Do you love your driveway and what have you got!!

[Appuskidu]

We are looking at replacing our (hideous) driveway and feeling a bit overwhelmed with options at the moment! We like the grey/charcoal colour blocks-but can’t decide beyond that! Big blocks, little blocks, mixed blocks, herringbone, right angle, straight, border-too much to think about!

Has anyone had theirs done recently and love it?? What did you got for?

We inherited a gravel driveway when we moved to our property a few years ago. Have to say, we love it. Much better than the blocks we had in our previous house. Is gravel an option for you?

We have gravel. I hate paved drives I’m afraid @Appuskidu
I much prefer the crunch of gravel and the appearance.

I hate gravel!!!!
We have small square brick type drive. I like it...
A lot of our neighbours have resin and they are 😍😍😍😍

Thank you for the replies! We have had gravel before and it ended up being overly ‘used’ by the neighbours’ cats which has put us off!

Yes ours is great, was here when we moved in a decade ago, still looking good - block paving laid in herringbone pattern.

It might be different nowadays but our (18 year old) block paved driveway is a bigger for weeds. We had it professionally cleaned, sealed and re-sanded last year but the weeds are back again now.
I would be interested in resin but am kind of waiting to see how they bear up after a few years of wear and tear on other people's driveways.

Agree with the above. We inherited a block paved driveway when we moved and it's an absolute nightmare for weeds. I cleaned the back patio area and blasted all the weeds out and within a week they were back. I can't wait to replace it. The actual driveway is north facing and full of moss. It just looks crap.

We have simple tarmac with gravel around the hedges, Its as simple as it sounds.
I might look at getting some flower pots ect at some point.
Majority of family and friends also have Tarmac drives thinking about it

We have sand coloured resin. 5 years later I still absolutely love it, we had it professionally cleaned last year and it's come up like new again.

We have block paving , had it done about 7/8 yrs ago and my husband looks after the weed killing etc and it looks really good still . What I like about blocks is that if you do get a spillage for any reason ( deliveries , skip lorries etc ) you can just replace the stained bit whereas on resin / tarmac you can’t .

We've just booked in for block paving. I see what people have said about weeds but I'd rather that than cat poo in gravel. Plus I've had gravel before and it drives me bonkers when it moves all over the place.

Did look at resin but we also decided that is was too new a technology.

I had resin in my last house and loved it, it is also porous so helps reduce surface water flooding. We had it for 6years and still looking great, easy to keep clean (clear up leaves etc...)

Now have gravel and it’s ok, I will have to put weed killer down and can’t go to the bins without shoes on but it does look good.

We had patten imprinted concrete laid for both our driveway and patio about 15 year ago now.

It looks fabulous- like a really good block set driveway but with zero weeds and upkeep. It is honestly one the best decisions we ever made.

This isn't my house - but same sort of effect.



I HATE our block driveway. It is constantly covered in weeds. I spend a back breaking half day pulling them out at the roots and two weeks later - all back again. Then I give up and it just looks neglected.

Off to google resin...

@Appuskidu what style is your house?

We have resin. Had it put down three years ago and it’s fantastic. Made such a difference to the whole appearance of the house.

My dad has small cobblestones. It looks stunning, combined with hedging and planting.

Rhs advice here: www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=878

We have knackered tarmac. Neighbours paid 6 grand to have theirs replaced with blocks. I realised I am quite fond of the knackered tarmac as it means I am 6 grand richer.

ours is made with some blocks.
it looks fine, I couldn't be bothered with patterns or fuss, just needed something quick & practical at reasonable cost.

it's a big drive, you can park 3 cars loosely or 4 tightly side -by- side.

[quote DoubleTweenQueen]@Appuskidu what style is your house?[/quote]
It’s a cream 1930s extended semi.

We have block paving, professionally laid by a Marshall's approved contractor. Same problem as the other posters, the sand based compound has washed out and weeds grown in its place. It's not disastrous but I suspect the lack of more permanent pointing options makes it hard to avoid weeds.

No to gravel. It travels so you end up with patches. If not dead flat, it all bunches up or works it's way out onto the pavement. And you can't walk on it barefoot

@Appuskidu Are there similar houses in your street with driveways you like the look of, and you feel sets off the style of your house nicely?
Our previous house was a red brick semi and we had the blocks/sets for front step and rear patio - love them. The thing I would say with the concrete sets, or any concrete product, is that even though they come in different colours - red, light grey, dark grey, sand - they age to a similar concrete grey. I do love the style though.

We've always had fine gravel for driveway - in our red brick semi and now our red brick detached house. It's the cheaper option, for sure, but also allows drainage rather than run-off, and can by kept looking quite nice. I really like the sandy colour, the lavender self- seeds in it, and we can hear footsteps to the house. Personally, I think it looks nicer with a period house, and is very practical for driving vehicles over.

Gravel not the best for heeled shoes, however :)