The complete groundworks package for homes, commercial sites and development projects. Site clearance, excavation, drainage, foundations, concrete and licensed street works, delivered on our own plant by fully ticketed operators, with an owner leading every job from the first dig to handover.
Groundworks is every stage of a job that happens below the finished surface: clearing the site, excavating to ground that will carry what goes on it, taking spoil away, laying below-ground drainage, digging and pouring footings, and building the compacted base a driveway, slab or building then sits on.
It is the stage that decides how well everything above it performs, which is why builders, developers and homeowners hand it to a specialist groundworks contractor.
The sequence is not negotiable. Drainage goes in before a base covers it. A footing is inspected before concrete hides it. A sub-base is compacted in layers before a surface is laid over it. Put one stage out of order and the next one has to come back up.
Running that sequence with precision, and on programme, is exactly what HW Contractors is built for.
Overgrowth, old concrete, slabs, sheds and redundant fence lines come out, and the ground is stripped back to something workable. This stage is excavation and site clearance.
The dig carries on until it reaches ground that will carry the load going on top of it. Soft spots and made ground come out rather than get built over.
Spoil is loaded and carted off as the dig goes, so the site stays workable instead of filling up with the material we have just taken out of it.
Land drains, soakaways, channel drainage and surface water runs go in while the ground is open, on the falls they need. Set out in full on our drainage installation page.
Trenches dug to the depth the ground and the design require, inspected, then poured. Covered on our foundations and footings page.
Slabs for garages, garden rooms, sheds, hot tubs and yards, shuttered, reinforced where the design calls for it and finished level. See concrete bases and hard standings.
Granular sub-base laid and compacted in layers, edges restrained, levels set to fall the right way, ready for the driveway or surface that finishes the job.
Making good, and where the job meets the public highway, the licensed work that goes with it. See street works.
Most of what gets photographed is the finished surface, because that is what people want to see. Behind it sits the part that took the longest: the strip, the dig, the muck away, the drainage runs and the concrete. Every photograph on this site is our own work.
Our reviews sit on Google, where we cannot edit them and neither can anybody else. Read them there rather than take our word for it.
Based on 4 Google reviews
Commenting as the owner of this property I can honestly say that Aaron was a pleasure to work with. Efficient, reliable, extremely hardworking, on schedule, amazing quality and just an all round lovely guy! Thank you Aaron! You can see the almost (steps leading up to the tub yet to be added as a finishing touch) finished project on the Boutique Retreats website: Kilter House, Coverack
Read more on GoogleWould definitely recommend. Our driveway was a mismatch of 3 different sections of gravel, some old concrete and a step. In two days he has completely overhauled it and it looks amazing. Very fast worker, polite and professional and reasonably priced as well. You won’t be disappointed by Michael’s team at all!
Read more on FacebookAaron laid us a wonderful patio for our back garden. From the start he was highly professional and courteous. He sat with us to discuss the best, most cost efficient options to get us exactly what we imagined. Aaron was very reliable and his after care has been exceptional ensuring he delivers the highest quality for his clients. Highly recommended!
Read more on GoogleMike and his son did a fantastic job on our sandstone patio. They provided a competitive quote and had expert knowledge. The job itself was completed to a very high standard. We are very happy with it. I highly recommend. Thank you again for the fantastic work.
Read more on FacebookReally happy with the work from Aaron Hunt Groundworks. Aaron and his team were super easy to deal with—friendly, reliable, and clearly know what they’re doing. They turned up on time, got stuck in, and made sure everything was done properly with a great finish. They kept the place tidy and checked in with us throughout the job to make sure we were happy. No fuss, no stress—just solid, professional work. Would definitely recommend them to anyone needing groundwork done. Top team!
Read more on GoogleWe had been waiting for along time for this small bit of garden to be finished…the original person we had booked just didn’t work out in the end. We booked Sunset Surfacing We are so pleased with the work and can’t wait for the summer to arrive. They were clean, tidy and professional…thank you
Read more on FacebookExtremely happy with my new patio. It wasn’t the most straight forward to lay but Aaron managed to get the finish I wanted and was completely flexible and accommodating to make it happen for our time lines. Would highly recommend.
Read more on GoogleOne team, one programmeThe same team clears the site, digs it, drains it, builds the base and lays what goes on top, so the programme runs straight through and full accountability sits with one firm.
The right machine for every siteWe run our own machinery, sized from garden-gate access upward, and between Aaron's CPCS 360 above 10 tonnes and Mike's below 10 tonnes there is no excavator we cannot put a ticketed operator on.
Commercial-grade bases as standardEvery base beneath a drive, a patio or a slab is built to the standard we put under a commercial hard standing.
Ground conditions priced with certaintyRock, made ground, old foundations and buried services are identified and priced while the excavation is open, so you always know exactly where you stand.
Send the drawings, the postcode and what you are building, or call to talk it through. A photograph of the access helps us plan the right plant.
One of the owners walks the site with you, checks levels, access, services and where water can go. We bring photographs of previous work and material samples with us.
A written quote covering the dig, the drainage, the base, what leaves site and the conditions that would change the price. Free, with no obligation.
Clearance, excavation, muck away, drainage and footings, in that order, with building control seeing the trench where the job needs it.
Sub-base compacted in layers, the surface laid and the site made good.
An excavation is the most tightly regulated part of a construction job. Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, any excavation people work in must be inspected by a competent person before work starts in a shift, and again after any event likely to have affected its stability. That is the standard a trench is dug and supported to here.
Fully ticketed operators, named on every job. Aaron holds CPCS 360 Excavator Above 10 Tonnes, a CSCS card, Street Works Operative and a dumper ticket. Mike holds CPCS 360 Excavator Below 10 Tonnes, a CSCS card, Street Works Supervisor and a dumper ticket.
Our own plant fleet. Diggers, dumpers and a tipper of our own, so clearance, dig and muck away are one mobilisation instead of three.
Winter is groundworks season. The dig, the drainage and the base go in when the weather is against a finished surface, which makes the colder months the sensible time to get the underground half of a project done.
HW Contractors is owned and led by Aaron Hunt and Mike Wherry, and both of them work on site. Aaron leads our excavation and groundworks packages, from new-build plots and extensions to commercial bases, yards and site preparation for builders and developers, and holds the CPCS 360 ticket above 10 tonnes. Mike brings 30 years of groundworks and surfacing experience and runs our licensed street works as a qualified Street Works Supervisor. That puts 40 years in the ground at the head of the firm, and it is why one of the owners prices your project and one of the owners leads it on site: the people accountable for the job are the people delivering it.
Almost everything that goes wrong on a job later went wrong in the ground first. Get the dig right, get the water away and compact the base properly, and there is very little left to fail.Aaron Hunt, co-owner of HW Contractors
40 years of combined experience, Aaron 10 and Mike 30
CPCS 360 excavator tickets above and below 10 tonnes, CSCS cards and dumper tickets
Street Works Operative and Street Works Supervisor between them
Fully insured (public liability and full business insurance)
We work out of Porthleven and our patch runs from the Lizard up to Newquay. Helston is our core ground, with Porthleven and Mullion on the doorstep, and Penzance, Camborne, Redruth, Falmouth, Truro, St Ives and Newquay all inside the ordinary working week.
If your village is not named there but sits inside that patch, it is still worth a call.
Groundworks is priced from what is in the ground as well as what is on the drawing, so every quote starts with a site visit at no charge and a detailed written breakdown setting out:
Anything found in the ground that changes the work is priced in writing before it happens.
Land drains, soakaways and channel drainage, dug and laid to a fall.
Drainage installation
Strip and trench fill foundations dug to depth, inspected and poured.
Foundations and footings
Clearance, bulk dig and muck away, priced as a finished job.
Excavation and site clearance
Vehicle crossings and highway work, with a Street Works Operative and Supervisor in-house.
Street worksSend the postcode, what you are building and a photograph of the access, and one of the owners will come and look at the ground before anybody prices what goes on top of it. Free site visit, no obligation.
Call us on 07886 070245·Get a free quote online
Porthleven, Cornwall
Phone: 07886 070245
Email: info@hwcontractors.co.uk
Hours: Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm
Last updated: 22 September 2026