Surfacing & external works
Surfacing and external works from the ground up
From estate roads and service yards to city-centre granite, we lay surfacing and external works with our own teams and plant across the South West and South Wales.
The brief
The finished surface is what gets judged
The surfacing is the part of the job everyone judges. The client walks it, the public uses it, and every defect in the finish traces back to something underneath: a soft spot in the sub-base, a fall that does not drain, an edge restraint that was never set right. When surfacing is split off and subcontracted, that interface is where money and programme leak.
We keep it under one contract. EJ McGrath self-delivers surfacing and external works with our own teams, plant and supervision. Because we lay the groundworks as well, formation, sub-base, falls and edge restraint are controlled by the same people who put the finished surface on top. No handover. No argument about who left the levels wrong.
The scope covers:
- Roads, car parks and access surfacing in macadam and asphalt
- Concrete hardstandings and service yards
- Footways, cycleways, kerbing, edgings and channels
- Block paving, setts and natural stone paving
- Public realm, hard landscaping, line marking and street furniture
Proven on high-profile public realm
Our external works record includes some of the most visible spaces in the region. We have laid city-centre granite on seven-day weeks to hit a fixed civic deadline, set dozens of granite types to tight architectural layouts, and paved seafront promenades, squares and public realm that thousands of people cross every day.
Every layer is inspected and signed off against the specification, with QA records kept current through the job so handover is clean.
We work for main contractors including Kier, BAM Nuttall and Galliford Try, and directly for public authorities, across the South West of England and South Wales. The business has been family-run since 2007.
Certified to deliver
SSIP accredited
Safety Schemes in Procurement, health and safety pre-qualified.
Constructionline Gold
Verified accreditation and supply-chain assurance.
SMAS Worksafe
Recognised health and safety competency.
Cyber Essentials
Certified against common cyber threats.
Why EJ McGrath
Built for complex, self-delivered work
One contract, no interface
We build the sub-base and lay the surface, so falls, levels and edge restraint sit with one contractor. No dispute over who left the formation wrong.
Public realm pedigree
City-centre granite and seafront paving, laid to architectural tolerances on live, high-footfall streets.
QA-led delivery
SSIP, Constructionline Gold and SMAS Worksafe accredited, with inspection and test records maintained through the job.
On site
How we run surfacing on site
Surfacing sits at the end of the programme, so it takes the pressure when everything before it slips. We plan backwards from handover: formation proved, kerbs and edge restraint set, then the surfacing laid in a sequence that keeps traffic and other trades moving. On live streets and public spaces we phase the work so pedestrians, businesses and buses keep access throughout.
Our gangs work to agreed inspection and test plans, with sub-base compaction, levels and falls signed off before anything permanent goes down. Interfaces with drainage, ducting and street lighting are coordinated early, so ironwork sits flush and reinstatement is right first time.
The same supervision runs the job from muck shift to final sweep, backed by our own excavators, rollers and paving gangs. One city-centre high street ran seven days a week to a fixed civic deadline and still handed over early.
What we self-deliver
Capabilities
Proof
Projects with this work in them
Where else we work
Related services and sectors
Next step