Tarmac V’s Block Paving – Which driveway surface is best for you?

At Buildadrive we offer a range of driveway surfaces, each with their own pro’s and con’s depending on what you’re looking to achieve.

A common a question we’re asked is the differences between surfaces, here we take a look at the main differences between tarmac and block paving. It really is dependent on what the driveway requirements are.

Whichever driveway surface you go for, it’s vitally important to get the base right, a good base preparation will provide the driveway with the correct drainage, if not installed to the correct specification and high standards the sub base will ultimately fail.

Block Paving Driveways

A choice of driveway surface that has rapidly grown in popularity over recent years, this could be down to the choices available ever growing, this allowing for an increased design in patterns available.

Some benefits include:

• Very hard wearing, if installed correctly and will last the test of time longer than tarmac.
• It can be repaired easily if there is damage to a block or has simply come lose.

The main disadvantage of block paving is the initial cost, the blocks themselves can be expensive, they also take longer to install than a tarmac driveway would, more so if you’re implementing a pattern into the block driveway.

Tarmac Driveways

You’ll find the main advantages are:

• Substantially cheaper than block paving.
• Quicker to install so you gain the use of your driveway back sooner.

There isn’t many disadvantages when it comes to tarmac, someone say it doesn’t offer much in appearance but this can be changed with some decretive edging, adding colour and a sense of drive to the driveway.

Buildadrive – Which surface is best?

There isn’t a surface that wins overall, we’d say every driveway is unique and there are factors to consider for every individual need. We would advise to make your choice based on these 3 factors:

• What amount of pattern and design would like installed to your driveway?
• What budget have you set aside for your driveway?
• How quick do you need your driveway back?

To gain an estimate on cost for both driveway surfaces use our free, instant, online estimation tool found here.