When you choose to pave your drive, there are a few things to bear in mind. We take you through what works and what doesn't.

Period brick house with small Kandla Grey Indian Sandstone driveway in front of front door. Covered bin shed to right.
Kandla Grey Indian sandstone makes an attractive and hard-wearing area for off-road parking in this design by Eve Hacking.

Different paving materials for your driveway

Driveways, more than any other domestic paved surface, are likely to receive more traffic and heavier loads. This means they are likely to get dirtier than your patio or garden paths, and suffer oil and tyre stains.

So, you want a robust material that is stain-resistant and cleans up nicely.

Natural stone paving for driveways

For most situations, we only recommend that sawn paving is sealed. With driveways, however, the difference between sawn and riven paving has less impact. We strongly advise that all natural stone paving should be sealed, whether sawn or riven, when used for driveways and hard standing. This is because, even on riven stone, sealing helps protect from stains and makes them easier to remove.

Granite sett driveways

View across wide driveway of black granite setts to front garden of brick house.
Extremely hard-wearing, granite setts are a traditional material that is ideal for driveways. Used here by Cypress Garden Services.

Porcelain paving for your front drive

Semi-detached house with large Kandla Grey porcelain driveway, edged with granite setts, and planted borders.
Dark Grey granite setts edge this Kandla Grey porcelain driveway, in a design by Landscape Artisan.

Although porcelain outdoor tiles are only 20mm thick, they are a robust material and, correctly laid, will make a smart, long-lasting approach to your front door. The most important element is a correctly laid sub base that fully supports the tiles.

As porcelain is such a dense material, it’s naturally stain-resistant and doesn't require sealing. However, that doesn’t mean a porcelain driveway is stain-proof. Because of the high level of use and vehicular traffic a driveway sustains, you might like to seal pavers as an extra layer of protection to reduce the risk of staining. You can save time by using our sealing service.

Clay pavers for a traditional look

Steeply sloping driveway in Seville and Spalding clay pavers up to period house
Seville and Spalding clay pavers from the Alpha Collection have been mixed to create a driveway in a sympathetic colour for this period property.

There are plenty of reasons to choose clay pavers for driveways; they're a versatile choice, with some practical advantages. With clay pavers, you can choose from a variety of laying patterns, including herringbone, basketweave, and running bond. Each of these gives a different feel, although herringbone is the best choice because the pattern is particularly resilient in the face of stresses caused by turning tyres. Additionally, clay pavers can be used to create curves and other custom shapes, which allows you to create a truly personalised and custom driveway.

Concrete pavers have been popular for many years, but clay pavers have a number of advantages over concrete.

Recommended colours for driveway paving

Small Edwardian terrace house with Kota Brown limestone hard standing in front.
Kota Brown limestone is an ideal choice for hard standing, as used here by Gold Leaf Horticultural Services.

You'll probably spot that all the materials pictured tend towards darker tones, whether we're talking about porcelain pavers, sandstone paving or clay bricks. Although some people do opt for a light-coloured front drive - and it looks lovely - we never recommend light colours. This is because darker colours show dirt and stains less easily and won't need cleaning so often.

Grout for driveways

Blue car on one half of driveways of granite setts with GftK grouting. Pavement and road beyond.
GftK vddw850 makes a sturdy, long-lasting grouting for this granite setts driveway.

Sand and cement are the time-honoured materials for filling the joints in a driveway. Ideally, and possibly legally, you'll need a permeable jointing that allows rain water to soak through to the ground beneath. But weeds can soon take root in sand and cement, and jet washing can easily blow it out of the joints. This is why we suggest GftK brush-in pointing mortar. There a plenty of reasons why GftK grout makes life easier. It also stands up to jet-washing and is permeable.

For more ideas take a look at our Indian sandstone, setts, porcelain and clay paving options.

Post updated: June 2024