Block paved drive or pebbles?

[LovingTheSunshine]

We are thinking of sprucing up our Tarmac drive - which Is better in your opinion block paved or pebbled!
Many thanks x

Pebbles are good for security as you can hear anyone crunching up your drive, but they are handy missiles for any wayward youths.
Block paving looks nice, but not enviromentaly friendly as the water run off can cause problems.
Why not have grass with open block paving, so you have the best of both worlds and you can still mow your drive

Blimey Ripeberry, where do you live?
And how do you have grass on a drive?

I've got a Tarmac drive too, and it's definitely seen better days. Is block paving still a problem if it slopes down towards the gutter? And how much does it cost for a small drive, does anyone know?

The problem with water run-off from paved drives is the speed with which it enters the sewers, which can make flooding problems worse. There are environmentally-friendly block paving options - see Royal Horticultural Society advice on permeable paving.

Not pebbles - need very small gravel which isn't like driving over a beach. Gets compacted down rather than pushed out over pavement & road, but still sounds nice

Much cheaper and easier to do as a DIY job compared to block paving.

we changed ours last year to lovely white gravel, it made such a difference and got lots of compliments for the neighbours!

Only have pebbles or gravel if you are willing to rake it up regularly, and to collect the stones that your car wheels will spread across the pavement as you drive out.

A house near our infant school has a gravel drive which slopes down to the pavement. They rarely sweep up and every week children skid on the stones and fall over when scooting or running past the house. It can be a real pain getting buggies across, and of course they (and your shoes) pick up stones.

You will be bringing these stones into your own house, too, and potentially scratching your floors.

Even apart from the good-neighbourliness, gravel driveways look really tatty if they aren't regularly weeded and raked level.

Block paving looks horrible - very 1980s. It's everywhere round here - looks bright and colourful to start with but quickly looks grubby - with a patch of clean stuff where your car usually parks. And it needs to be weeded at least twice a summer - I hate the stuff! I'm told granit works better as it develops a patina rather than just getting grubby looking.

Pebbles look really good either against a modern or a traditional house - you do have to be careful with the over spill onto the pavement - but that's probably an easier job than cleaning grubby block paving.

The other option worth considering is stone slabbing - yorkshire stone is beautiful - although water run off is probably not great.

Thanks everyone, very helpful :) DH & I are now leaning towards having a block paving border of some sort with pebbles in the middle as that way we can add more pebbles when required. I know about the overspill but no matter what we do there is always maintenance, for instance paved drives get covered in moss.
Hester, we got a quote last year to block pave our drive of 66 mt & it was £3,600.00. We are in Hertfordshire.
Many thanks again - just waiting for the other quotes to come in :)

have done both, prefer brick paving myself. gravel needs more weeding and raking and replenishing everysooften and if you have wooden floors the man said its are really bad and scratches it.

Plus gravel attracts the neighbouring cats - to do their business.

Block paving gets my vote. We recently did part of our drive and it looks really good. Neat, attractive and practical, I think.

Block paving is more practical IMO.

Pebbles will end up on.the street and you will have to keep replenishing them.

Had both definitely prefer block. Didn't find it got dirty, can always pressure wash it and use weedkiller. Gravel grows weeds too. Definitely don't have gravel if you have wooden floors in the house. And if you go for gravel get it properly laid and compacted or it's impossible to walk on. Do not not not do a ground force and chuck a bag of gravel over membrane.

Pebbles are a pain in the arse to push a buggy along!

sorry!

Has anyone ever had a resin bound gravel drive and are they all they're cracked up to be, as it were? It has been suggested to us.

Gravel looks great when first down but needs quite a lot of maintenance and wayward youths do indeed use it as missiles, unfortunately the youths in question are DS1 and DS2.

No haven't had it but it looks fantastic...very tempted.