Block Paving, Resin, Tarmac or Gravel: Which Driveway Surface Is Best?

Ask ten people in Cardiff which driveway surface is best and you will get ten answers, usually whatever they have outside their own house. The straight answer is, it depends on your budget, your ground, how much upkeep you can live with, and whether the front of your house has to drain properly to meet the planning rules in Wales.

This guide lines up block paving, resin bound, tarmac, gravel, pattern-imprinted concrete and natural stone setts so you can compare the trade-offs at a glance. We’ve laid all of them across Cardiff, the Vale of Glamorgan and the surrounding towns since 1990, so the advice comes from site work, not a brochure.

For a closer look at any one surface, use our single-material guides rather than us repeating the same detail here. If you are planning a patio, our porcelain, sandstone and slate guide is the one to read. Costs are rough 2026 supply and fit guides taken from our driveway costs page, and every job gets a free written quote after a site visit.

Which driveway surface is best overall for a Cardiff home?

There’s no one surface that suits every job, only the one that suits your house, your ground and how much maintenance you’re willing to do. Block paving comes out on top overall because it gives a good balance of kerb appeal, long life, easy repairs and a sensible price. The downside is upkeep, as the joints need re-sanding and weeding every year or so.

Resin bound comes a close second, and for anyone who never wants to touch their drive again, it wins outright. Water drains through it, there are no joints for weeds to root in, and it suits modern houses. The trade-offs are a somewhat shorter typical life than block paving, plus repairs that rarely blend in, which our resin driveway guide covers honestly.

Tarmac is the value choice, especially for a long or shared drive, and it handles a slope well. Gravel is the cheapest way in and the easiest to put right, but it does wander and needs regular raking. Pattern-imprinted concrete gives you a patterned finish at a mid price, though it needs resealing. Natural stone setts are the premium choice and will outlast the house.

A local point before the table. A lot of Cardiff and the Vale is on clay-rich ground, which shrinks in dry weather and swells when it is wet, and we do get plenty of rain. Block paving, setts and gravel are made from separate units, so they handle a bit of ground movement better than a single large slab of imprinted concrete, but every one of them still needs a properly compacted sub-base.

Surface	Guide cost per m2	Typical lifespan	Upkeep	Permeable?	Repairs
Block paving	£80 to £120	20 to 40 years	Re-sand and weed joints yearly	Only with permeable blocks	Excellent, relay single blocks
Resin bound	£70 to £100	15 to 25 years	Very low, occasional wash	Yes, on an open sub-base	Fair, patches rarely match
Tarmac	£50 to £80	15 to 20 years	Low, optional sealing	No, unless porous asphalt	Good, but patches show
Gravel	£40 to £70	Base 15 to 20 years	High, rake and top up	Yes	Easiest, rake and top up
Pattern-imprinted concrete	£70 to £110	20 to 30 years	Reseal every few years	No	Poor, patches never match
Natural stone setts	Priced per job, above block paving	50 years plus	Repoint joints occasionally	Only with open joints on an open base	Excellent, relay single setts

Which driveway surface is cheapest, and what does cheap really cost you?

As a rough guide, gravel is 40 to 70 pounds per square metre, tarmac 50 to 80, resin bound 70 to 100, pattern-imprinted concrete 70 to 110, and block paving 80 to 120, all supply and fit and in line with our driveway costs page. Natural stone setts cost more than all of those and are priced job by job, as laying small, heavy units takes time. For a 40 square metre drive, which is a typical double width in front of a Cardiff semi, you are looking at around 1,600 pounds in gravel up to around 4,800 pounds in block paving.

The catch with the cheapest options is the work that follows. Gravel moves about, spreads and compacts, so it needs raking level and a fresh top-up every few years. Tarmac usually lasts 15 to 20 years, compared with 20 to 40 for block paving, so the price gap narrows over time, and imprinted concrete brings a resealing bill every few years that the others do not.

Cheap work can catch you out in the quote too. A very low tarmac or resin price is usually for resurfacing over an existing base, not a full dig-out with a new sub-base, and those are two different jobs. Our guide on choosing a good driveway company shows how to read a quote line by line.

The main thing a cheap quote tends to leave out is the sub-base. On Cardiff clay, we will often go to the deeper end of the usual 150 to 200mm of compacted stone, because that layer decides whether any surface reaches its typical lifespan. If one quote comes in far below the others, that is usually where the difference is hiding.

Which driveway lasts longest and needs the least upkeep?

The longest lasting surface and the lowest upkeep surface are two different things, and the surface that wins on one does not win on the other. Granite setts will outlast the lot, but the joints still need repointing or re-gritting now and again. Resin bound needs very little apart from the odd wash, but with a typical life of 15 to 25 years, it sits below block paving.

Block paving sits somewhere in the middle. The blocks can last more or less indefinitely, as a sunken or stained block can simply be lifted, re-bedded on fresh sand and put back. A block drive tends to age because the jointing sand washes out and moss creeps in, which is an annual chore rather than a fault, and the cleaning, sealing and re-sanding routine is covered in our block paving guide.

Tarmac has the shortest life of the hard surfaces, typically 15 to 20 years, and it can soften in a heatwave or dent under a skip leg. Imprinted concrete lasts well as a slab, but the colour and pattern sit in the surface layer and wear over time, so resealing is what keeps it looking right. Our tarmac driveway guide covers whether tarmac is worth sealing, and how to nurse it through a South Wales winter.

The wet climate matters too. Long, damp winters make algae and moss the real enemy of every surface here, so a north-facing or tree-shaded drive in Cardiff needs a clean each spring, whatever it is made from. On exposed coastal plots in Penarth, Barry and Porthcawl, salt air and driving rain favour surfaces with fewer weak points, so well-laid resin, well-edged tarmac and solid stone all hold up well, and our resin guide covers coastal plots specifically.

Which driveway surfaces are permeable, and which need planning permission in Wales?

The rule in Wales is simple enough. A new or replacement hard surface between the front of your house and the road counts as permitted development if it is permeable, or if the rainwater is run to a lawn, border or soakaway within your boundary. Put down more than 5 square metres of impermeable surfacing that sends water onto the pavement or into the drains and you need to apply. Councils can change these rights locally, and flats, listed buildings and conservation areas are dealt with differently, so check with your local council before you commit. Our guide to planning permission for driveways in Wales also covers soakaways on clay, the Welsh SuDS approval system and dropped kerbs.

The main thing in this comparison is that permeability comes from the full build-up, not the surface course alone. Resin bound only counts as permeable if the sub-base below is open enough for water to pass through, so resin laid over a solid concrete slab is not a permeable drive. Block paving is permeable only when you specify permeable blocks, grit-filled joints and an open-graded base, and setts work the same way: mortar joints seal them, grit joints do not. If avoiding an application matters to you, say so at the quote stage.

Tarmac and imprinted concrete are the two surfaces that always need a drainage plan at the front, as they both shed water. That does not mean you should rule them out. A channel drain across the entrance running to a border, or a fall towards the lawn, will usually sort it for a modest cost, and on the slow-draining clay under much of Cardiff, that sort of outlet is often more reliable than a soakaway. We check the ground on every free site visit.

Which driveway surface suits a slope, a large area or a tight budget?

Slopes narrow the choice of surface quickly. Loose gravel works its way downhill and needs a cellular grid to hold it in place, which eats into its price advantage. Imprinted concrete can be slippery on a slope once sealed unless grit is added to the sealer. Block paving gives good grip and follows the ground, tarmac performs well on a fall, and resin bound copes on a moderate gradient because water drains through it rather than sheeting down the slope, though every resin supplier sets a maximum gradient and we will tell you if yours is beyond it. A steep drive sometimes needs a low retaining wall along one edge, which we build alongside the drive.

Big areas change the sums. Tarmac is usually the cheapest hard, sealed surface per square metre, and we finish most of our tarmac driveways with a charcoal block paving border because it sharpens the look without adding much. Resin bound looks premium across a large, unbroken area, and imprinted concrete works efficiently when it is poured in one go. For a long rural drive out towards Cowbridge or Llantwit Major, gravel is often the only sensible way to surface the full length.

If the budget is tight, the honest order is gravel first, then tarmac, then a resin overlay if the base you already have is sound. Awkward shapes tend to favour block paving or resin, as both can work round curves without waste. For period houses in Penarth or Cowbridge, block paving or setts usually suit best, while a newer semi in Caerphilly or Barry often looks right in resin.

Situation	Best pick	Runner up	Avoid
Steep or sloping drive	Block paving	Tarmac	Loose gravel without a grid
Large or shared drive on a budget	Tarmac with a block border	Gravel	Natural stone setts
Tight budget, level ground	Gravel	Tarmac	Imprinted concrete
Front garden, no planning application	Gravel or resin bound	Permeable block paving	Standard tarmac or imprinted concrete
Lowest possible upkeep	Resin bound	Tarmac	Gravel
Period or listed property	Natural stone setts	Block paving	Imprinted concrete
Future access to pipes or cables	Block paving	Gravel	Imprinted concrete

Are pattern-imprinted concrete or natural stone setts worth considering?

These two tend to get less attention than block paving, resin and tarmac, but they do fill real gaps. Pattern-imprinted concrete is one slab of coloured concrete, poured in a single go, stamped with a mould to copy setts, slate or brick, then sealed. Because there are no joints, weeds have nowhere to root, and a large area can be laid quickly. At 70 to 110 pounds per square metre, supplied and fitted, it sits between resin and block paving.

Being one slab is also where its weaknesses come from. Concrete moves with the clay ground under much of Cardiff, so it needs control joints in the right places, and if it does crack, the repair will not match the surrounding colour and pattern. The colour sits as a surface layer and wears and fades on a sunny frontage, so the sealer needs renewing every few years, and a glossy sealer can be slippery in the wet unless a grit additive is used. It is impermeable too, so at the front it needs the drainage route described above. If you like the look but want the joints, block paving in a setts-style block gives a similar effect and can be relaid.

Natural stone setts are a very different option. Lay granite or sandstone setts on a proper bed and they will outlast anything else on this page, and they only look better with age. That is why they work so well with Victorian and Edwardian houses in Penarth and the older properties around Cowbridge. The jointing decides the rest. Mortar joints give a sealed, formal finish, while a resin or grit joint over an open base keeps the drive permeable. We price setts per job, because the pattern and the amount of cutting can change the labour a lot.

If a full setts drive costs more than you want to spend, a setts or block paving border and apron on a tarmac, resin or gravel drive gives you much of the same character for a fraction of the price. It is one of the most popular mixes we lay. Whichever finish you choose, it sits on the same properly compacted sub-base and carries the same guarantee.

How do I actually decide between them?

Start with what you cannot alter: the slope, the size, the ground, whether the drive is at the front and drains towards the road, and the style of the house. Those things rule out two or three choices straight away. Be honest about maintenance too. If you are never going to re-sand joints or rake gravel, resin bound or tarmac will suit you better than block paving, no matter how good it looks in the brochure.

Set the budget over the life of the drive, not just this year. A tarmac drive with a block paving border, or resin over a sound existing base, often gives you most of the look for a good deal less. A cheap surface on a proper sub-base beats an expensive surface on a poor one every time, and our guide on why driveways sink and crack shows what happens when the base is skimped.

Get it priced properly before you decide. We offer free, no-obligation site visits across Cardiff, Barry, Caerphilly, Cowbridge, Penarth, Porthcawl, Llantwit Major and the Vale of Glamorgan, and we lay every surface in this guide. You’ll get a written quote with every job, along with our 25-year workmanship guarantee, and we have been doing this as a family since 1990.

If you want a straight opinion on your drive, call Driveways and Paving Cardiff on 07494 065997. We will tell you which surface we would put on our own house if we were in your position, and it will not always be the most expensive one.