About Hemsley Building Services

Who we are

We are a family owned business working out of Crofton, south east of Wakefield city centre. Mark Hemsley runs it and works on the jobs, alongside a small team, so the person who prices your drive is the person laying it.

The groundwork, the paving and the stone are ours. We price that work and we do it ourselves rather than sub-contracting it, which is the reason we can tell you on the survey what the ground is likely to do and then stand behind that once it is open. Tarmac surfacing is laid by our partners.

Much of our custom comes from recommendations from previous clients. That is a slow way to build a business and a good way to keep one, because the next job depends on how the last one was left.

What we do

Patios, block paving, natural stone, tarmac and the rest of the hard landscaping around them. Everything we quote sits inside these.

• Driveways. Block paving and natural stone laid over a dug-out and compacted sub-base, with the edgings haunched and the drainage settled before the surface goes down. Tarmac surfacing is laid by our partners.
• Tarmac. Long drives, shared entrances and big frontages. One continuous surface over a dug-out and compacted base, held by haunched edgings so it cannot crumble at the margins.
• Patios. Sandstone and Indian stone flags on a full mortar bed, laid to a pattern that suits the flag sizes and set to fall away from the house.
• Walling. Garden walls and retaining walls in brick or natural stone, built off a proper footing with the coping and the brick picked to sit with the house.
• Steps. Bullnose entrance steps and garden steps between levels, built with the risers even the whole way up so the climb is safe in the dark.
• Paving and paths. Sandstone flag paths, front garden paths and shed bases, edged so nothing can creep and laid to shed water rather than hold it.
• Artificial grass. Low maintenance turf over a stone and grit base, pinned and edged properly, in the Playing Field, Summer Lawn and Village Green styles.
• Garden features. Brick and stone bars, outdoor kitchens, barbecues and pizza ovens built into the patio, with the ducting for lighting set in as the walls go up.

Alongside those we take on fencing, gates, paths, and safe access into and around the house for elderly people or anyone with a disability. If you are not sure which heading your job falls under, ring and describe it.

How we work

Once we start a job we see it through to completion. No leaving it half done for a few days to go and start somebody else's. Whatever the drive or the patio is going to take, we are on it until it is finished and the site is swept.

The site itself gets kept in order while we are there. Materials stacked rather than strewn, cuts cleared as we go, the road brushed before we leave each evening, and the neighbours' parking thought about before we take up half the street. It is not a selling point so much as the way a job ought to run.

Quotations are free and come with no obligation, the advice on the visit costs nothing whether or not you use us, and no deposit is required. We carry full public liability insurance. How the pricing is put together is set out on the how we quote page, and the run of a job from the first call to the walkround is on the how a job runs page.

What people say about us

Our Google Business Profile stands at 5.0 from 25 reviews, and every one of them is a five star review. What comes up in them repeatedly is the finish, the timekeeping, and how clean the site was left. You can read them all here.

Where we work

Wakefield and the towns around it: Ossett, Horbury, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford. We have completed work for many satisfied customers in the Wakefield area and throughout Yorkshire, so if your town is not on the areas page, ring and ask rather than assuming we will not travel.

The basics

• Family owned business. Groundwork, paving and stone done by us, with tarmac surfacing laid by our partners.
• Full public liability insurance.
• Free quotations, free advice, and no deposit required.
• 50 Ashdene Avenue, Crofton, Wakefield WF4 1LY.
• Open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm.