Permeable block paving handles drainage by design and individual blocks can be lifted and relaid after a service trench. Resin-bound gives a seamless finish and is porous on an open-graded base, but depends entirely on the base and is hard to patch invisibly. Tarmac is cost-effective over large areas and is not porous, so drainage must be designed in.
- Repairability is the underrated difference. Blocks lift and relay; resin and tarmac do not.
- Resin-bound and resin-bonded are different products with different performance.
- All three are only as good as the base, and the base is invisible once finished.
- At the front, the drainage rule constrains the choice before anything else does.
The three compared
| Block paving | Resin-bound | Tarmac | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porous? | Permeable blocks available | Yes, on an open-graded base | No |
| Finish | Modular, patterned | Smooth, seamless | Smooth, uniform |
| Repair after a service trench | Lift and relay the same blocks | Patch will show | Patch will show |
| Settlement | Individual blocks can be re-levelled | Whole area affected | Whole area affected |
| Weeds | At the joints; manageable with the right sand | Rare | Rare |
| Edge restraint | Essential, or it spreads | Needed at the perimeter | Needed |
| Base sensitivity | Forgiving | Very sensitive | Moderate |
| Relative cost | Middle | Highest | Lowest over large areas |
| Best for | Most domestic drives | Appearance and seamlessness | Large areas, long drives |
Our published guide figure for a block-paved driveway is £80–£120 per m², with excavation extra. That excavation caveat is honest and important — on a driveway it is a substantial part of the work, not a detail.
The rule that comes first
Before choosing a surface for a front garden, understand the constraint, because it rules some options out.
In England you need planning permission to lay more than five square metres of hard surfacing between the front of the house and a highway — unless the surface is porous, or the water is directed to a permeable area within your own property.
Permeable block paving satisfies it directly. Resin-bound on a properly specified open-graded base satisfies it. Gravel satisfies it. Impermeable concrete or tarmac draining straight onto the road does not, and would need an application.
The rule is about where the water goes rather than about the material itself. So tarmac is not banned — it simply needs the run-off handled, typically with a soakaway or a drainage channel discharging to a permeable area.
Getting this wrong is not usually enforced, but it is exactly the sort of thing a buyer's solicitor can raise, and the fix at that point is expensive.
Block paving: the practical default
For most domestic driveways this is the sensible choice, and the reason is less about appearance than about what happens later.
It is repairable. When a utility company trenches across your drive — and over twenty years something will — blocks are lifted, the trench is reinstated, and the same blocks go back. With resin or tarmac that trench is a permanent visible patch.
Settlement is fixable. If an area drops slightly, those blocks can be lifted, the base corrected and the blocks relaid. On a continuous surface the whole area is affected.
Permeable versions exist with wider joints filled with angular grit, letting water through to a free-draining sub-base. That solves the front-garden rule without a separate drainage design.
The two things that matter in installation: a proper edge restraint, without which the blocks spread and the perimeter settles, and the right jointing sand — kiln-dried for standard paving, angular grit for permeable, and never builders' sand, which washes out and grows weeds.
Resin: read this before buying
There are two resin products sold under similar names, and they perform differently. This distinction is routinely blurred in quotes.
Resin-bound mixes aggregate thoroughly with resin and trowels it on as a single layer, typically 15 to 18mm. The result is porous when laid on an open-graded base, smooth, and durable. This is the quality product.
Resin-bonded is a layer of resin with aggregate scattered on top. It gives a textured, anti-slip surface at lower cost, it is not porous, and the loose stone sheds over time.
If someone quotes "resin", ask which. The price difference is real and so is the performance.
For resin-bound, the base is everything. It is a thin surfacing laid over a sub-base, and it faithfully reproduces whatever is underneath, including movement and undulation. Laid over a sound open-graded base it lasts well. Laid over an old cracked concrete slab or an inadequate sub-base, it cracks where the base cracks — and the repair will show.
Tarmac: where it still makes sense
Tarmac has a utilitarian reputation and it remains the right answer in several situations.
Large areas and long drives, where the cost per square metre of the alternatives becomes significant.
Rural and semi-rural properties, where the appearance suits and a block-paved sweep would look out of place.
Heavy or frequent vehicle use, where a continuous bound surface handles the loading well.
Where it already exists and is sound, since overlaying good tarmac is straightforward.
The constraints: it is not porous, so drainage has to be designed; it softens in very hot weather and can be marked by sharp loads such as a motorbike stand or a skip corner; and repairs are visible. Edge detail also matters, because tarmac with no restraint crumbles at the perimeter.
What goes underneath
- Excavate to a depth suited to the ground and the loading. This is where quotes diverge most, and it is invisible afterwards.
- Geotextile membrane over the formation on soft ground, separating the sub-base from the subsoil so it does not sink into it.
- Sub-base of the correct material and thickness, laid and compacted in layers rather than in one pass.
- Permeable build-up where the surface is porous — an open-graded, clean stone sub-base rather than a standard one, since a conventional compacted sub-base will not let water through.
- Edge restraints haunched in concrete.
- Laying course appropriate to the surface.
- Falls and drainage set out so water goes where it is meant to, not towards the house or the neighbour.
Point four is the one most often missed on permeable installations. A permeable surface over a conventional compacted sub-base is not permeable, whatever the blocks are called.
What it costs
These are the landscaping figures published across this site:
| Job | Typical Coventry guide price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Block-paved driveway | £80–£120 per m² | Excavation extra |
| Patio | £80–£150 per m² | Material dependent |
| Day rate | £150–£250/day | Per landscaper |
| Landscaper, hourly | £15–£40/hr | Task dependent |
Excavation and spoil removal are the items to check in any driveway quote. A figure that looks low usually has a shallower dig and a thinner sub-base behind it, and neither is visible once the surface is down.
We set out the excavation depth, sub-base and drainage in the quote, so you can compare what is underneath rather than just the surface.
Frequently asked questions
Which driveway surface is best?
For most domestic drives, permeable block paving — it handles the drainage rule by design and individual blocks can be lifted and relaid after a service trench or settlement. Resin-bound looks better and depends entirely on the base. Tarmac is cost-effective over large areas but is not porous, so drainage must be designed in.
What is the difference between resin-bound and resin-bonded?
Resin-bound mixes the aggregate thoroughly with resin and trowels it on as a single porous layer. Resin-bonded is a layer of resin with stone scattered on top — cheaper, textured, not porous, and the loose stone sheds over time. If a quote says only "resin", ask which, because both price and performance differ.
Do I need planning permission for a driveway?
In England, for more than five square metres of hard surfacing between the front of the house and a highway — unless the surface is porous or water is directed to a permeable area within your property. Permeable block paving, resin-bound and gravel all satisfy it; impermeable concrete or tarmac draining to the road does not.
Can a new driveway go over the old one?
Sometimes with tarmac over sound existing tarmac. Generally not otherwise, because you have no idea what the old base is like and the new surface inherits every fault in it. With resin-bound in particular, overlaying a cracked slab means the resin cracks where the slab does, and the repair will show.
How long does a driveway last?
All three can run for decades on a properly built base. What varies is how they age: block paving can be lifted and re-levelled indefinitely, resin and tarmac show their repairs permanently. The base and the drainage decide the lifespan far more than the surface material does.
Why do weeds grow in block paving?
Because the jointing material has washed out or was wrong to begin with. Builders' sand washes out and holds seed. Kiln-dried sand for standard paving, or angular grit for permeable, performs far better, and a polymeric jointing compound better still. Re-sanding the joints usually deals with it.
Compare what is underneath
We set out excavation depth, sub-base specification and drainage in writing, so two quotes can actually be compared. Free survey.