Edging & Kerbing
Block-paved, granite-set and concrete kerb edge restraints laid on a wet haunch, the structural backbone that holds your driveway together for decades.
The Service
No filler, no jargon. What you're getting, why you'd want it, and what makes the difference between a good install and a bad one.
What it is
Edging and kerbing is the structural perimeter restraint that contains and supports a driveway surface, block paviours, granite kerb sets, concrete kerbs or aluminium edge bars set on a wet concrete haunch around the driveway's edge.
Who it's for
Homeowners installing a new driveway (every surface needs edging); restoring an old driveway with failing edges; or upgrading the visual finish of an existing driveway with a contrasting block-paved border.
When you need it
Always with a new driveway install, edging is not optional. Also when an existing driveway's perimeter is creeping outward, blocks are splaying, tarmac is crumbling at the edges or gravel is migrating into the lawn.
Why it matters
Because the edge is the single most structural element of any driveway. Once the edge moves, the whole surface follows. Properly haunched edging is the cheapest insurance against the most expensive driveway problem there is, full re-lay.
What Goes Wrong
We get called in to fix all four of these every month. None of them are accidents, they're predictable consequences of cutting the wrong corner.
Tarmac without a block-paved edge restraint crumbles under vehicle load within a few years. The first failures are always at the edges, then the cracks creep inward.
Without a haunched edge restraint, perimeter blocks splay under vehicle turning forces. Once the edge moves, joint sand washes out and the rocking spreads across the whole drive.
Loose gravel without edge containment is gone within a year, into the lawn, onto the road, down the drain. Edging is what makes a gravel driveway a driveway.
Resin bound without a proper edge bar or block flange peels at the perimeter as it expands and contracts seasonally. The bond at the edge is everything.
Our Process
We walk the perimeter, identify failing sections or design new edge details, choose the material to suit the driveway and the property, written quote.
Trench excavated to 200mm deep, 200mm wide, beyond the edge of the driveway surface. Concrete foundation poured to the right depth for the kerb height.
Block paviours, granite sets, concrete kerbs or aluminium bars set on the wet concrete bed and tapped to the correct level with a rubber mallet. Levels and lines checked with a string line.
Wet concrete haunched up the back of the edging to lock it in place. This is the structural element, the haunch is what stops the edge moving under load over decades.
Mortar or polymeric joint between edge units, surface cleaned, edges integrated with the driveway surface (block, tarmac, resin or gravel). Walkable next day, vehicle-ready promptly.
The Benefits
Edging is the single most important element in driveway longevity. Get the edge right and the surface lasts decades; get it wrong and you're re-laying in five years.
A block-paved or granite-set border defines the driveway's perimeter and lifts the visual quality of the whole installation. The detailing reads as quality.
Whatever the main driveway surface, block, tarmac, resin, gravel, proper edging contains it, supports it under load, and protects it from edge failure.
A flush concrete or aluminium edge gives a clean mower-line between lawn and driveway, no chewing the edges with the mower, no scuffing the driveway.
Linear drains and channel grates integrate naturally into a properly designed edging system, the right time to install drainage is at the same time as the edge.
From traditional granite setts to contemporary aluminium bars, contrasting block borders to integrated kerb-and-channel, edging is where a driveway gets its detail and character.
The Detail
Materials, methods, variations, and the small decisions that separate a 20-year driveway from a five-year one.
07939 524241Block paviour edging is the standard choice for block paved and tarmac driveways, typically a single or double block course in a contrasting colour. Granite sets give a traditional, premium look suited to period properties. Concrete kerbs are used where structural strength matters most, heavy vehicle access, commercial entrances. Aluminium edge bars are the contemporary choice for flush transitions between resin or gravel and lawn.
Every edge restraint we install sits on a concrete foundation and has wet concrete haunched up its rear face. The haunch is the structural element that locks the edge in place against decades of vehicle turning forces. Edging set on sand, on mortar dots, or without a haunch is failed installation, visible within a year or two.
Flush edging sits level with the lawn or border and lets you mow straight over it, clean visual line, easy maintenance. Upstand edging stands 50–100mm proud of the surrounding area and contains the surface visually. Choice depends on the design intent and the surfaces being separated.
Where the driveway needs perimeter drainage, a kerb-and-channel system, kerb sets with an integrated channel drain along the inside edge, collects surface water at the perimeter and routes it to a soakaway or main drain. Cleanest solution where falls run toward the perimeter rather than a central drain.
Most failed edges can be lifted, re-foundationed and re-haunched without disturbing the main driveway surface, a half-day to one-day job depending on length. Catching edge failure early is the cheapest way to extend the life of an existing driveway by 5–10 years.
FAQs
Still have a question? Pick up the phone.
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Where We Work
Durham-based, on the road across the region every week.
Free site survey. Written estimate. No pressure, ever.
Backed by 20+ years' experience and a 1-year workmanship guarantee in writing.
