Driveway Edging & Kerbing

The restraint that stops a driveway spreading, sinking or losing its shape

Edging and kerbing are easy to overlook because they're the least visually prominent part of a driveway, but they do genuine structural work — restraining block paving so it doesn't spread under vehicle loading and defining the boundary between driveway and garden.

Block paving in particular relies on edge restraint to function properly over time: each block interlocks with its neighbours across the driveway's surface, but at the boundary — where the paving meets a lawn, border or the road — there's nothing on one side to push back against unless a physical edge restraint is in place. Without it, the outer rows of blocks gradually creep outward under repeated vehicle loading, opening gaps between blocks that widen over months and years, letting jointing sand wash out and the whole surface lose its interlock from the edges inward. A proper edge restraint — typically a concrete kerb, edging block or channel, haunched in concrete along its back — is installed before the main paving goes down, set to the correct line and level so it defines the driveway's finished shape as well as restraining it structurally. Kerbing also plays a role at the transition to the public highway, where a dropped kerb — a section lowered to allow vehicle access from the road — needs forming correctly to the relevant highway specification, distinct from the decorative or restraining kerb used around the rest of the driveway's perimeter. Getting edging right at the start of a project is far cheaper and less disruptive than dealing with a spreading, failing driveway edge years later.