Resin driveway, Colchester
Old shingle drive excavated, engineered sub base laid, permeable resin bound surface with granite kerbs.
Colchester and 30 miles around it
Groundworks, Driveways and New Builds in Colchester
Breaking Ground Ltd handles demolition, foundations, new builds, landscaping and driveways from block paving through to resin, engineered properly rather than covered over.
Ten Year GuaranteeNew Build ContractsFull Design Service
Breaking Ground. Building Trust.
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.
Ten year guaranteeEngineer led groundworksBuilding control attendedQuality, not lowest price
What we do
Our Core Services
From the first machine on site to the last plant in the border. Because we do the groundwork ourselves, everything laid on top of it is built on something we can stand behind.
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.
- Method statements
- Licensed muck away
- Plot handed over level
Foundations and Groundworks
Dig, drainage and concrete set out to the engineer's drawings and signed off by building control without argument.
- Engineer led design
- Building control sign off
- Drainage and ducting
Extensions and New Builds
Full build packages from footings to finished shell and beyond, backed by our ten year structural guarantee.
- Ten year guarantee
- Single point of contact
- Trades managed by us
Hard and Soft Landscaping
Complete garden schemes with a full design service: levels, terraces, walls, lighting, planting and lawns.
- Full design service
- Levels and retaining
- Planting and lawns
Block Paving
Traditional and contemporary block paved driveways on a properly built sub base, with edging that stays put.
- Deep excavation
- Haunched edgings
- Kiln dried jointing
Resin Driveways
Resin bound surfacing over a correctly specified base, laid to a seamless finish with crisp detailing.
- UV stable resin
- Permeable finish
- Seamless hand trowelled
Why choose us
Why Homeowners Choose Breaking Ground
Our clients tend to own larger properties, have waited for the right contractor, and want work that will outlast them.
Ten year guarantee
Our structural work carries a written ten year guarantee, issued on completion with your building control certificates.
Designed before built
Levels surveyed, drainage planned and materials sampled at your property before a price is agreed.
Own team and plant
Groundworkers, machine operators and landscapers on our own books, not a chain of subcontractors.
One point of contact
You deal with Matt from the first site visit to handover, with payments staged against work in place.
Clear quotations
A fixed, itemised price with a dated programme, so nothing important is hidden in a provisional sum.
Local coverage
Colchester based and working within 30 miles of Colchester, across Essex and south Suffolk.
How we work
What to Expect
A deliberately slow start and a fast, well organised build. Most problems on site are decisions that were never made in the first place.
1
Get in touch
Call or send an enquiry with a few details about the property and the project.
2
Site visit
We walk the plot with you, take levels, look at drainage and discuss materials.
3
Clear quote
A fixed, itemised quotation with a written specification and a dated programme.
4
Build and handover
Weekly updates, inspections attended, site left clean, guarantee handed over.
Featured work
The Work We Are Built For
New build contracts and substantial driveway and garden schemes, all delivered by the same team from groundwork upwards.
New Builds and Extensions
- Footings to watertight shell
- Steels and structural openings
- Building control attended
- Ten year guarantee
Foundations and Groundworks
- Excavation and muck away
- Engineered sub bases
- Foul and surface water drainage
- Retaining structures
Resin and Block Paving
- Permeable resin bound surfaces
- Herringbone block paving
- Haunched edgings and kerbs
- Drainage designed in
Hard and Soft Landscaping
- Full measured design service
- Porcelain and stone terraces
- Steps, lighting and retaining
- Specimen planting and turf
Ten year guarantee
Extensions and new builds, guaranteed for ten years
New build contracts are the heart of what we do. We take a plot from clearance and footings to a finished, watertight building, managing every trade ourselves. Every piece of structural work we complete is covered by a written ten year guarantee, which is exactly why we will not shortcut the parts of a build that are expensive to revisit.
- New build houses and replacement dwellings
- Two storey extensions, wraparounds and annexes
- Steel beams, structural openings and knocking through
- Written guarantee and certificates at handover
Our work
Real Projects Across Essex and South Suffolk
Driveways, gardens, foundations and new homes completed by our own team, photographed on handover.
Two new builds, Braintree
Plot cleared, foundations engineered and both dwellings taken to watertight shell on programme.
Garden scheme, Chelmsford
Sloping garden re-levelled with retaining walls, porcelain terrace, lighting and specimen planting.
Where we work
Areas We Cover
Essex and south Suffolk, from the coast at Clacton-on-Sea to the Stour valley at Sudbury.
Before you spend anything
Costs and Rules, Written Plainly
Resin and block paving prices, groundworks rates, foundation depths, planning permission and dropped kerbs. The figures we work to, published rather than hidden behind a form.
Cost guides
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.
Cost guides
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.
Choosing materials
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.
Cost guides
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.
Cost guides
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.
Planning and rules
Do you need planning permission for a driveway?
The permeable surfacing rule, front garden hardstanding, and the cases where an application really is needed.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What size of project do you take on?+
New build contracts, substantial extensions, and driveway or garden schemes that involve genuine groundwork. We are not the right firm for a single fence panel or a small patio repair, and we would rather say so honestly at the enquiry stage.
What does the ten year guarantee cover?+
The structural work we carry out ourselves: foundations, drainage, slabs, retaining structures and the shell of an extension or new build. You receive it in writing on completion, alongside building control paperwork.
Are you the cheapest quote we will get?+
Almost certainly not. Our prices reflect proper excavation depths, engineered sub bases, haunched edgings and correctly installed drainage. That is the difference between a driveway that lasts two decades and one that needs relaying in five years.
How far do you travel?+
We work within 30 miles of Colchester, which covers Colchester, Chelmsford, Ipswich, Braintree, Witham, Maldon, Sudbury, Clacton-on-Sea, Halstead and the villages between them.
Can you handle the drawings and building control?+
Yes. We work alongside architects and structural engineers, book and attend building control inspections, and can recommend designers if you are starting from scratch.
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