Fiona Marsh

Fiona manages groundworks and drainage. She sets the excavation depth, specifies the sub-base build-up and compaction, and decides where surface water goes — the parts of a driveway you never see, and the only parts that decide whether it is still flat and draining in ten years' time.

Glasgow's ground makes that a real job rather than a formality. Made ground on former industrial plots, clay that holds water, sloping frontages across the Southside, and streets where surface water has nowhere obvious to go all change the build-up. Fiona specifies against what the site actually is: geotextile and a deeper Type 1 layer where the formation is soft, a permeable build-up or soakaway where run-off cannot legally reach the highway, and channel drains where levels fall towards a house or a garage.

She writes the drainage, SUDS and maintenance guides on this site, and she is the person who will tell you honestly when a cheaper build-up is a false economy. On site she signs off formation level and compaction before any surface material is laid, because once the paving is down, the sub-base is no longer a thing anyone can fix.

Experience

• Excavation to formation, compaction testing and layered Type 1 sub-base build-ups
• SUDS-compliant surface water design: soakaways, permeable build-ups and channel drains
• Ground stabilisation on made ground, clay and sloping frontages
• Long-term maintenance, resealing and remedial works programmes