Review of the choices of products for the Construction of Driveways, Patios and Paths.

We set up this site to offer our knowledge and experience to our readers as well as, hopefully, learning from them. Generally it's to do with plants and flowers but many of you have asked us about the various surfacing options so we pooled our thoughts and ideas together.

We researched the various options and highlight the advantages and disadvantages on six different surfaces. We do not offer any specification requirements on these pages but if you care to contact us we would be happy to advise the specs you should demand from your installer for each surface.

Gravel:
Many of us like the sound of gravel underfoot and if you want a quick and relatively cheap job done then this might be the answer. The disadvantage is that the little stones do get clogged in footwear and end up in the house. Car tyres also carry the stones on to the pavement and road and eventually you need to re-gravel. Check your local telephone directory for suppliers as the internet gives too wide a choice. Not recommended with children around.
Quoted prices per m2 ranged between £20($40) (E25) and £30($60)(E38)plus taxes *

Tarmac:
This option is good if your existing surface is still in fairly good condition and you can have red or black tarmac laid. We all agreed that tarmac was fine initially but soon faded and moss does love to grow in those shaded area. Take care of who you use to do the work as we've all experienced that knock on the door by the guys that have some tarmac left over from the local motorway re-surfacing job.

One reader wrote in that having agreed a 'fantastic' price, the 'installers' arrived while she was walking the dog and had finished even before she had returned. They promptly marched her down to the Bank to get paid in cash. Two weeks later the weeds were in full flow and the installer's mobile number didn't answer.

The moral here is that you should always use a reputable firm that has a depot and a land-line telephone. It does make it a much more expensive project but you do have recourse. Again, check your local telephone directory for suppliers as the internet gives too wide a choice. For the record, no one sent us any decent photos.
Quoted prices per m2 ranged between £30($60)(E38)and £65($130)(E82)plus taxes *

Block Paving:
You can get two types of blocks. One is the usual brick shape and the other is a somewhat squarer brick. Either do look good initially but as both are set on a sand base which in itself creates a habitat for weeds to take hold. They also tend to stain quite easily and again, moss does enjoy a love affair with them. You would need to have your existing drive taken up otherwise the new level would breach the damp course level of your home. The upheaval and disruption can cause some stress so be aware.

A reader sent us in a photo of her drive taken just after they had returned from a month abroad. You can see it here. She was quick to state that it doesn't normally get that bad. Apart from the problems mentioned, we dislike this method due to the maintenance and the fact that everybody has one these days. The salesman will tell you that it is easy to replace oil stained blocks but the new ones do tend to stand out rather. Sorry, we have no photos of nice looking older drives.

Power washing tends to remove the sand between the blocks rendering them likely to eventually shift. Weed killer only serves to discolour after a while. A decent building firm could do a good job but will not guarantee against stains and discolouration and they are a lot more expensive. Your local phone book again here. Quoted prices ranged between £50($10 0)(E65) and £90($180)(E115)plus taxes *

Pattern Imprinted Concrete: (PIC)
This product was well thought of a while back. Many of our readers have PIC driveways but it seems that few have stood the test of time. When you consider the cost we found it a shame that the color faded and cracks eventually appeared. There are some readers photos here. It seems a little strange that just about all the firms that offered that surface seem not to be in business any more according to our readers when they tried to claim against the guarantee.

Many of the drives that were done by some of the very large house builders have faired better however but they told us that due to the higher specification they use, the cost would be prohibitive so they do not offer the service to 'ad hoc' customers. Again, the existing surface need to be lifted so you will have the stress and the disruption of that. Take care in choosing a firm to do this work. There are a few on the internet and these firms tend to be marketing firms who have a list of local fitters around the UK. Enough said.
Quoted prices per m2 ranged between £60($120) (E76) and £90($180)(E115)plus taxes *

Resin Bonded. 
Resin Bonded drive surfacing is a relatively new technology. By that we mean around 15 to 20 years. The early product was fraught with problems namely on the quality of the resin and was very expensive. Nowadays it's a different story. The stones are actually natural stone, washed and kiln dried to remove all impurities. The latest resin technology now answers all the questions of the past and the prices have dropped significantly.

There are only a few firms around that can offer resin bonded surfaces due to the cost of the resin. We called some and they weren't very helpful and one wanted us to pay them for information. We decided to pose as a customer to get a quote and discovered that they would want an 80% deposit before they would take on the job. Not nice eh?

Assuming your existing surface is either concrete or tarmac and as long as it's not sunken or broken there's no need to dig out the drive or path therefore no upheaval as there is for block paving and pattern imprinted concrete. You can choose a stone pattern and color to suit your property and you can even choose one that would look like gravel but as the gravel stones are set in the resin, they won't come loose. Apparently it ends up even stronger than concrete and I'm told that there are many stone patterns to choose from.

One of our readers told us that they'd had their drive done and even sent us photos of their drive before and after the work. They gave us the name of the firm and we contacted them. They're called Crown Driveways and we asked if we could do a bit of a review of the product and they jumped at the chance of some exposure. We highlight a page of their patterns here.

They gave us some addresses of their installation to look over in return for mentioning their name (no big deal for us) and I must say the drives did look good. Not all the residents would agree to let us take photos but some allowed us so we did a page on the product for our readers in case they're interested. If you want to take a look go to the Resin Bonded Driveway pages here. The product cannot stain nor can moss settle and power washing does not affect it. In relations to the prices quoted below, Crown Driveways did say that with a larger driveway, patio or path, they might be in a position to shave the rate somewhat.
Quoted prices per m2 ranged between £60($120) (E76) and £110($200)(E130)plus taxes *

Paving Slabs:
This method has been around for so many years and goes back to the times when paving was real stone. These days it's too expensive for us mere mortals so we get a man made version from the local garden centre. There are so many slab patterns to choose from and it's easy to lay them. You can point them to avoid weeds coming through the gaps but make sure you push the cement mix deep inside or the gaps will soon open. Slabs are only recommended for pedestrian traffic such as patios or paths and not for driveways unless you ensure a solid foundation and set each slab using a strong concrete mix. If the slabs are not laid with care you will get the inevitable separation of slabs or the slabs themselves will crack.

You can lay then inline or offset (like bricks) on a sand base. I prefer sharp sand but many people use builders sand (no gravel stones). You should have a firm foundation, well tamped and if you wish, you may use a liner. I don't use liners as any weeds will still come through the spaces between the slabs unless you point them. In the case of pointing, I don't see the need for a liner as even weeds need light to photosynthesise.

The important thing is to drive some short pegs into the ground every so often and use this to create your levels and falls by using a long spirit level and working towards the peg from the area you've already laid. If the drive, patio or path drains towards the house, leave an area about 3 or 4 inches from the house brick and fill with a small stone gravel LOWER that the level of your paving to allow the rain water to drain and the stones won't end up on top of the slabs therefore requiring constant sweeping.
Quoted prices from £1.25 ($2.50) (E1.60) per slab *

Editor