One of the first things people notice when visiting your new home is the driveway. There are a ton of different options when it comes to choosing the right materials for the job. Two of the most popular options are decorative paver stones or concrete slabs. The three most important factors to consider are the initial cost, maintenance cost, and overall aesthetic look. To help you decide which route best suits your specific job, we’ll compare both materials with these three factors in mind.
Initial Cost
There is a slight disparity between the two materials as far as initial cost is concerned. A concrete slab driveway will generally be the cheaper option if you elect against an upgrade to stamped concrete, but not by much. You can plan on saving around 10% when choosing concrete over decorative pavers, but those savings could be forfeited down the road with higher repair costs.
Maintenance Cost
Concrete is relatively easy to maintain but cracking is likely to occur at some point down the road. As the ground moves over time it puts stress on the surface of the concrete causing it to crack in various places. If a minor crack appears it can sometimes be fixed with a spot treatment or patch, but the repair will be easily noticeable with how difficult it is to match concrete poured at different times. If the cracks are severe and over multiple spots you may have to tear up the entire slab to redo it.
If pavers crack, each one can be easily removed and replaced. You can order the replacement paver to closely match the color of the damaged one thus not disrupting the pattern. If they sink, simply remove the sunken paver, add fill dirt to bring it back up to the proper level and replace it. Both repairs can be done with a much lower cost and labor compared to problems encountered by ground shifts beneath concrete.
Overall Aesthetic Look
One of the first things people notice when arriving at a new home is the driveway so it’s important to make sure it provides the first impression you desire. Paving stones come in a variety of shapes and colors, providing design freedom to anyone building a new home along with being generally more appealing than a boring concrete slab.
However, there many different practices used to alter the appearance of concrete such as texturing, staining, or stamping. Stamped concrete is a technique used to mimic the appearance of pavers although you still have issues with cracking and repairs.
Many people prefer the look and benefits of lower long-term maintenance costs of pavers over concrete, but personal preference and budget will go a long way in ultimately determining which route is right for you. You should look closely at all options and get quotes for both before making a final decision.