Visits are arranged around the diary; we work 7am to 5pm, seven days a week when a job needs it.
How much does a driveway cost in Sittingbourne?
It is priced after a site visit. Made ground and buried industrial material are common here and they change the depth of dig and the volume of spoil going off site, which is a large part of the cost.
Why does my new-build garden stay waterlogged?
Almost always because the ground under the turf is compacted construction subsoil that water cannot pass through. It needs excavating and building properly with drainage and falls, not just a new surface on top.
Can you replace the estate fencing?
Yes. Posts are dug to depth and concreted, with gravel boards keeping the timber out of the soil. On the exposed northern side of town, post depth and fence type make the difference between a fence that lasts and one that goes over in a gale.
Can you build a hot tub base?
Yes. A filled tub is a heavy concentrated load, so it gets a thicker reinforced slab with drainage around it. Tell us at the site visit, including if the tub is a future plan.
My drive is rutting in the wheel tracks. Can it be cleaned instead?
No, rutting is a base problem, and cleaning will only give you a clean version of the same fault. We will tell you that plainly and price the relay instead.
Do you take a deposit?
Yes, 10% once you confirm you want to proceed, which secures the booking. The balance is settled on completion.
What if something isn't right after the job?
You call and Shane comes back and puts it right. There is no formal written warranty period; it is a direct commitment.
Which nearby areas do you cover?
Faversham, Medway, Canterbury and Maidstone, along with the rest of Kent.
Get Your Sittingbourne Job Priced In Person
Tell us the job and your part of town, or call Shane directly. Site visit, straight price, start date once the deposit is in.
7am to 5pm, seven days a week when needed. 10% deposit secures your booking; the balance is settled on completion.