Introduction
When you need to build a driveway, pave a walkway or add certain hardscaping features you have a few options. You can either use poured concrete, asphalt, or interlocking concrete pavers. You can search for “paving companies near me” and hire professionals for the job. However, it’s important to choose the best material. Let’s check out the benefits of interlocking concrete pavers.
The Benefits
- Flexible design – One of the greatest advantages of interlocking concrete pavers is their design flexibility. They are available in all sorts of patterns, textures, and colors. You can go with a uniform color, have a checkered driveway, have a walkway with a brown path and red side skirts, or have a patio with a heavily textured surface for extra grip strength. You can also choose to build your driveway in any shape you want. From a circular patio to a curved walkway.
You’re only limited by your creativity when you choose interlocking concrete pavers. While it’s possible to achieve the same with stones, asphalt, and poured concrete, the cost is astronomical. Asphalt and concrete driveways are cheaper than those made from interlocking concrete pavers only when they are made the traditional way and have that boring black or ash appearance. When you try staining asphalt or concrete or stamping them into different shapes and textures, the cost spikes up very quickly.
- Cost-Effective – When it comes to constructing a driveway or walkway, homeowners with a tight budget don’t tend to choose concrete pavers due to their higher material and installation cost. While asphalt and concrete driveways can be built by barely going above the double digits on every square foot, a similar driveway made from interlocking concrete pavers can cost over $20 per square foot.
However, the initial cost isn’t the only thing that you should consider while paving a driveway. A driveway or walkway is an important part of your property that would be used for decades. For asphalt and concrete, you need to seal the surface every year so that they can maintain their initial appearance and don’t get damaged by the elements. Concrete is especially susceptible to damage during the winter due to freezing and thawing cycles and asphalt gets easily cracked under the intense summer sun.
That means you spend a lot on maintenance every two years. Repairs are also expensive and after an asphalt or concrete driveway is repaired, they never look the same and ruin the curb appeal. You may need to replace those driveways within a decade. On the other hand, driveways made from interlocking concrete pavers require little to no maintenance. Due to their construction, they have room to expand and contract with temperature fluctuations without getting damaged.
Even if there is an earthquake and some of the pavers are pushed up, they can be easily fixed. A few cracked or broken pavers can be easily swapped without ruining the aesthetic value or the functionality of the driveway. The same isn’t true for poured concrete or asphalt. That’s why interlocking concrete pavers are more cost-effective in the long term. They are also cost-effective in the short term when you need to construct a small structure by DIYing it.
- Strength and durability – Interlocking concrete pavers are exceptionally dense units that are highly durable and strong. They can tolerate thousands of pounds of load and can easily tolerate extreme heat and chilling frosts. Each unit has a little room for expansion and contraction due to its joint and that makes them less vulnerable to cracking.
Concrete pavers are also constructed with tight dimensional tolerances. They are stronger than poured concrete since they are made at factories. There’s no room for mistakes with curing time when every paver is constructed with strict standards by industrial machines. A monolithic concrete slab doesn’t have any of these advantages. Asphalt doesn’t even compare and is inferior enough to be left out of the debate.
- Ease of repair – As mentioned above, interlocking concrete pavers are very easy to repair. Since they are more durable and stronger, they are less likely to crack compared to regular asphalt and concrete. Even if one or two pavers get cracked, they can be easily replaced by simple garden tools. No need for large machines or even a professional. You can do it yourself. All you need to do is remove the broken paver, replace it with an identical one and fill in the joints.
On the other hand, when asphalt and concrete slabs get damaged, they need large machines for heating the asphalt or spinning the concrete mix. They also need to be repaired by experts since amateurs without experience can do more harm than good while trying their hand at the repair. Even after the repair, they don’t look the same. The surface isn’t uniform, and a glance is enough to figure out where the cracks and holes have been filled. On the other hand, a repaired driveway made from interlocking concrete pavers looks as good as new.
- Winter resistance – When winter hits, snow gets accumulated on the driveway. Even if it’s an interlocking concrete paver driveway, the snow can be shoveled, plowed, or blown away like usual. Moreover, interlocking concrete pavers have a beveled edge that prevents you from catching the shovel or plow.
You also get all the freedom while using de-icing products like calcium chloride or salt. They wouldn’t harm the concrete pavers. You can even have an electric snow-melting system embedded under a pavement made of interlocking concrete pavers without the risk of damage. You can even increase the efficiency of those systems by choosing black concrete pavers for maximum heat absorption and radiation. Freezing and thawing cycles don’t affect interlocking pavers much since the damage is limited to a few pavers.
Conclusion
Interlocking concrete pavers are one of the most reliable and cost-effective materials for constructing a driveway, walkway, or other such features on your property. If you want one built for your home, you can search for “paving companies near me” and hire professionals for the project.