Block Paving
Classic, hard-wearing block paved driveways and patios in herringbone, stretcher and basket-weave. Laid on a 150mm sub-base with crisp edge restraints and proper drainage, finished to last thirty years.
The Service
No filler, no jargon. What you're getting, why you'd want it, and what makes the difference between a good install and a bad one.
What it is
Block paving is concrete or clay paviours laid in interlocking patterns over a compacted sub-base and sand bedding layer, kiln-dried sand swept into the joints. Done correctly, it carries vehicle loads for thirty years with minimal maintenance.
Who it's for
Homeowners who want a traditional, characterful finish with the option of contrasting borders, decorative inlays and lifetime-replaceable individual blocks. The right choice for properties where the architecture calls for detail, pattern and texture.
When you need it
When you want a driveway that handles repeated vehicle loading, occasional repair-and-relay, and a wider design palette than resin or tarmac. Also the strongest choice where heavy vans, motorhomes or trailers regularly use the driveway.
Why it matters
Because block paving lives or dies on the sub-base, the bedding and the edge restraints. Skip any one and you get the rocking, sinking, weed-infested blocks that give the product its bad reputation. Lay it properly and it outlasts the house owner.
What Goes Wrong
We get called in to fix all four of these every month. None of them are accidents, they're predictable consequences of cutting the wrong corner.
Almost always traceable to a thin or uncompacted sub-base. Once individual blocks start moving, joint sand washes out and the failure spreads outward fast.
Caused by poor jointing technique, sand not properly swept and compacted, or polymeric sand used in the wrong conditions. Weeds in joints are a symptom, not the disease.
Without a proper concrete-haunched edge restraint, the perimeter blocks splay outward under vehicle load. Once the edges go, the centre follows.
Trade-grade concrete paviours from a builder's merchant lose their colour within a few summers and chip on the leading edge. Premium-grade Marshalls, Brett and Tobermore blocks hold their colour and chip resistance for decades.
Our Process
On-site measure, pattern and colour selection, drainage check, and a fully itemised written estimate.
Excavated to 200mm, MOT Type 1 laid in 100mm layers and compacted with a heavy-plate vibratory compactor.
Perimeter edging set on a wet concrete haunch, the structural backbone that stops the whole driveway creeping outward.
30mm of sharp sand screeded level. Blocks hand-laid in your chosen pattern, cut tight to edges with a wet-saw, no straight runs against the edge.
Kiln-dried jointing sand swept in, blocks compacted with a vibratory plate fitted with a soft-pad, joints topped up, surface swept clean and walkable immediately.
The Benefits
Properly laid block paving routinely lasts thirty years on a domestic driveway. Individual blocks can be lifted and replaced in minutes.
The interlocking action of block paving spreads point loads across the whole surface, the right choice for vans, motorhomes and trailers.
Unlike resin or tarmac, individual damaged blocks can be lifted and replaced without any visible patch line. Keep a few spares with the original delivery.
Herringbone, stretcher bond, basket weave; contrast borders; decorative inlays; tactile crossing strips. Block is the most versatile design palette of any driveway finish.
Traditional, recognisable, premium. Block paving reads as quality at first glance, particularly for period and traditional properties.
Permeable block paving with open joints over a permeable sub-base meets SuDS requirements with no planning consent needed.
The Detail
Materials, methods, variations, and the small decisions that separate a 20-year driveway from a five-year one.
07939 52424145° herringbone is the strongest pattern under vehicle load and the one we recommend for driveways. 90° herringbone, stretcher bond and basket weave look excellent on patios and pedestrian areas. Contrasting borders in a single-block or double-block frame lift the whole installation and let us cut tight, clean perimeter lines.
We work primarily with Marshalls Drivesett Argent, Tegula and Tegula Priora; Brett Omega and Alpha; and Tobermore Sienna and Tegula. These are the kiln-fired, colour-through, premium-grade concrete paviours that hold their colour and edge integrity for decades. We don't lay budget trade blocks, the price gap on a typical drive is small, and the lifespan gap is enormous.
Permeable paving uses specially shaped blocks with wider joints, filled with clean grit instead of kiln-dried sand, laid over an open-graded sub-base. Surface water drains through the joints, through the sub-base and into the ground, meeting SuDS requirements and avoiding the planning consent required for impermeable front-garden surfaces above 5m².
Every block driveway gets a concrete-haunched edge restraint, kerb sets, header courses or a hidden concrete edge depending on the design. Falls are set at 1:60 minimum to direct surface water to a linear drain, soakaway or permeable strip. Bad falls and missing drainage are why driveways flood, not the block itself.
Domestic block paving uses 50mm or 60mm paviours; commercial forecourts and heavy-load areas step up to 80mm. The principles, sub-base depth, edge restraints, herringbone laying pattern, are identical, just scaled up. Most of our work is residential; we take on small commercial jobs where the site suits.
FAQs
Still have a question? Pick up the phone.
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Where We Work
Durham-based, on the road across the region every week.
Free site survey. Written estimate. No pressure, ever.
Backed by 20+ years' experience and a 1-year workmanship guarantee in writing.
