Is Paving a Good Way to Surface Your Path?

Paving can be a great material to use to surface a path. It’s often used because it’s low maintenance and easy to repair and customise.
But paths can vary according to where they are what they’re use for. To help you decide whether paving is a good way to surface your path, we’ve come up with a list of the material’s pros and cons.

Pros

Long-lasting

If you put time and effort into installing a path, you probably won’t want to do it again in a hurry. If you use paving to create a path, it should last at least 20 years. This may not be as long as other surfacing materials can last but it’s still a significant amount of time.

Easy to repair

Another advantage to paving is that makes paths that are easy to repair. If part of your path gets damaged, all you need to do is remove the affected pavers and replace them with new ones. This is opposed to replacing the whole drive. It can be obvious when you’ve repaired a path made of other materials, like asphalt or concrete, because it creates a patchy effect. But you can repair a path made of paving without leaving any evidence behind you.

Low maintenance

Paving is also popular because it’s low maintenance. It usually just needs the occasional sweep and wash to keep it in good condition. A few weeds may pop up between pavers but it’s easy enough to pull these out when they appear.

Easy to customise

You can get paving made of concrete, natural stone and clay brick. Paving made from these materials can come in different colours, sizes and shapes. You can either use a combination of different paving to create patterns and designs or just use one type. So if you use paving to create a path you can customise it to suit you and your home.

Cons

Expensive

Unfortunately, paved paths can be expensive. This is because paving can cost more per square metre than asphalt and gravel. This means that installing or repairing a large area of your path could be expensive.

Fragile

Some types of paving can be fragile, especially clay brick. It can crack or break if put under pressure. This shouldn’t be a problem if your path is only going to get light use, but if you plan on driving or pulling heavy things along it, like ride-on mowers or chunky furniture, paving may not be the best choice of material.

Price

From approx. £12 per sq m

Concrete

Price

From approx. £25 per sq m

Stone

Price

From approx. £50 per sq m

Clay brick

Installation time

1-3 days


Advantages and disadvantages
  • Long-lasting
  • Easy to repair
  • Low maintenance
  • Easy to customise
  • Expensive
  • Fragile