How to decide between a tarmac drive and a block paved drive for your new home?

How to decide between a tarmac drive and a block paved drive for your new home?

Laying a new driveway not only cleans out your front garden and offers a neat and tidy alternative to the overgrown weeds and messy paths you’ve had to put up with but it also offers a permanent parking space in front of your home. But installing a new driveway is a major home improvement project and you will have to budget carefully before to ensure that you can cover all the costs involved. The cost of new driveways usually depends on the size of your front garden and the paving material used. When it comes down to it, the two best options are tarmac and block paving. But how you decide which is best for your needs?

Tarmac driveways A tarmac driveway is the traditional quick and low cost alternative to other expensive paving options. Tarmac is very quiet and when combined with modern edgings, can be used to create a very stylish look. Tarmac is natural more pliant than other driveway surfaces and due to this relative flexibility, tarmac paved driveways are more preferable for places with extremes in temperature.

The material can contract and expand without cracking.

This flexibility also makes tarmac ideal for sloping driveways and surfaces that cannot accommodate deeper foundations required by block paved and concrete driveways. Tarmac is also easy repair in the event of damage from impact or cracking: emulsified liquids and solid cold patches.

On the flip side tarmac driveways don’t tend to last for long; after every two years, you may need to layer them again or level to driveway.

Block paving Block paving adds aesthetic value to the home and lasts for many years. This makes this paving surface material ideal for patios or paths and can be combined with other paving to create unique designs for your home and garden. If designed and installed by a professional company, block paving in the driveway can reflect the style and taste of you home and interiors, and can even create some rustic charm when left un-swept for one or two days in the autumn.

Block paving is remarkably durable when compared to tarmac and can stand up to more abuse.

Should underground access pipes become necessary or damage occur, blocks can be carefully removed, stored and replaced with ease without damaging surrounding areas of the driveway.

On the flip side the cost of constructing the driveway is comparatively higher since a deeper base of stone and other material layering is required. The construction process also takes more time as the blocks have to be carefully arranged to fit in the required patterns.

Which would be more suitable for your new home?

Block paved driveways are more durable, aesthetically pleasing and customizable but tarmac is definitely the cheaper option. However, the cost of maintaining the tarmac driveway may eventually equal or exceed the initial cost of a block paved driveway.

It is entirely up to you to decide which driveways surface is best suited for your property. But it is important to factor in the location, driveway usage, local climate and taste against the pros and cons of tarmac paved and block paved driveways when making your choice.