Hardway is characterised by older maritime terraces around the historic naval moorings, which shapes how Block Paving gets specified here: individual concrete or clay blocks laid on a compacted sub-base and locked together with a firm edge restraint. The typical job in Hardway itself deals with narrow lanes and waterside frontages typical of this old naval corner of Gosport, and direct waterside exposure on Portsmouth Harbour along the old naval moorings. It suits estate-standard frontages and anywhere individual-section repairability matters, and it is worth knowing that the edge restraint’s condition matters as much as the blocks themselves.
About Block Paving
Block paving is built from individual concrete or clay block units, each laid by hand into a bed of sharp sand over a properly compacted sub-base, in a pattern such as herringbone, basketweave or stalled stretcher bond, then vibrated in and jointed with kiln-dried sand. A firm edge restraint around the perimeter is what keeps the whole surface locked together under vehicle loading, so its condition matters as much as the blocks themselves. Because it is made of individual units, block paving can be lifted section by section for repairs or access to services below and re-laid, which is a genuine practical advantage over a single continuous surface. Joints do need periodic re-sanding, and block paving was the standard original specification on a great deal of estate housing built from the 1970s onward.
Best suited to: estate-standard driveways, properties wanting a specific pattern or colour, and anywhere repairability of individual sections matters
Less suited to: a fully seamless look with zero visible joints
Ground & property in Hardway
Hardway sits directly on Portsmouth Harbour in this old naval corner of Gosport, where narrow lanes and waterside frontages run close to the historic naval moorings. The older maritime terraces here deal with genuine waterside exposure that the estate streets further inland on the peninsula simply don’t face.
Coastal / flood note: direct waterside exposure on Portsmouth Harbour along the old naval moorings