Garden Groundworks in Herne Hill that prepare your garden properly, from clearance to drainage and foundations. We create stable, level bases for patios, lawns, paths and outbuildings. Trusted, tidy and on-site fast from our Norbury base.
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If your garden project starts with uneven ground, poor drainage or old concrete, professional groundworks make the difference. We deliver site clearance, excavation, levelling and grading across SE24, keeping disruption controlled and the site safe. Whether you’re near Brockwell Park or closer to Herne Hill station, we prepare reliable sub-bases for patios, turf, steps and garden rooms. Every job includes planned access routes and responsible waste removal.
Herne Hill’s Victorian terraces, Edwardian houses and period conversions often come with narrow side returns, split-level plots and mature planting. That means careful excavation, tidy spoil management and smart sequencing to protect neighbouring boundaries. We’re used to working around existing drains, cellar lightwells and older garden walls common in Dulwich, Brixton and Denmark Hill. Our local experience helps prevent settlement, pooling water and cracked paving later on.
We start with a site visit to assess levels, falls, drainage runs and access for materials and skips. You’ll get a clear scope of works covering foundations, drainage solutions and finished levels before we break ground. Our team works to clean lines and accurate set-outs, with daily tidy-ups and safe walkways where possible. Homeowners choose us for dependable scheduling, transparent communication and workmanship backed by a 10-year warranty.
We regularly complete garden groundworks herne hill area projects where access is tight and parking needs planning. Working across the London Borough of Lambeth/Southwark, we factor in local skip permits, controlled parking zones and considerate neighbour management. Many gardens sit on heavier London clay, so we prioritise effective drainage, robust foundations and correct grading. We also protect period features and boundary walls typical of SE24 streets.
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Costs vary with access, depth of dig, waste volumes and drainage needs. As a guide, small clearance and levelling works often start around £900–£2,000. Larger excavations with grading, new drainage runs and sub-base preparation commonly fall between £2,500–£7,500. If foundations are required for walls or a garden room, budgets can rise to £6,000–£15,000+. We’ll confirm after a site survey.
Most garden groundworks take 1–3 days for straightforward clearance, minor excavation and levelling. Projects involving significant digging, drainage installation, grading and sub-base build-up typically take 4–10 working days. Timescales depend on access (terraced side returns can slow removal), weather, ground conditions, and whether we’re coordinating with patio, fencing or garden room trades. We provide a realistic programme before starting.
Most garden groundworks—such as levelling, drainage, and foundations for patios—are usually permitted and don’t need planning permission. However, rules can apply if you’re altering levels significantly near boundaries, affecting drainage to the public sewer, working on a listed building, or installing structures close to neighbours. Skip permits and parking suspensions may also be required. We’ll advise and help you check requirements with Lambeth or Southwark where relevant.
We provide a 10-year warranty on our groundworks workmanship, covering issues such as sub-base failure, settlement caused by poor compaction, and drainage installed by our team not performing as specified. The warranty applies when the finished build follows our recommended construction build-up and materials. It doesn’t cover damage from third-party alterations, extreme events, or pre-existing structural problems. We document what’s included before work begins.
Groundworks can be tailored to what you’re building: MOT Type 1 sub-bases for patios and paths, reinforced concrete foundations for walls and garden rooms, and soakaways or channel drains for surface water management. We can also grade for new lawns, raised beds or stepped levels, and form stable access routes for bins and bikes. We’ll recommend options based on your garden’s levels, soil type and intended finish.
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