Artificial lawns and natural turf, laid on a base we excavate, drain and compact ourselves. A lawn that stays flat and keeps draining, winter after winter, is a groundworks job with something green on top of it.
Artificial grass is a perforated synthetic lawn laid over an excavated, drained and compacted sub-base, not a covering rolled out over the ground it replaces. The grass is the last thing to go down and the least likely thing to fail. What decides whether an artificial lawn is still flat, firm and draining years later is the depth of the dig, the membrane, the sub-base and the falls underneath it.
Natural turf works to the same rule from the other direction. A real lawn is only ever as good as the soil profile, the drainage and the levels prepared before the rolls arrive on site.
Both are laid here on ground we open up ourselves, which is groundworks rather than gardening, and it is why this sits inside our landscaping and garden design work rather than alongside it.
The old lawn or surface is dug out to depth, a geotextile membrane goes down, a graded sub-base is laid and compacted in layers, a laying course is screeded to a fall, and the grass is then cut in, joined, secured and edged. Pile heights, densities and colours vary a great deal between products, so samples come to the site visit and you choose against your own garden.
Ground cleared, levels formed, the soil profile broken up and improved rather than rolled flat over compacted subsoil, then turf laid tight, rolled and dressed. Prepared properly, a real lawn is still the better answer for wildlife and for drainage.
This is the part that decides it. Excavation to a depth the ground and the use call for, a separation membrane so the base and the subsoil stay apart, a graded granular sub-base compacted in layers, and falls set so water leaves the lawn instead of standing under it. Where children, dogs, shade or a slope mean the lawn will take a beating, that specification steps up.
Heavy, compacted or made ground has to be opened up before anything green goes over it. Land drainage and soakaway provision are part of the same job rather than a second visit by a second firm.
Artificial grass suits ground that has to look the same every week of the season without a mower on it: rental and holiday properties, courtyards, communal areas and commercial frontages.
Every photograph on this site is our own work. Recent lawn jobs have run from small rear gardens where a waterlogged, unusable patch was dug out and rebuilt as artificial grass, through to turfing a whole new garden once the groundworks and hard surfaces were finished. We bring photographs of recent work nearby to the visit.
Our Google reviews are public, and we would rather you went and looked at them than took our word for anything.
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 GoogleIt drainsWater passes through the grass and away through a sub-base built to take it, so the lawn is usable after rain rather than two days later.
It stays flatA compacted, screeded base laid to a fall is what prevents the dips, ripples and soft spots that show up in the second winter.
It takes the trafficDepth, membrane and edge restraint are what stand up to children, dogs and the same line walked every day.
A real lawn gets a real startTurf laid onto a prepared, drained profile roots properly instead of sitting on subsoil that will never take water.
One firm from the dig to the lawnThe clearance, the excavation, the muck away, the drainage and the surface are all ours, so nothing waits on another contractor.
Call or send the enquiry form with your postcode, the rough size of the area, and a photograph of what is there now.
Mike or Aaron takes the levels and the fall, checks how wet the ground is and what is under it, and brings samples so you can see the options in daylight.
A written quote covering the clearance, the excavation depth, the membrane, the sub-base build-up, the drainage, the edging and the surface itself.
The old surface comes away, the formation is checked, the membrane goes down, and the sub-base is compacted in layers to the falls set at the survey.
Grass cut in, joined and secured, or turf laid, rolled and dressed, and the site cleaned off.
A lawn is part of how a property deals with rain, and replacing a permeable one changes that. Building Regulations 2010, Approved Document H, section H3 sets the order in which surface water is to be dealt with: to an adequate soakaway or other infiltration system where that is reasonably practicable, to a watercourse where it is not, and to a sewer only where neither is available. An artificial lawn does not remove that question, it moves it below the surface, which is why the base under one is built to take water away rather than trap it.
The dig is ours. Between the two owners we hold CPCS 360 excavator tickets above and below 10 tonnes, CSCS cards and dumper tickets, so the excavation, the muck away and the base are done by the firm laying the grass.
40 years of combined experience. Mike Wherry brings 30 years, Aaron Hunt brings 10, across finished surfaces and groundworks.
HW Contractors is run by two owner-directors, both on the tools. Mike Wherry has 30 years in driveways, patios and laid surfaces, which is the discipline an artificial lawn needs: a base compacted to a fall and a surface jointed so the joins do not show. Aaron Hunt brings 10 years on the machines and the groundworks side. Together that is 40 years of combined experience.
It is why our quotes set out the build-up under the lawn as carefully as the surface over it.
Nobody rings up about the base, they ring up about the grass. But every failed lawn I have been asked to look at failed underneath: not dug deep enough, no membrane, or a base nobody compacted. The surface is the easy part.Mike Wherry, co-owner of HW Contractors
CPCS 360 excavator tickets above and below 10 tonnes, CSCS cards, dumper tickets
Fully insured (public liability and full business insurance)
We work from Porthleven and our patch runs from the Lizard up to Newquay. Helston and Porthleven are our home ground, and Camborne and Redruth bring a lot of lawn work, because heavier and previously worked ground is where drainage decides whether a lawn is usable in winter. Mullion, Penzance, Falmouth, Truro, St Ives and Newquay are all inside the area we cover.
If your village is not named there, ring and ask.
We do not publish rates, because a lawn is priced on what has to come out and what has to go back in before the surface is even considered. You get a free site visit with no obligation, and a written quote setting out:
If the dig changes what is needed, you get the revised figure in writing first.
Whole-garden transformations, levels, terracing and retaining, with the lawn as one part of the job.
Landscaping & garden design
Excavation, drainage, muck away and compacted bases, the work underneath every lawn we lay.
Groundworks
Clearing an overgrown or built-over garden and getting the ground back to a workable level.
Excavation & site clearanceSend your postcode, the rough size of the area and a photograph of what is there now, and one of the owners will look at the ground before anyone prices what goes over it. Free visit, free quote, 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