to think block paving would be better than tarmac for a driveway

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We need to replace the driveway. My DP suggests tarmac may be easiest to maintain. I think block paving looks better, but wonder if you get lots of weeds. And am unsure whether it's worth going for resin, as that seems to be the gold standard

Any advice most welcome, thanks

Our block paving was terrible for weeds.

I have seen many a car sink in tarmac on a hot day.

Use a membrane underneath to stop weeks.

Block paving is fine if you maintain it properly. Get it sealed when its done first off. Each spring, water it with pathclear and every few years have it properly jetwashed, resanded and sealed.

Same. Even with membrane, the material between the blocks erodes over time and the weeds are endless.

The difference in cost between them is huge. I had a quote for resin. I nearly fainted.

Grass pavers?

you could plant sedums in the gaps

I have heard there is a lot of maintenance with block paving from friends who have it. I am considering tarmac.

Block looks nicer, and if sanded rather than cemented in, allows for better drainage. Sure you may have to pull a few weeds, but honestly, from an overall environmental pov it's far better. Plus if you wanted to be fancy, sow some creeping thyme among the cracks, and your car will drive over a bed of fragrant herbs!

Yes it is preferable as it is a permeable surface which allows water to soak into the ground instead of causing runoff.

Permeable driveways help absorb rainwater and prevent flash flooding, especially when you think of how many hundreds of thousands of new homes have been built in recent years.

A few weeds in your drive is a minor inconvenience compared with a foot of water coming in your front door!😂

Block paving does look much nicer, but is a pain to maintain. We had ours done, and had it sealed, but this will need doing every year.

We have a membrane underneath, but seeds still root in the depression between the blocks and root into the sand, so it is a never ending job to keep brushing these out. It must be a regular problem as there is a brush available specifically for this task.

Also, depending on which way your drive drains, be aware of SUDS laws. You cannot have a driveway drain onto the road anymore, so you may need a soakaway to take surface water away. You can have permeable blocks, but this is even more expensive.

Both are good as long as they are done properly.
It is very hard to find a good, trusted drive-paving/etc outfit.

When we had ours done, he came with glowing reviews from a well know trdaers site - as my OH was at home for the duration of the works we noted that the paveriour tired to con us as he was not doing the soak-away - then we noted they tried ton put the old condtret drive rubble down as hardcore base - it took arguing for them to adhere to the agreed sepc.

The other thing is, even with a rubbish drive, it will look good fro a few weeks then start caving in and most of them wont come back

We chahed the trders site this outfit advertsied on after many calls they sent out an independt peorson and they agreed it was off and would be worse - the paving outfit then promised to come around in a ffew weeks never did we complained again and again and the pile of S made threast to us by saying "its not nice to complain against him." - we were working then and did not need the stress so had it pulled up and redone at a big cost and even that after a few years started to sink

Therefore a good solid base if required and those that say "weeds grow" in block paving. In favour of paviours, you have to sweep etc every few months at lest as many of the little weeds are not from uder the blocks but where joints have gattehred moss/dirt and plants start to grow

Also check re. planning permission. If your driveway isn't currently tarmac then you may need planning permission to tarmac it, whereas permeable block paving doesn't require this. It's to do with the permeability and water run off. I just had to do a lot of research on this while selling my house!

Thanks all, very helpful & much appreciated

We had block paving at our old house and honestly can't remember any maintenance, let alone 'a lot'. Honestly, it looks way classier. But if on a tight budget it'll have to be tarmac.

Weeds are a problem on block pavers. I love the grass pavers upthread, and if I were doing a new driveway that's what I'd have.

Any votes for gravel? Good for drainage and is actually great for security... basically impossible to sneak up on gravel.

It dpends on how large or small the drive is - often with a drive that can take 5/6 cars block paving looks better than tarmac, unless the tarmack is dived by tress/floower bed/grass etc and thne the tarmack looks better

IMO, a tarmac drive looks better . However, if your drive is suth facing then hardly any looking after but if it norht facing the drives good off and more care and attention require

How many British homes have drives that can take 5/6 cars? 😂

We have block paving and it's terrible. It needs pressure washing and resending twice a year and still weeds pop up. This is despite having the black membrane thing put down. I'd never have it again.

Re-sanding.

We lived in a house with a block driveway for 6 years and never once re-sanded it or pressure washed. It was in London - maybe the drier climate there helps. Literally zero maintenance.

I did consider that, but thought it wouldn't be good for buggies / young children falling over

We had block paving and it looked awful because as soon as we scraped away the moss and pulled up the weeds in the cracks, we'd get more. We also had large puddles due to the bricks not being level. We considered having the type of block paving that is appear to be seamless but went for resin bound instead. Both quite expensive however the resin is water permeable, non slip and no weeds or puddles.

Tarmac doesn't last very long if our neighbour's' drives are anything to go by.

We have block and if it's done correctly and the foundations are deep enough then weeds aren't an issue except for a few surface ones you can just whip out.

We did have a big issue with lichen after a few years but we have a maintenance company now who come and treat it and re sand every 3 months and jet wash when necessary, costs about £25.

Fuck tarmac and block paving.

Imprinted concrete driveway.

Best thing ever. No weeds - ever.