Almost every driveway decision we are asked to help with comes down to these two surfaces. Comparisons online are usually written by firms that only install one of them, which makes them arguments rather than comparisons.
We lay resin bound gravel and we lay block paving, in similar volumes. What follows is the advice we give at the kitchen table, including the cases where we would talk you out of the surface you arrived wanting.
Appearance and setting
Resin gives a seamless, quiet, contemporary surface that suits sweeping approaches and modern houses, and it flatters gravel driveway settings without the gravel migrating into the lawn.
Block paving gives you pattern, banding and border detail. On a period property, or a wide frontage that needs visual structure, blocks usually sit more comfortably than a single expanse of resin.
Repairability, the deciding factor for many
Blocks lift and relay. If a service trench is dug across your drive in eight years, the same blocks go back and the repair becomes invisible.
Resin is repaired by patching, and a patch will be visible because the surrounding surface has weathered. If your drive covers services, or you expect to alter the layout later, that difference matters more than the price.
Maintenance in real life
- Resin: sweep and occasional wash, no weeds through the surface, no jointing sand to replace
- Blocks: jointing sand topped up every few years, occasional weed treatment in joints
- Resin: moss can form in permanently shaded areas and needs treating
- Blocks: individual stained or damaged blocks can be swapped out
Drainage and regulations
Both can be built to comply. Resin bound over an open graded permeable base drains through the surface, which is often the neatest solution on a frontage with nowhere obvious to send water. Permeable block ranges achieve the same through wider joints filled with grit.
What never complies is a sealed surface draining straight onto the highway, whichever material sits on top.
How we would choose
- Modern house, sweeping drive, no services beneath: resin
- Wide frontage needing borders and visual structure: blocks
- Heavy commercial vehicles or a horsebox turning regularly: blocks
- Period cottage or conservation setting: clay pavers or a gravel finish
- Drive over a shared service run: blocks, without hesitation
Services this relates to
Want the figure for your own property? Call 07770 880587 or email enquiries@breakinggroundltd.com and we will arrange a site visit.