In Highfield, Tarmac & Asphalt is built around well-drained ground typical of the larger interwar plots: hot-rolled asphalt compacted over a prepared sub-base into a single dense, flat surface. Locally, the driveway most often needed is one dealing with longer drives that often need to work around mature tree roots. It is best suited to larger driveways that can achieve a proper fall to a drainage point, though standard tarmac is impermeable, so the drainage fall has to be built in at construction.
About Tarmac & Asphalt
Tarmac and asphalt driveways are formed from hot-rolled bitumen-bound aggregate, laid in one or two courses over a compacted stone sub-base and rolled while still hot to bond into a single dense, flat surface. It is quick to lay across a large area compared with unit-by-unit systems, copes well with sustained vehicle weight, and gives a classic, understated dark finish that suits both period and modern properties without competing with the architecture. Standard tarmac is not permeable, so correct falls and edge drainage need to be built in at construction rather than added afterward, and a sound, well-compacted sub-base is what actually determines how long the surface lasts rather than the tarmac layer alone.
Best suited to: larger driveways, properties wanting a low-fuss uniform finish, and sites that can achieve proper falls to a drainage point
Less suited to: sites with no viable drainage fall or where a permeable/SuDS-compliant surface is specifically wanted
Ground & property in Highfield
Highfield’s housing near the university skews toward larger interwar and Edwardian houses on longer plots, so drives here tend to be longer than the city average and often need to work around mature tree roots established over decades. Front boundaries are typically already well defined, which shapes how a new surface meets the existing garden.