to blockpave,tarmac,stone drive ?

deano72_2

what would you do..pros & cons to all them really

blockpave looks the nicest but normally sags after few years & is pricey

tarmac looks ok when new but looks bit industrial after a while,pricewise i got a mate in the game so would be a fair deal

stone,(not shingle)looks not to bad i spose when first laid & remains looking the same after time apart maybe have to rerake every now and then.probly the cheapeast option to purchase also could lay myself

what you lot rekon

wallbash

blockpave looks the nicest but normally sags after few years & is pricey

Yes its not cheap compared to the other options . But done correctly will not sag , Mine has been down for at least 15 years ... no dips.

Tarmac.... looks like a carpark

Suzy_M

Purely for no-maintenance functionality - concrete.

keith969

Suzy_M wrote: »

Purely for no-maintenance functionality - concrete.

Except it looks cheap and nasty and is a major job if you want to get rid of it later.

dander

Depends on your taste and your house - I hate the look of block paving personally and wouldn't have it for that reason - I like gravel, but it doesn't suit every house - would look pretty odd on a modern housing estate.

I think a lot depends on the way you landscape the area. IMO If you just pave the entire front of your house to create parking, it looks dreadful no matter what you pave it with. If you shape the area nicely, put some planting in etc, then you can make it look nice whatever you pave with.

aa4466

Block paving looks great to start with but once you start getting moss or weeds between the blocks it can look as bad as anything else.

Another option (which I wouldn't go for) is pattern imprinted concrete. This is concrete that has a pattern pushed into the surface so that it looks like block paving. It can look great but it has to be done well. It's certainly not a DIY job and is more expensive than block paving. The advantage is that there are no gaps between blocks so it stays weed free. The disadvantages are that if you need to dig any of the drive up (e.g. to access a drain) then you effectively have to break the concrete slab. In some bad installations the surface can start to come off after a few years and it looks a right mess. For those reasons I wouldn't have it myself.

For our new house I'm going for gravel and lots of weedkiller.