Can anyone talk to me about driveway material options?

[reddaphne]

We had small brick style paving, they are awful to maintain. Lots of weeds grow between the cracks, moss grows on them in north facing areas, some are wobbly etc etc.

I don't really want gravel, or big paving slabs.

I've noticed some houses with a sort of tarmac style material but not tarmac iyswim!? Has anyone got this? How much would it set us back inc removal of current paving?

I think you are talking about a resin driveway. I have tarmac which we Inherited with the house, so can't comment on their effectiveness or suitability. But they do look nice.

Thanks @DRS1970 have you found your tarmac driveway effective? Is there a paved edge? Thank you

The driveway has been good. Although, recently it has started to show it's age a bit, and has needed some repairs - but it has been in well before we moved here in 2003, so is a good age. Ours is tarmac, with flush concrete edging. The edging has proved to be the week point, as it is too light duty. So if a car stays onto it is prone to moving and cracking. So the I would say the tarmac is good, but invest in heavier duty edging. Also, some surface types require planning permission - I believe if they are non porous types. So do bear that on mind.

We have grey block imprinted concrete and it’s wonderful. No maintenance apart from the odd jet wash and no weeds. It was here when we bought the house but would recommend it.

@MrsRachelDanvers how slippery do you find it gets compared to tarmac or block?
It’s what I want to change our drive to but have been warned it gets very slippy.

Depending on where you live be careful with anything sealed contributes to drainage problems. In some areas there are big problems as heavy rainfall can't drain anywhere an can ingress outside walls. Lots of mono blocked driveways are an issue. Could you go for a mix of honeycomb then stones and slabs.

Tarmac-er here! I think you're talking about resin bonded gravel which is lovely but comparatively expensive to tarmac, and comes in a range of colours.
Alternatively you can get coloured tarmac but it's approx 10x the cost of black tarmac and can be very problematic with visible joints or depending on compaction methods (machine rolled or hand tamped). If you go tarmac it does need an "edge" to butt up to otherwise it will degrade - but a pin kerb (flat topped thin edging kerb) will do it. Look for a minimum of 75mm thick of 2 course tarmac (binder course plus surface course) and ideally a SMA surface course which will stand up better to power steering if you need to screw on and off the drive.

@Deafening we just find it like a normal drive. It has drainage channels in plus we have lawn and gravel-this is a picture off the internet but our drive is similar.

@MrsRachelDanvers thank you.

We have recently had a resin driveway done. Upgraded from cracked concrete. We love it. It looks great, drains well. No joins so no weeds to come through. Can't say how anything about wear as it is so recent, but neighbours also have it and theirs looks great after a few years.

I’d look into printed concrete, they can do lots of different colours and patterns / finishes. Maybe drive around your area to see if anyone has is and ask them who installed it. Not sure about how slippery it gets but it looks smart and hard wearing. I’ve been looking into getting this done when we move house.

Would printed concrete work on a slope. I like the sound of it but our drive is quite steep. Currently it’s gravel but it all runs down onto the road.