Huntingdonshire
Imprinted Concrete That Knows When to Stay Quiet, on Buckden's Old Coaching Street
An old coaching village on the Great North Road, now bypassed and quiet. Buckden frontages reward restraint.
Family run since 1990
Over 30 years installing decorative surfacing
Based in Sawtry
Local team, Cambridgeshire properties
Five star rated
Verified Google reviews
Imprinted Concrete in Buckden
Knowing when a driveway should stay quiet
Buckden was a stop on the Great North Road for centuries, and the High Street still shows it: coaching inns, old brick, pantile roofs and the towers of the former bishops' palace at one end. Frontages along the main street are short, sometimes shared, and many properties park behind rather than in front. This is a village where a very dark, very large scale driveway pattern would be the loudest thing on the street, and that is worth thinking about before the colour is chosen.
Away from the High Street the village is much more ordinary and much easier to work with. The estates built from the 1960s onward, and the newer development on the edges, give rectangular frontages with room for two cars, garages that have often become rooms, and open or lightly bounded front gardens. These are the plots where a bordered layout, or a fan pattern centred on the front door, has the space it needs.
Buckden sits between the Great Ouse valley to the east, where the old gravel workings are now the lakes and the marina, and the higher clay ground rising west towards the A1. That means the ground under one Buckden frontage can be quite different from another a few streets away. What is under the existing surface, and how deep the made ground goes, is settled by looking rather than by assuming.
Driveways, patios and paths are the three things we install. Read what each one involves or why people choose imprinted concrete.
Make It Your Own
Colours and patterns for Buckden properties
Old Buckden brick is warm and mellow, and sandstone, autumn brown or a soft grey generally sits with it far better than charcoal. On the newer roads the whole range is open, and slate grey with a brick red or sandstone border is a combination that suits the plainer estate brick. We bring samples out so the choice is made against the actual wall rather than a screen.
- SandstoneNatural stone tone
- Brick RedClassic heritage
- Slate GreyModern charcoal
- Autumn BrownRich amber
See the full colour and pattern section for photographs of the finishes, or ask us to bring samples when we visit.
Before Anything Is Poured
Ground, access and drainage in Buckden
The two practical Buckden questions are access and ground. On the High Street, entrances are often narrow and there may be nowhere to stand a vehicle, which affects how a job is run. On the estates access is straightforward and the focus shifts to levels and drainage, since imprinted concrete does not let water through and the falls have to be built into the design.
Recent Projects
Finished work worth comparing against your Buckden property
The buff European fan driveway with a stamped brick soldier course, in the projects section, is the closest reference for a wider Buckden estate frontage with a central entrance. For a rear garden, the buff ashlar patio with the curved terracotta border shows the warmer end of the palette that suits this village.
Close detail of a cobble setts finish, showing the riven texture and the pale antiquing highlight that gives the surface its depth. 
A full width front driveway in grey ashlar imprinted concrete, with a stamped cobble border and a linear channel drain at the pavement line. 
A charcoal ashlar driveway with a contrasting red stamped border, sweeping to a double garage.
Five-Star Rated
What customers say
EXCELLENT Based on 12 reviews on Google. These are the company's own Google reviews and are not attributed to any particular town.
Rated 5 out of 5.
We had our driveway done this year and they did a fantastic job. I'm really happy with the outcome. I would recommend this company.
Questions
Buckden imprinted concrete questions
- Do you cover Buckden for imprinted concrete work?
- Yes, Buckden is in the service area we publish and it is a short run down the A1 from our base at Sawtry. Call 07949 078999 or use the quote form on this page.
- Is a fan pattern worth it on a normal size driveway?
- A European fan needs enough area for the circles to complete, so on a very small frontage it can look cut off. On a wider drive with a central entrance it works very well, because the pattern gives the surface a centre and draws the eye to the door. We will tell you at the visit whether your frontage has the room for it.
- What suits an old brick and pantile house on the High Street?
- Warmer colours and smaller patterns. Sandstone or autumn brown in a cobble, brick or riven stone finish sits with old brick without competing. A large slab pattern in charcoal on a short period frontage tends to look like a modern surface parked in front of an old building.
- Can you work on a property that parks at the rear?
- Yes, and rear parking areas and the access to them are common jobs. What matters is how material and plant get to the back of the property, so tell us about the route when you enquire.
- Is the old gravel pit ground near the lakes a problem?
- Worked and restored ground can be very variable, so it is a reason to look carefully rather than a reason not to proceed. We check what is under the surface, how deep any made ground goes and how the plot drains before deciding on the build up.
- Do you edge the driveway where it meets a lawn?
- Yes, the edge detail is part of the design. A border pattern gives a clean finished edge, and where the surface meets grass or a planting bed the level and the transition are set so it looks deliberate. On an open plan frontage that edge is doing most of the visual work.
- How noisy and messy is the work?
- Breaking out an existing surface and preparing ground is genuinely disruptive while it is happening, and we would rather say so than pretend otherwise. We will tell you what to expect on your job, and clearing up is part of the work rather than an extra.
- Can you lay steps or deal with a change in level?
- Level changes are common on the older plots here and they are part of the design conversation. What is possible depends on the site, so it is something to walk through together on the visit rather than agree in advance.
- How does imprinted concrete compare with resin bound surfacing?
- They are different products with different properties, and Driveway & Decking Co. install decorative surfacing beyond just imprinted concrete. This site is about the imprinted concrete side. If your site would be better served by something else, we will tell you at the visit.
- Do you provide anything in writing before the work starts?
- Yes, you get a written quote covering what is included after we have seen the site. Ask about anything that is not clear before you commit rather than afterwards.
- What if I want to change the colour after quoting?
- Tell us as early as you can. Colour and pattern choices affect what is ordered, so a change is much easier before materials are arranged than on the day of the pour.
- How do I arrange a Buckden quote?
- Use the quote form on this page with your postcode and a short description, call or WhatsApp 07949 078999. Mention if the property is on the High Street, since access there needs planning.
Areas We Cover
Near Buckden
Each of these has its own page, written for that place rather than this one.
Get a Free Quote
Request a quote for your Buckden project
Tell the team whether you are planning a driveway, patio, path or another suitable imprinted concrete project. Include the postcode and an approximate size or a short description, and Driveway & Decking Co. can talk through the next step and arrange a quote or a site visit where that makes sense.
Prefer to talk it through?
- Telephone
- 07949 078999
- Message us on WhatsApp
- Address
- 23 Glatton Road, Sawtry, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28 5SY