Dropped Kerbs for Terraced Houses

What you need to know before dropping the kerb at your terrace.

Worcestershire is full of terraced housing – the Victorian rows in Worcester's St Johns, Barbourne, Diglis and Rainbow Hill, the Edwardian streets in Malvern Link and Pickersleigh, the early 20th century brick terraces of Vines Lane and Hanbury Road Droitwich, and the modern brick terraces tucked into estates in Warndon, Ronkswood and Lansdowne Crescent. They all share two characteristics: tight frontages and (often) shallow front gardens. That's what makes a dropped kerb here a different proposition to one on a 1960s detached in Crown East.

The 4.8 metre rule of thumb

The first thing we check on any terraced job is whether you have around 4.8m of clear depth from the back of the kerb to the wall of the house. That's the minimum to fit a standard saloon or family hatchback with no part hanging over the footway. If your front garden is less than that depth, a dropped kerb isn't going to work for you – the car overhangs the pavement, the access is unsafe and the whole point of dropping the kerb is defeated. We tell you this at the free site visit before you commit anything.

Common Worcestershire terraces and typical garden depth:
• Victorian end-of-terrace (St Johns, Barbourne) – sometimes 4 to 6m, often viable
• Victorian mid-terrace (Diglis, Rainbow Hill) – commonly under 3m, usually not viable
• Edwardian terraces (Malvern Link, Pickersleigh) – varies wildly, 2m to 7m
• Inter-war brick terraces (Hanbury Road area, Droitwich) – often 4 to 5m, usually viable
• Modern brick terraces (Warndon, Lansdowne) – almost always 5m+, viable

How much does a dropped kerb cost on a terrace?

A terraced install is fully written and itemised. The variables that may add scope:
• Granite or stone kerbs on older terraces – slower to lift, may need specialist replacement units
• Main road or busy street – extra traffic management hours, sometimes a banksman, occasionally a brief lane closure
• Cellar lights, coal-hole covers or stone steps in the footway – need careful working around or repair
• Existing footway condition – if the tarmac is in poor shape, the reinstatement area extends further

Every quote is written and itemised so you can see exactly what the cost breakdown is for your specific terrace.

What actually happens on install day

Most terraced kerb drops are completed in a single day – usually just a few hours on site. We put in full traffic management, lift the existing kerb units (carefully if they're original stone, briskly if they're modern concrete), excavate the footway to depth, bed the new lowered kerb and transitional splay kerbs on concrete, lay the Type 1 sub-base, fit tactile paving if the kerb meets a designated crossing point, then lay tarmac to falls and reinstate any disturbed footway edges. Site swept, photos sent, you're done. Minimal disruption to your day or the street.

What about driveways on terraces?

Once the kerb is dropped, the front garden becomes the driveway. We routinely bundle dropped kerb work with a new driveway install – gravel and resin bound are the two surfaces that work best on tight terrace frontages because they handle awkward shapes cleanly and (in resin's case) drain in place without needing a soakaway. See our gravel driveways or resin driveways pages for the surface options. If you'd prefer to compare other property types, see our dropped kerbs hub.

Get a Quote Call Now