Block paving vs resin, tarmac and gravel
We only lay block paving, so treat this with appropriate suspicion. We have tried to write it as though we did not.
We lay block paving and nothing else
You should read a comparison written by a block paving firm with some scepticism, so here is the honest position up front.
We think block paving is the best all-round choice for most Twickenham frontages, for reasons set out below. We also think there are frontages where it is clearly not, and we have said which ones. If this page talks you out of calling us, it has done its job properly.
One thing applies to all four surfaces equally and matters more than the choice between them: none of them will outlast a badly built base. A resin drive on a proper sub-base beats a block drive on a bad one every time.
How the four compare
| Block paving | Resin bound | Tarmac | Gravel | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative cost | £110–£200/m² | £100–£170/m² | £70–£120/m² | £45–£90/m² |
| Permeable? | Yes, if specified as a permeable build | Yes, on a permeable base | Only as porous asphalt | Yes |
| Repairability | Excellent. Lift, fix, re-lay. Invisible | Poor. Patches are visible | Poor. Patches are very visible | Easy but constant |
| Maintenance | Re-sand joints, occasional weeding | Low. Sweep and wash | Low, until it cracks | High. Raking and topping up |
| Typical life | 25 years+, and renewable | 15–20 years | 10–20 years | Indefinite with upkeep |
| Suits a period house? | Yes, especially clay pavers | Neutral to modern | Rarely | Yes, traditionally |
| Access for services? | Excellent. Lift blocks, dig, put them back | Poor. Cut and patch | Poor. Cut and patch | Excellent |
Costs include a properly prepared base. Cheaper figures quoted elsewhere for any of these surfaces usually assume laying over what is already there, which is a different product entirely.
Where block paving wins
Repairability, above everything. A driveway you can lift is a driveway you can fix, and over twenty-five years something will need fixing: a settled patch, a water main, a new service duct, a change of layout. Blocks come up and go back down and nobody can tell. It also handles period frontages better than anything except natural stone, and permeable versions are straightforward.
Where resin bound wins
Appearance and comfort underfoot. It is seamless, smooth, quiet, genuinely good for wheelchairs, pushchairs and bicycles, and there are no joints for weeds. On a contemporary house it often looks better than block. Its weakness is that damage cannot be repaired invisibly, and it needs a sound base beneath it because it is only a few millimetres thick.
Where tarmac wins
Cost and speed on a large area. For a long driveway where budget is the deciding factor, tarmac covers ground cheaply and quickly. Standard tarmac is impermeable, which usually means a planning application or additional drainage, and repairs always show.
Where gravel wins
Cost, drainage and character on the right house. It is permeable by definition, it is the cheapest option, and on a period property it can look entirely correct. The drawbacks are practical: it migrates, it needs edging and topping up, it is awkward for pushchairs and wheelchairs, and it travels out across the footway at the crossover.
When we would tell you not to have block paving
- Accessibility is the priority. If someone in the household uses a wheelchair or walking frame daily, resin bound is smoother and easier. That is a better reason than any argument we could make for block.
- A long drive on a tight budget. Over eighty or a hundred square metres, the difference between block and tarmac is substantial, and a well-built tarmac drive is a perfectly respectable thing to own.
- A steep slope. Loose gravel is out, and on a significant gradient resin bound often performs better than block, which can be slippery when wet and moss builds up in the joints.
- You genuinely will not maintain it. Block paving asks for its joints to be topped up every few years. Ignore that for a decade and it will look tired and eventually move. If that is not going to happen, resin is more forgiving of neglect.
- A traditional country-style frontage. On some period houses, gravel with proper edging simply looks right in a way block paving does not.
Comparison questions
Which surface lasts longest?
Block paving, in the sense that it can be maintained indefinitely. Individual blocks can be replaced, sections can be lifted and re-laid, and a driveway that has settled can be corrected and made good as new. Nothing else on this list can be repaired invisibly.
All four surfaces will outlast a poor sub-base by exactly zero years, which is the more important point. The base determines longevity far more than the surface does.
Is resin bound the same as resin bonded?
No, and the names are unhelpfully similar. Resin bound is aggregate mixed with resin and trowelled out as a solid, permeable, smooth surface. Resin bonded is resin painted onto a base with stone scattered on top, giving a textured, impermeable finish that loses stone over time.
Resin bound is the one people generally mean and the better product of the two. If a quote just says “resin”, ask which.
Is tarmac cheaper?
Usually yes on day one, sometimes significantly. The catch is repairs. A tarmac drive that develops a crack or a depression can be patched, but the patch is permanently visible, and after a few of those the frontage looks patched rather than paved.
Tarmac is also impermeable unless you specifically buy porous asphalt, which brings it back towards block paving on price.
Do you install resin, tarmac or gravel?
No. We lay block paving. That is the whole of what we do, and it is the reason we are reasonably good at it.
If after reading this you conclude that one of the others suits your frontage better, that is a good outcome and we would rather you found out here than after we had quoted. We are happy to say so on site too.
Decided block paving is right for you?
Tell us about your frontage and your plans. We'll come and look at it, talk through the options and put a written quote in front of you. Free, and no obligation.
We normally reply within 24 hours.