The new-build drives across Hunts Grove sit on heavy Severn-vale clay that opens the joints and washes the sand out fast. We rotary-clean and fully re-sand as standard. Fully insured. Same-day quotes, no obligation.
Hardwicke today is really two places at once, and the bigger of the two is brand new. On the southern side of the parish, Hunts Grove has turned former Severn-vale farmland — including the old Colethrop Farm — into one of the largest new housing developments in the county, thousands of homes going up in phases by the likes of Crest Nicholson and the other big builders, with streets such as Hunts Grove Drive, Farley Way and The Ridings. Almost every one of those houses has a block-paving drive, and almost every one of them sits on the same heavy clay subsoil that defines the floor of the vale here.
That clay is the thing that makes a Hardwicke drive behave differently from a drive on free-draining ground. Heavy Severn-vale clay swells when it's wet through the winter and shrinks back as it dries in summer — a seasonal shrink-swell, or "heave", that moves slowly but relentlessly under everything built on it. Under a block-paving drive, that movement nudges the blocks, lets the surface lift and dip a little, and slowly opens the joints. Open joints wash their kiln-dried sand out in the rain, and once the sand's gone the blocks have nothing bracing them, so the next bit of movement opens them further. On stable, gravelly ground a drive might hold its sand for years; on Hunts Grove clay it goes faster, and a lot faster again if the joints were barely filled to begin with.
And that's the second half of the problem. A great many Hunts Grove drives have never been re-sanded since the developer handed the house over. New estates get the bare-minimum jointing on handover, the early sand washes out within a season or two on this clay, and nobody tops it up — so within a few years you've got open joints, the first weeds appearing, and that slightly loose, shifting feel underfoot. Add the white efflorescence bloom that's normal on young concrete blocks, plus the construction silt and tyre staining that any drive picks up while it's surrounded by active building plots, and a three-year-old drive can look a decade old.
Up in the older village — Green Lane, Sticky Lane, the stretch along the B4008 Bristol Road and out toward the Haresfield fringe — the picture's different again: tarmac and 1970s-to-90s concrete drives that want a gentler, low-pressure hand rather than block-paving treatment. Wherever you are in Hardwicke, the fix starts with reading the surface and the ground under it. Clean the drive evenly with a rotary cleaner so there's no zebra-striping, then brush fresh kiln-dried sand fully back into every joint so the blocks lock up and brace against the clay's movement. That re-sand isn't an optional extra here — on this ground it's the whole point.
It's a block-paving town first and foremost — but the ground underneath, and the older village mix, mean method matters more than equipment.
The overwhelming majority of recent Hardwicke work. Standard concrete block paving across Hunts Grove Drive, Farley Way, The Ridings and the rest of the estate — laid over clay, often never re-sanded since handover, and showing open joints, early weeds and efflorescence. Rotary surface clean for an even finish, then a full kiln-dried re-sand to lock the blocks back up. This is the work we do most of, and the surface this page is built around.
The latest Hunts Grove phases use permeable paving with wider joints filled with angular drainage grit so rain soaks straight through rather than running off. These get a careful clean and the joints topped back up with the correct permeable jointing grit — never ordinary kiln-dried sand, which would clog the drainage and defeat the whole design. Tell us if yours is permeable and we'll bring the right material.
Found on the established drives along Green Lane, Sticky Lane and the B4008 Bristol Road. Tarmac gets a gentle low-pressure clean that lifts the moss, algae and ingrained dirt without blasting out the bituminous binder or leaving the surface ravelled and loose. We never put a rotary at full pressure near tarmac.
Plain poured concrete and pattern-imprinted concrete on the older Hardwicke village houses and the streets toward the Quedgeley border. Plain concrete gets a controlled rotary clean; faded imprinted concrete can be deep-cleaned and then re-coloured with a tinted resin sealer to bring the pattern and colour back. Different surface, properly matched method.
From the newest Hunts Grove phases to the old village along the Bristol Road — same Severn-vale clay underneath, slightly different drive on each.
The spine of the estate, with some of the earliest-completed phases now several years old — exactly the age where the handover sand has long since washed out of the joints and the drives are ready for a clean and a full re-sand.
One of the estate's main residential runs, lined with concrete block-paving drives on the standard clay subsoil. Bread-and-butter Hunts Grove work: rotary clean, lift the silt and efflorescence, re-sand to lock it up.
A newer phase within Hunts Grove — drives that still look fresh but are on the same porous concrete blocks over the same moving clay, so worth cleaning and properly re-sanding before the joints open and the first weeds get a foothold.
The Colethrop side, built over former Colethrop Farm, where the newest releases include permeable SUDS paving. These get cleaned carefully and topped up with the correct drainage grit rather than standard sand.
The established heart of Hardwicke around Green Lane and Sticky Lane, with older tarmac and concrete drives rather than estate block paving. Gentler low-pressure work, matched to what's actually down.
The older roadside properties along the Bristol Road and the streets where Hardwicke runs straight into Quedgeley — a mix of tarmac, plain concrete and block paving, all taking the right method for the surface.
If you bought new at Hunts Grove, here's something the developer never told you: your block-paving drive needs its joints topped up. New estate drives are laid and jointed to handover standard, which is genuinely the bare minimum, and the first winter on heavy Severn-vale clay starts washing that sand out almost immediately. Within two or three years the joints are visibly low, weeds and moss find the gaps, and the blocks — with nothing locking them together — start to feel slightly loose and uneven underfoot as the clay moves beneath them. None of that is a fault with your drive. It's just an estate drive on clay that's never been re-sanded.
The reason re-sanding matters so much specifically here comes down to how block paving works. A block-paving drive isn't held together by what's under it — it's held together by friction between the blocks, and that friction depends entirely on the joints being packed full of compacted kiln-dried sand. Full joints turn dozens of separate blocks into one interlocked surface that braces against ground movement; empty joints leave every block on its own, free to rock and shift each time the clay swells and shrinks. On stable ground you might get away with thin joints for years. On Hunts Grove clay, full joints are what stands between a drive that shrugs off the seasonal heave and one that slowly opens up, dips and lets weeds take hold.
So on every block-paving job we do here, the re-sand is the step that earns its keep. Once the surface is cleaned and properly dried, we sweep fresh kiln-dried sand across the drive, work it down fully into every joint, vibrate or brush it home, and remove the excess — the drive comes away locked up tight rather than just looking clean for a fortnight. On the newest permeable phases we do the same with the correct angular drainage grit instead, so the drive stays free-draining. And if you want to go a step further, sealing after a clean stabilises that sand against washout and keeps the joints fuller for longer — which on this ground genuinely buys you time.
One honest caveat: re-sanding fixes drives that have lost their sand. It doesn't fix a drive that's already heaved badly and dropped in one corner — that's a re-lay, not a clean. We'll always tell you straight which one you're looking at when we survey, rather than cleaning a drive that really needs lifting and re-laying.
Send your GL2 postcode and a couple of photos — for most Hunts Grove drives we can price it without a visit. We check the surface (standard block paving, permeable, tarmac or concrete), the size, the condition, and whether efflorescence or builder's silt is in play. Visits available if you'd prefer.
Block paving and concrete get a rotary surface cleaner — even pressure across the blocks, no zebra stripes — lifting silt, tyre marks, moss and most efflorescence. Tarmac and the older village drives get a gentle low-pressure clean so we don't strip the binder or loosen the surface.
The step that matters most on clay. Fresh kiln-dried sand swept and worked fully into every joint of a block-paving drive so the blocks lock up and brace against the ground movement — or the correct angular drainage grit on permeable phases. We brush off the excess and leave the drive properly locked, not just rinsed.
Once dry, a breathable block-paving sealer stabilises the new sand against washout, blocks weeds, makes oil and tyre marks easy to wipe, and brings the colour back. On clay-vale drives it's the add-on that holds the result longest. More on sealing →
Most cleaners pressure-wash a Hunts Grove drive, hose it down and leave — handing you back a drive with the last of its sand blasted out of the joints, ready to wash away in the next downpour. On clay that's worse than useless. We re-sand every block-paving drive as standard, because on this ground a clean that doesn't end with full joints simply doesn't last.
That's the whole difference here. A Hunts Grove drive that's cleaned and properly re-sanded comes away locked, bracing itself against the seasonal heave, with the weeds shut out of the joints and the surface even underfoot again. The same drive cleaned and left un-sanded looks great for a fortnight and then starts shifting, opening and greening up faster than before. The re-sand isn't where we make our margin — it's the part that makes the job worth doing on Hardwicke clay. You pay no extra for it; it comes as standard.
Get your Hardwicke quoteWe don't quote a flat rate over the phone — Hunts Grove drives range from compact two-car blocks to wide four-car frontages, and condition varies a lot — but to be straight with you, most block-paving driveway cleans are £180–£450, with the re-sand always included. A standard two-car Hunts Grove drive sits at the lower-to-middle of that; bigger frontages, heavy efflorescence, ground-in builder's silt, or adding a seal push it up.
What moves the price:
Re-sanding is always included, never an add-on — kiln-dried sand worked fully back into the joints on every block-paving job, or drainage grit on permeable drives. If you want it to last longer still, ask about sealing at the same time, and on faded pattern concrete ask about imprinted concrete re-colouring.
How we quote: a free no-obligation survey (or a price from photos for most estate drives), a written price the same day, no deposit, pay only when it's done.
Two things stack up at Hunts Grove. First, the estate is built on heavy Severn-vale clay, which swells when it's wet and shrinks when it dries — that seasonal shrink-swell movement nudges the blocks, opens the joints a fraction and lets the kiln-dried sand wash out faster than it would on free-draining ground. Second, a lot of these drives have never been re-sanded since the developer handed the house over, so they started life with the bare minimum of sand in the joints. Clean the surface and brush fresh kiln-dried sand fully into the joints and the drive locks up again — that's why we re-sand every block-paving job as standard rather than treating it as an add-on.
That's efflorescence — a white salt bloom that's extremely common on young concrete block paving, and you'll see it all over the newer Hunts Grove phases. As the blocks cure, natural salts in the concrete migrate to the surface and dry out as a chalky white haze. It's not dirt and it's not a fault; it usually fades over the first couple of years on its own. We can lift most of it with the rotary clean and an efflorescence treatment, but we'll always tell you honestly whether yours is worth treating now or is better left to weather off, rather than charge you for a clean that won't hold.
Yes, and it's some of the most satisfying work we do at Hunts Grove. While the estate is still being built out, drives sit surrounded by active plots, so they pick up construction silt, dried mud, cement splashes and tyre staining from site traffic. A rotary surface cleaner lifts ground-in silt and tyre marks evenly across the blocks without the zebra-striping you get from a hand lance, and we wash the run-off and silt off your kerbs and path afterwards rather than leaving it for you. We then re-sand the joints so the freshly-cleaned drive is locked up properly.
The clay isn't going anywhere, so a bit of seasonal movement is part of life on a Severn-vale estate like Hardwicke — but a well-sanded, properly-locked drive copes with it far better than a sand-starved one. When the joints are full of compacted kiln-dried sand, the blocks brace against each other and minor heave shows up as nothing worse than a clean surface. When the joints are empty, the same movement lets blocks rock, dip and shift, weeds get a foothold and the problem accelerates. Keeping the joints full is the single best thing you can do, which is exactly what our re-sanding step is for. If a drive has already dropped badly in one area, that's a re-lay rather than a clean, and we'll say so.
Yes. The newest Hunts Grove phases use permeable block paving with wider joints filled with a special angular grit instead of ordinary sand, so rainwater drains straight through the surface rather than running off. We clean these carefully and top the joints back up with the correct permeable jointing grit — not standard kiln-dried sand, which would clog the system and defeat the point of it draining. Tell us if your drive is permeable when you ask for a quote and we'll bring the right material.
Most Hunts Grove drives are a half-day to a full day. A standard two-car block-paving drive with a clean and a full re-sand is usually a half-day; a larger four-car drive, heavy efflorescence, ground-in builder's silt, or adding a seal pushes it towards a full day. We give you a realistic time estimate with the written quote and we don't leave until the drive is cleaned, re-sanded and tidied up.
It's well worth thinking about on a new-build drive, because sealing helps in exactly the ways a clay-vale estate needs. A breathable block-paving sealer stabilises the kiln-dried sand in the joints so it resists washing out as the ground moves, blocks weeds, makes oil and tyre marks easy to wipe, and brings the colour back richer. We'd normally wait until any efflorescence has finished blooming before sealing a very new drive, and we'll give you an honest view on timing when we quote. Sealing roughly doubles the interval before the next deep clean.
The older part of Hardwicke around Green Lane, Sticky Lane and the B4008 Bristol Road has plenty of tarmac and 1970s–90s concrete drives, and those need a gentler hand than the estate block paving. Tarmac gets a low-pressure clean so we lift the moss and algae without blasting out the binder or leaving the surface looking ravelled; older concrete gets a rotary clean at a controlled pressure. Different surface, different method — we match it to what you've actually got rather than turning the pressure up on everything.
On a Hunts Grove block-paving drive that's been cleaned and properly re-sanded, expect two to three years before it needs the full treatment again, longer if it's well-drained and sunny. North-facing drives, anything shaded by the young estate trees, and the damper plots toward the canal vale green up faster — sometimes within 18 months. Sealing roughly doubles the interval, and a quick wash-off once a year keeps it looking sharp in between without the full deep clean.
All of it — the whole Hunts Grove estate including The Ridings, Hunts Grove Drive and Farley Way, the older village along Green Lane, Sticky Lane and the B4008 Bristol Road, the Colethrop side and out to the Haresfield fringe, and straight on into Quedgeley and Gloucester. Same pricing across the patch, no extra travel charge. If you're not sure we reach your street, send your GL2 postcode and we'll confirm.
Same canal-vale damp that greens the drives greens the roofs — fast on fresh Hunts Grove tile, careful by hand on the old village clay.
Roof cleaning Hardwicke →Your city hub just to the north — Victorian terraces, the docks regeneration and the modern Severn-vale estates.
Driveway cleaning Gloucester →Right next door — the estates and new-build streets that run straight on from Hardwicke along the A38 and Bristol Road.
Driveway cleaning Quedgeley →Looking for the full picture? See our driveway cleaning service for how the rotary clean, re-sanding and sealing all work, or browse every area we cover.
The Guys did a fantastic job on my roof and worked nonstop all day to get the job done and left everything clean and tidy after themselves, highly recommend and would look to use again 👍, made a massive difference to the house.
The Guys did a fantastic job on my roof and worked nonstop all day to get the job done and left everything clean and tidy after themselves, highly recommend and would look to use again 👍, made a massive difference to the house.
Would strongly recommend. Swift with good work quality and kept the surrounding areas tidy. Looks like a new roof! Would 100% recommend.
Would strongly recommend. Swift with good work quality and kept the surrounding areas tidy. Looks like a new roof! Would 100% recommend.
Blake and Daniel cleaned my patio and path at the front and did a great job. They were friendly and professional and explained well what they were going to do. I also had a bad dark patch which came up really well which others had failed to remove. I would definitely recommend them if like me you have a patio or driveway that badly needs a thorough clean
Blake and Daniel cleaned my patio and path at the front and did a great job. They were friendly and professional and explained well what they were going to do. I also had a bad dark patch which came up really well which others had failed to remove. I would definitely recommend them if like me you have a patio or driveway that badly needs a thorough clean
100% recommend this team . From start to finish was kept informed.On the morning a text to say what time they will be there and arrived on time . Worked from 9:30 till 7:30pm on the roof and jet washing all the area after. Very professional and had all the kit even a drone to show you the results of the whole area . The difference is amazing and looks like a new roof . Really happy with the results and so many comments from neighbours too saying how good it looks . You will not be disappointed .
100% recommend this team . From start to finish was kept informed.On the morning a text to say what time they will be there and arrived on time . Worked from 9:30 till 7:30pm on the roof and jet washing all the area after. Very professional and had all the kit even a drone to show you the results of the whole area . The difference is amazing and looks like a new roof . Really happy with the results and so many comments from neighbours too saying how good it looks . You will not be disappointed .
Had our drive re sealed and repaired amazing job by Blake and Dan thanks very much for your hard work it looks amazing highly recommended company
Had our drive re sealed and repaired amazing job by Blake and Dan thanks very much for your hard work it looks amazing highly recommended company
What can I say other than WOW !! Massive thank you to Blake and Dan for all of your hard work, so professional and such an amazing job! Left everything spotless so pleased, highly recommend to everyone. Extremely happy
What can I say other than WOW !! Massive thank you to Blake and Dan for all of your hard work, so professional and such an amazing job! Left everything spotless so pleased, highly recommend to everyone. Extremely happy
Blake and team did a great job of cleaning and resealing our roof. They worked hard and communicated well by proactively keeping us updated at every stage. We are happy with the end result and the transformation was epic!
Blake and team did a great job of cleaning and resealing our roof. They worked hard and communicated well by proactively keeping us updated at every stage. We are happy with the end result and the transformation was epic!
We had excellent service from start to finish. The guys were very professional, discussed everything over the phone initially then a visit with the drone to allow accurate quarter and expectation management. On the day they were considerate with the neighbours, did a wonderful job with the roof and gutters and cleared up so well that everything looked far better than when they started. Cannot recommend more highly.
We had excellent service from start to finish. The guys were very professional, discussed everything over the phone initially then a visit with the drone to allow accurate quarter and expectation management. On the day they were considerate with the neighbours, did a wonderful job with the roof and gutters and cleared up so well that everything looked far better than when they started. Cannot recommend more highly.
Great guys. Amazing job on the drive and always answers the phone. Recommend 100%
Great guys. Amazing job on the drive and always answers the phone. Recommend 100%
Really impressed with Aquapro Roof cleaning. Very professional guys that done such a good job, that it looks like I’ve had a new roof installed, (after 40yrs of dirt and moss). Blake talked me through everything in detail, and answered any questions I had. Showed me the end result with his drone footage and left house clean and tidy. Highly recommended.
Really impressed with Aquapro Roof cleaning. Very professional guys that done such a good job, that it looks like I’ve had a new roof installed, (after 40yrs of dirt and moss). Blake talked me through everything in detail, and answered any questions I had. Showed me the end result with his drone footage and left house clean and tidy. Highly recommended.
Great service, lovely & friendly team. So happy with the patio.
Great service, lovely & friendly team. So happy with the patio.
Rotary clean and a full re-sand as standard — built for the clay-heave drives at Hunts Grove. Efflorescence and builder's silt lifted, tarmac and the older village drives cleaned gently. Fully insured, with a written no-obligation quote back to you the same day.
