If you live in Church, Oswaldtwistle or anywhere else in Accrington, we can quote for hard landscaping; we also cover nearby Haslingden, Padiham and Rawtenstall. We visit, measure and talk through the options with you first, then send a written, itemised quote for your Accrington garden.

Hard landscaping is the built part of a garden: the patio and paths you walk on, the walls that hold the levels, the edging that keeps everything in its place, and the fences and decks that frame the space. Accrington Landscaping & Driveways designs and builds all of it for homeowners across Accrington, from a single patio to a full garden rebuild with terracing, steps, paths, new boundaries and a deck.

It is the right starting point if your garden slopes awkwardly, if the old concrete patio has cracked and sunk, or if you have just moved into a new build with a bare rectangle of turf and a slab outside the back door. Soft landscaping, the planting and lawns, only works once the hard landscaping gives it a structure to sit inside.

We are a local team with our own groundworkers, paving layers and bricklayers, so the excavation, the sub-base, the laying and the finishing all come from the same people. This page introduces the five areas of hard landscaping we offer in Accrington: Patio Installation, covering patios, paths and steps; Garden Wall Construction; Garden Border and Edging Installation; Fencing and Gates; and Decking Installation. Each has its own page with more detail, but if you are planning the whole garden it is worth reading this one first, because the five fit together.

Hard Landscaping by Accrington Landscaping & Driveways

Hard Landscaping Services We Offer in Accrington

Our hard landscaping work in Accrington falls into five groups. Patio installation covers porcelain, Indian sandstone and concrete patios, plus the garden paths and steps that link them to the rest of the plot. Walls cover retaining walls for sloping plots, boundary and front garden walls, and low seating walls around patios. Edging covers the stone, brick and concrete kerb lines that define lawns, borders and paths. Fencing covers panel and close-board fences, concrete posts and garden gates, and decking covers softwood, hardwood and composite decks.

Most jobs involve at least two of these. A patio needs an edge; a terrace on a slope needs a retaining wall; a new deck often wants a new fence behind it. We quote the whole scheme as one job so the levels, drainage and finishes are planned together rather than by different trades at different times.

Everything is built on proper foundations: compacted Type 1 MOT sub-base under paving, concrete footings under walls, deep-set posts for fences and treated frames for decks. We lay paving to BS 7533, meet the permeable surface rules for front gardens, and dispose of spoil as registered waste carriers. The next five sections summarise each service.

Patio Installation in Accrington

Patio Installation is the service most people in Accrington come to us for first, and it covers four kinds of work: Porcelain Patios, Indian Sandstone and Natural Stone Patios, Concrete Slab and Block Patios, and Garden Paths and Steps. The materials look and behave differently, but the build is the same: dig out, compact Type 1 in layers, and lay every slab on a full mortar bed rather than spot-bedding, so nothing rocks or cracks.

Each patio falls away from the house so rain drains to a border or channel, and its surface stays at least 150 mm below the damp-proof course. Porcelain and natural stone are primed on the back so they bond. Joints are finished with a brush-in compound or pointed with mortar, depending on the stone and the joint width. Paths get the same treatment at a smaller scale, and steps are built with even risers and generous treads.

We bring samples to the survey so you can see each material wet and dry against your house. Driveways are a different build entirely, and we cover them on our block paving driveway page. The Patio Installation page explains each material, our process and what affects the cost in Accrington.

Garden Wall Construction in Accrington

Garden walls give a garden its levels and its boundaries. Our Garden Wall Construction service in Accrington covers Retaining Wall Installation for sloping plots and raised terraces, Garden Wall Installation for front boundaries and screens, and Seating Wall Installation for low walls around patios that double as somewhere to sit.

Retaining walls are built in dense concrete block on a reinforced concrete footing, with the cores filled and a perforated land drain in clean stone behind, then faced in brick, stone or render. Boundary walls are mostly matched facing brick on a strip footing with a damp-proof course and a coping. Seating walls are set at 450 mm above the finished patio with a wide, smooth coping so they are comfortable, and we can run a lighting conduit through them at build stage.

The things that make a wall last are below ground: a footing below the frost line, drainage behind anything that holds soil, and backfill that lets water through. We build all three in, and for walls over about 1.2 metres or close to a building we bring in an engineer's design. Planning rules on height near a highway, and the tighter limits in conservation areas, are checked before we quote. The Garden Wall Construction page covers each wall type, the materials and the process in detail.

Garden Border and Edging Installation in Accrington

Edging is the finishing line of a garden and the structural restraint for everything laid loose. Our Garden Border and Edging Installation service in Accrington offers Stone Edging Installation using granite and sandstone setts and sawn kerbs, Brick Edging Installation using frost-resistant clay paving bricks in soldier, on-edge or sawtooth patterns, and Concrete Kerb Edging Installation using pre-cast units from small lawn edgings up to full driveway kerbs.

The job is simple to describe and easy to get wrong. Every unit sits on a semi-dry concrete bed, is tapped to a string line, and has a concrete haunch packed behind it. For a lawn edge the haunch is kept low on the grass side so the mower runs clean; for a driveway edge it is heavy enough to resist cars turning on the blocks. Curves are set out with a hose first, and cuts are made with a diamond saw.

Edging is often the cheapest way to make a garden look designed. A flush stone mowing edge removes the weekly strimming; a brick soldier course finishes a block paved drive; a kerb keeps gravel off the pavement. We fit edging as part of paving and wall jobs and as a job in its own right, even for a few metres. The Garden Border and Edging Installation page describes the three materials, where each suits, and what affects the price.

Fencing and Gates in Accrington

Our Fencing and Gates service in Accrington covers four areas: Fence Panel Installation, Close-Board and Featheredge Fencing, Concrete Posts and Gravel Boards, and Garden Gates and Side Gates. Panels are the quick route for straight, level boundaries; close-board fencing is built board by board and copes better with wind and slopes; concrete posts and gravel boards stop timber rotting where it meets the soil.

Every post goes in at least 600 mm deep in concrete, timber is kept off the ground, and fixings are galvanised or stainless. Gates are hung from heavier posts on strong hinges, braced so they do not drop, and fitted with bolts and latches that keep the back garden secure. Gates beside a pavement open inwards so they never swing over the footway.

Before we quote, we look at the boundary itself. Ownership is worth checking on the title plan, and on a shared boundary we suggest talking to your neighbour first. Under permitted development a fence can be up to 2 metres high, including any trellis, or 1 metre next to a highway. The Fencing and Gates page covers each fence type, our process and the factors behind the price.

Decking Installation in Accrington

Decking Installation gives a garden a level, warm surface without the excavation a patio needs, which makes it a good fit for sloping plots and awkward spaces outside the back door. We build decks in Accrington in three materials: Softwood Decking in pressure-treated pine or redwood, Hardwood Decking in certified species such as balau and ipe, and Composite Decking made from wood fibre and plastic for a low-maintenance finish.

Every deck is built on a treated joist frame at the spacing the boards need, with a weed membrane and gravel below and room for air to circulate. Boards are fixed with stainless or coated screws, or with hidden clips on composite and some hardwoods, and cut ends are treated. Against the house, the surface stays 150 mm below the damp-proof course and air bricks are kept clear.

Height is the planning question. A deck no more than 30 cm above the ground is normally permitted development; anything higher needs planning permission, and we check this at the survey. The Decking Installation page compares the three board types, explains the frame and sets out what affects the cost.

Why Homeowners in Accrington Choose Us for Hard Landscaping

Most of the hard landscaping we are asked to replace in Accrington failed below the surface: too little sub-base, no fall, spot bedding, no drainage behind a wall, edging stuck in soil. None of it looked wrong on the day it was finished. We build so that it still looks right after ten winters, which means doing the groundwork properly and writing it into the quote so you can check it.

Having our own groundworkers, paving layers and bricklayers on one team matters more than it sounds. The person who sets the patio level has talked to the person building the seating wall, so the coping ends up at the right height. The driveway kerb goes in before the sub-base, not after. One quote, one start date, one point of contact.

You get a written guarantee on all our work, samples before you choose, and honest advice when something you have in mind will not work, whether that is a patio above the damp-proof course or a wall that needs an engineer. We are registered waste carriers, keep the site tidy, and plan around the weather so mortar and concrete cure as they should.

From First Call to Finished Job

Free survey: we visit, measure the garden, check levels against the house and drains, and listen to what you want the space to do.
Design and written quote: for bigger schemes we draw a plan; every quote lists depths, materials, drainage and finishes line by line, with samples to hand.
Checks and permissions: we confirm anything that touches planning, such as front garden drainage or wall heights, and arrange engineer input where a wall needs it.
Groundworks: excavation, footings, sub-base and drainage go in first, with levels set out in pegs and string for you to see.
Building: walls go up, then paving is laid, then edging is set, in the order that keeps each element protected while the next is built.
Finishing: pointing, jointing, copings and any lighting conduits, followed by reinstating lawn or beds.
Handover: we clean down, remove all waste and walk the job with you, with the guarantee in writing.

A full garden rebuild in Accrington usually runs from one to four weeks depending on size. We tell you up front where weather could slow things, since frost stops bricklaying and resin joints need dry days.

Hard Landscaping Throughout Accrington

Our hard landscaping work covers all of Accrington, including Oswaldtwistle, Church, Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood and Huncoat. If your garden is a narrow terrace plot, a full-width patio and a matched brick front wall often make the most of the space. Where a garden slopes, retaining walls and stepped terraces turn an awkward bank into usable levels. If you want to tidy the front garden, block paving finished with soldier-course edging gives it a crisp line, and on a larger plot, sandstone patios, seating walls and long stone mowing edges come into their own. The survey is free anywhere in Accrington and nearby Haslingden, Padiham and Rawtenstall.

As a driveway company in Accrington and landscaping business, we quote for the whole plot.

Your Questions Answered

What counts as hard landscaping?

Hard landscaping is anything built rather than grown: paving, patios, paths, driveways, walls, steps, edging, raised beds and drainage. Soft landscaping is the lawns, borders and planting. In Accrington we usually build the hard landscaping first so the planting has a structure to sit within.

Should I do the patio, walls and edging at the same time?

If you can, yes. The levels of a patio, the height of a seating wall and the line of the edging all depend on each other. Building them as one job means the falls, drainage and finished heights are planned together, and it avoids paying for separate set-up, skips and disturbance twice.

Do I need planning permission for hard landscaping in Accrington?

Rear patios, paths and most garden walls fall under permitted development. Front gardens over 5 square metres must be permeable or drain into the garden, walls next to a road are limited to 1 metre, and conservation areas and listed buildings have extra rules. We check what applies to your property before we quote.

How long does a hard landscaping project take?

A patio on its own takes two to five days, a retaining wall one to two weeks, and edging a day or two. A full garden with terracing, paving and walls in Accrington is typically two to four weeks. Curing times for concrete and mortar, and the weather, are built into the programme.

What happens to the soil and old paving you dig out?

We are registered waste carriers, so everything we remove leaves site legally, either in our own vehicles or in a skip we arrange. Clean topsoil can be kept for borders if you want it. You never need to worry about a pile of rubble left in the garden or a skip blocking the drive for weeks.

Do you give a guarantee on hard landscaping?

Yes. Every paving, wall and edging job comes with a written guarantee covering the workmanship. Because we build the sub-base, footings and drainage to the depths stated on the quote, we are confident the work will stay level and sound, and the guarantee is there in writing if anything does need attention.

Hard Landscaping in Accrington