Sure, it’s a place to park your car, but a paver driveway is like a work of art — an instant high-end upgrade to your home. The whole place suddenly looks better.
While poured concrete or asphalt are cheaper driveway materials, pavers pack some significant benefits.
Why is a paver driveway a great choice? Pavers don’t crack like poured concrete or asphalt. The design options are limitless. Permeable pavers are environmentally sustainable, helping with water runoff issues. They look amazing.
Keep reading to learn more about types of driveway pavement, including:
- How asphalt compares to pavers
- Concrete paving ideas
- The durability of concrete pavers
- Creative paver driveway design ideas
- Paver driveway costs
- The importance of skilled paver driveway installation
Driveway Materials: What About Asphalt?
A basic asphalt driveway is among the cheapest driveway material options. Basic, black, low cost.
A black semi-liquid that binds together an aggregate, like crushed rock and old concrete, asphalt is common — you often see asphalt installation when you drive by road construction.
An asphalt driveway requires more upkeep than concrete or pavers. You’ll need to seal it regularly and repair any cracks as soon as they appear to keep them from getting worse.
Yes, it’s the cheapest option, at about $7 to $13 per square foot, but it’ not as durable as concrete or pavers.
Concrete Paving Ideas
Poured concrete is a middle ground between asphalt and pavers.
It’s more expensive and more durable than asphalt, but cheaper and less durable than concrete pavers.
When you think of poured concrete, you probably think of a boring flat expense of gray, and you’ll see plenty of driveways that fit that description.
But concrete can be tinted other colors and stamped to create more interesting driveway designs.
Concrete stamping can make your pavement look like pavers, natural stone or even its own unique pattern.
Adding those features will make the cost go up, but it will still be less expensive than concrete pavers. A stamped concrete driveway costs $15 to $22 per square foot to install.
Concrete’s big disadvantage is cracking. There are two kinds of concrete: the kind that’s already cracked and the kind that will crack.
Repairs are tricky if you have a stamped or colored pattern. It’s hard to recreate a specific color or design exactly, so if an area has to be repoured later on, it might not match.
A Paver Driveway Is the Most Durable Choice
Paver driveways look high end and can be elaborately designed, but they’re a lot tougher than they look.
While asphalt and poured concrete driveways tend to crack, especially in frigid Idaho winters, pavers flex and move as they shift, which means they don’t crack.
Pavers rise with the winter freeze and settle back into place during the summer thaw. If damage does occur, pavers can be pulled up in isolated sections and relaid without tearing out the entire area.
No tree root troubles, either. If a tree root sneaks in under your paver driveway, raising up an area, just remove the affected pavers, take care of the tree roots, and replace the pavers. No sweat.
And if a paver gets damaged, it’s easily replaced. Save a few from your paver driveway installation.
If you want to make your driveway more environmentally sustainable, you can use permeable pavers, which allow water to move through the surface. That helps with erosion and stormwater issues.
Paver Driveway Design: Get Creative Out There
When you choose concrete pavers for your driveway, you can mix and match patterns and colors to create a work-of-art driveway that’s one of a kind.
Choose contemporary modular or slab pavers; traditional cobble and brick pavers; or pavers with the look and texture of natural stones.
Don’t feel bad if you’re suddenly overwhelmed. The number of paver driveway design choices will do that to you.
That’s where a skilled landscape designer comes in, with catalogs full of ideas, piles of samples, and the experience to help you figure out what pavers best match your house, why you should consider a border, and what size to choose.
How Much Does a Paver Driveway Cost?
Plan to spend $30-$40 per square foot on a paver driveway, which includes excavation and prep.
That price increases depending on things like its size, the type of pavers used and the level of detail involved.
While standard concrete pavers create a nice patio or driveway, higher-end options are available in a wide array of colors and design options, with greater detail: pavers that look like a mosaic of carefully sculpted stone, that mimic natural travertine or a cobblestone courtyard.
Higher-end pavers mean a higher paver installation cost for your project.
Fancy paver driveway design details add cost, too. Inlay patterns and intricate borders look stunning, but the more intricate the pattern, the trickier it is for your paver installers to create. That extra time can boost the installation cost to $40-$55 per square foot.
The Importance of Skilled Paver Driveway Installation
The most stunning driveway pavers won’t look so great if they’re not installed properly.
It’s important the area is properly graded and leveled so the pavers are even and for good drainage. Water can’t penetrate a hard surface the way it does a garden bed, so skilled grading is crucial.
Make sure you hire a paver driveway installation company with the skill and experience to do this right.
Ready for Expert Paver Driveway Design and Installation in Idaho Falls? Trust Outback
When you get a new paver driveway, you can’t stop staring at it. It kind of makes you want to get a paver living room floor, it looks so great.
Here at Outback Landscape, we love matching our clients with your perfect paver driveway design and watching your excitement as the process unfolds.
And we make hardscape and driveway design in Boise and Idaho Falls easy, from your first meeting with our landscape designers right through to the excitement of your paver installation.
We’ll talk with you about your expectations, what the project includes, the expected time frame for completion, and your budget.
And we have Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) certified installers on staff, with the skill and expertise to perfectly install your new driveway.
Bring all your questions. This will be fun!
Outback Landscape is a full-service landscaping company offering maintenance, design, and landscape installation throughout Southeast Idaho and Wyoming.
We install beautiful, functional landscapes. But our work doesn’t stop there. We’ll stay with you for the long haul, taking care of your property through all four seasons.
We serve residential and commercial properties in Idaho Falls, Rexburg and Pocatello, Idaho, as well as Bonneville, Madison and Bannock counties. Call us at 208-656-3220 or fill out our contact form to schedule a no-obligation meeting with one of our team members. We can’t wait to hear from you.