Surrey Contracting Limited · Groundworks, Earthworks & Demolition across Surrey & the Home Counties

Groundworks Contractor in Woking

Foundations, drainage, excavation and site preparation across Woking, Horsell, Byfleet and the surrounding villages.

Surrey Contracting is a groundworks contractor based in Woking borough. Our yard is at Send, about four miles from the town centre, and we dig and pour foundations, lay foul and surface water drainage, run service trenches and take sites to damp proof course with our own plant and operators.

The below-ground package is set out in full on our groundworks page. This page covers what is different about working in Woking: the run from the yard, the ground we tend to find and the access we have to plan around.

Groundworks contractor excavating a foundation trench on a site near Woking

Getting to Woking from our yard

We are not a contractor who covers Woking from somewhere else. The yard is at Send, inside the borough, four miles or so from the station and closer than that to Horsell, Byfleet and Old Woking. Most of the town is inside a fifteen minute drive. For a domestic job that usually means we can get someone out to look at a problem the same week rather than the following one.

Ground conditions and access in Woking

Much of Woking borough is sand. Horsell Common is heathland sitting on it, and the sandy ground carries on under a lot of the housing around the town. Sand digs easily and drains well, which helps with soakaways, but the sides of a deep trench will not stand on their own and need support. Closer to the Basingstoke Canal and the Wey the water table comes up, and a foundation dig can fill overnight.

A lot of the housing stock is interwar and post-war with long rear gardens, which usually means a side gate wide enough for a small machine and a proper run for the dumper. The newer infill plots are the tighter ones, often a single narrow entrance shared with the neighbouring house. We size the machine to the entrance and work out where the spoil goes before the first dig, not on the day.

Groundworks services in Woking

We self-deliver the below-ground package with our own plant and operators, working directly for homeowners and as a groundworks subcontractor to builders, developers and main contractors.

  • Foundations and build to DPC
  • Foul and surface water drainage
  • Soakaways, manholes and inspection chambers
  • Service trenches and ducting
  • Excavation and muck-away
  • Site clearance and preparation

Larger reshaping and muck-away sits under bulk earthworks and excavation, and clearing structures before the dig starts under demolition and site clearance.

Common questions

Groundworks in Woking: FAQs

Are you actually based in Woking?

Yes. Our yard is at Send, which is inside Woking borough, about four miles from the town centre and nearer still to Horsell and Old Woking. We are not covering the area from a depot somewhere else, which is why we can usually get out to look at a job quickly.

What ground conditions do you find on Woking sites?

Mostly sand. It digs easily and drains well, which suits soakaways, but deep trench sides need supporting because sand will not stand on its own. Near the Basingstoke Canal and the River Wey the water table is high enough that an open foundation dig can fill overnight, so those sites need planning around.

Who handles building control for groundworks in Woking?

Either Woking Borough Council building control or a Registered Building Control Approver, depending on what the project uses. Below ground work has to be inspected before it is covered over, so the excavation, any reinforcement and the drainage each need signing off at the right point. We work from the approved drawings and book the inspections in around them.

Got a site in Woking to price?

Send us the postcode, any drawings and how the machine gets in, and we will come back with a written quotation.