I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete obviously.

Thanks,

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 05:59:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete obviously.

Thanks,

As long as you do the pavers right, they're real nice. I did a narrow
sidewalk about 15 years ago and didn't prepare the ground. Just
cut out the grass basically and leveled it with dirt just using a
rake. It's now a bit wavy and I have to use weed killer because the
pavers have separated a bit. Still don't regret it. I can rebed them
if I want to. I'm in northern Illinois.
As far as I can tell the only thing going against pavers is the cost.
But if you prepare the ground right they should last a long time, and
they look real good to me. You really need a compactor.

On Tuesday, June 16, 2015 at 10:15:38 AM UTC-4, wrote:
On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 05:59:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete obviously.

Thanks,

The biggest down side to pavers is the weeds that grow up in the
joints. Like everything else, preparation is more important than the
installation itself. You need a very stable base under pavers or they
can get uneven pretty fast.

I don't have experience with them in a driveway so can't comment
on that part. But agree weeds are an issue. There are week killing
products available that will keep weeds from growing for several
months. But that can be problematic too as you're not supposed to
use them in the drip zone of trees and IDK about the safety if you
have pets that might be walking on it, etc.

wrote:
I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt
driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and
sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see
how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than
asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern
Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you
guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as
possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She
says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain
but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete
obviously.

Most "pavers" nowadays are made of concrete; therefore, they behave like
concrete. The color in them can either be on the surface or all the way
through (more expensive). Either way, they will eventually weather so that
the aggregate shows; if they are surface colored, that eventually goes away
too.

If you want something that will look the same after decades, use clay brick.
There are probably some streets where you live that were paved with brick
more than 100 years ago and - if they haven't been covered up with asphalt -
I'll bet they still look good.

Nowadays, most clay brick is cut; i.e., a big extrusion is cut into
individual bricks which gives a rougher surface than the old time brick
pavers which were individually molded.

You should have no problem finding clay bricks where you live; they may be a
bit more expensive than those made of concrete but even if so, they are well
worth it.

As far as maintenance goes, clay bricks are maintenance free assuming you
don't spill paint or oil on them. If you have a good base and the joints
are well sanded in, very little will sprout in the joints. I have roughly
1800 sq.ft. of them in my Florida courtyard; weeds grow all year here but I
rarely get any in the courtyard, so few that it is easier to pull a half
dozen or so rather than use an herbicide. If I were to use an herbicide, I
would have no worries about using it even though the courtyard is around a
large oak and there are ornamental plants around the sides; easy enough to
not spray those and it won't hurt pets once it dries.

"dadiOH" writes:

wrote:
I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt
driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and
sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see
how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than
asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern
Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you
guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as
possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She
says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain
but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete
obviously.

Most "pavers" nowadays are made of concrete; therefore, they behave like
concrete. The color in them can either be on the surface or all the way
through (more expensive). Either way, they will eventually weather so that
the aggregate shows; if they are surface colored, that eventually goes away
too.

If you want something that will look the same after decades, use clay brick.
There are probably some streets where you live that were paved with brick
more than 100 years ago and - if they haven't been covered up with asphalt -
I'll bet they still look good.

Nowadays, most clay brick is cut; i.e., a big extrusion is cut into
individual bricks which gives a rougher surface than the old time brick
pavers which were individually molded.

You should have no problem finding clay bricks where you live; they may be a
bit more expensive than those made of concrete but even if so, they are well
worth it.

As far as maintenance goes, clay bricks are maintenance free assuming you
don't spill paint or oil on them. If you have a good base and the joints
are well sanded in, very little will sprout in the joints. I have roughly
1800 sq.ft. of them in my Florida courtyard; weeds grow all year here but I
rarely get any in the courtyard, so few that it is easier to pull a half
dozen or so rather than use an herbicide. If I were to use an herbicide, I
would have no worries about using it even though the courtyard is around a
large oak and there are ornamental plants around the sides; easy enough to
not spray those and it won't hurt pets once it dries.

Hmm.

I have a few brick pathways and a patio of pavers.

The bricks in the pathways have been known to crack.
Not a lot of them but once a year or so.
The bricks I set up as soldiers at the edge of the pathway
break a lot more.

I'm in NJ and it's clearly the frost/thaw that breaks the bricks.

The paver patio is around 15 years old and shows no degradation.

Neither of these has a car driving on it.
I don't think the bricks would last long under a car.


--
Dan Espen

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 05:59:59 -0700 (PDT), wrote:

I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete obviously.

Thanks,
They will outlast asphalt for sure - likely 2-1 at a minimum. If the
driveway settles, pull them up, add some sand, and re-lay.
I've re-layed mine once already in 30 years.

Maintenance wize, fill the gaps with poly-sand and seal them with
clear acrylic sealer every few years to keep them looking good and
keep the weeds from growing i n the cracks.

Keep a dozen or so spare bricks so if you bust one you can pull it out
and replace it with a new one. (I broke one with a jack-stand leg).

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:21:04 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

"dadiOH" writes:

wrote:
I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt
driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and
sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see
how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than
asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern
Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you
guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as
possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She
says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain
but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete
obviously.

Most "pavers" nowadays are made of concrete; therefore, they behave like
concrete. The color in them can either be on the surface or all the way
through (more expensive). Either way, they will eventually weather so that
the aggregate shows; if they are surface colored, that eventually goes away
too.

If you want something that will look the same after decades, use clay brick.
There are probably some streets where you live that were paved with brick
more than 100 years ago and - if they haven't been covered up with asphalt -
I'll bet they still look good.

Nowadays, most clay brick is cut; i.e., a big extrusion is cut into
individual bricks which gives a rougher surface than the old time brick
pavers which were individually molded.

You should have no problem finding clay bricks where you live; they may be a
bit more expensive than those made of concrete but even if so, they are well
worth it.

As far as maintenance goes, clay bricks are maintenance free assuming you
don't spill paint or oil on them. If you have a good base and the joints
are well sanded in, very little will sprout in the joints. I have roughly
1800 sq.ft. of them in my Florida courtyard; weeds grow all year here but I
rarely get any in the courtyard, so few that it is easier to pull a half
dozen or so rather than use an herbicide. If I were to use an herbicide, I
would have no worries about using it even though the courtyard is around a
large oak and there are ornamental plants around the sides; easy enough to
not spray those and it won't hurt pets once it dries.

Hmm.

I have a few brick pathways and a patio of pavers.

The bricks in the pathways have been known to crack.
Not a lot of them but once a year or so.
The bricks I set up as soldiers at the edge of the pathway
break a lot more.

I'm in NJ and it's clearly the frost/thaw that breaks the bricks.

The paver patio is around 15 years old and shows no degradation.

Neither of these has a car driving on it.
I don't think the bricks would last long under a car.
30 years with concrete bricks on double friveway in Central Ontario.
No problems. Parking a truck on the drive regularly caused
track-sagging so I lifted those, added and compacted more sand, and
re-layed the bricks. 30 years and still going strong

writes:

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:21:04 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

"dadiOH" writes:

wrote:
I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt
driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and
sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see
how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than
asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern
Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you
guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as
possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She
says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain
but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete
obviously.

Most "pavers" nowadays are made of concrete; therefore, they behave like
concrete. The color in them can either be on the surface or all the way
through (more expensive). Either way, they will eventually weather so that
the aggregate shows; if they are surface colored, that eventually goes away
too.

If you want something that will look the same after decades, use clay brick.
There are probably some streets where you live that were paved with brick
more than 100 years ago and - if they haven't been covered up with asphalt -
I'll bet they still look good.

Nowadays, most clay brick is cut; i.e., a big extrusion is cut into
individual bricks which gives a rougher surface than the old time brick
pavers which were individually molded.

You should have no problem finding clay bricks where you live; they may be a
bit more expensive than those made of concrete but even if so, they are well
worth it.

As far as maintenance goes, clay bricks are maintenance free assuming you
don't spill paint or oil on them. If you have a good base and the joints
are well sanded in, very little will sprout in the joints. I have roughly
1800 sq.ft. of them in my Florida courtyard; weeds grow all year here but I
rarely get any in the courtyard, so few that it is easier to pull a half
dozen or so rather than use an herbicide. If I were to use an herbicide, I
would have no worries about using it even though the courtyard is around a
large oak and there are ornamental plants around the sides; easy enough to
not spray those and it won't hurt pets once it dries.

Hmm.

I have a few brick pathways and a patio of pavers.

The bricks in the pathways have been known to crack.
Not a lot of them but once a year or so.
The bricks I set up as soldiers at the edge of the pathway
break a lot more.

I'm in NJ and it's clearly the frost/thaw that breaks the bricks.

The paver patio is around 15 years old and shows no degradation.

Neither of these has a car driving on it.
I don't think the bricks would last long under a car.
30 years with concrete bricks on double friveway in Central Ontario.
No problems. Parking a truck on the drive regularly caused
track-sagging so I lifted those, added and compacted more sand, and
re-layed the bricks. 30 years and still going strong

Concrete brick and clay brick are different.

--
Dan Espen

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 22:26:52 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

writes:

On Tue, 16 Jun 2015 13:21:04 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

"dadiOH" writes:

wrote:
I have been thinking of replacing my old and deteriated asphalt
driveway a section at a time with pavers on top of crusher run and
sand. Maybe just starting with an apron in front of my garage and see
how that goes. My question is, do these pavers last longer than
asphalt? Do they require less maintenance? I live in southern
Kentucky, and we do get cold weather but not like I would imagine you
guys up north do.

Looking for something that looks good and is as maintenance free as
possible. I thought about concrete, but my wife is against it. She
says it gets dirty and is prone to staining. I know pavers can stain
but I would think they would be more easily replaceable than concrete
obviously.

Most "pavers" nowadays are made of concrete; therefore, they behave like
concrete. The color in them can either be on the surface or all the way
through (more expensive). Either way, they will eventually weather so that
the aggregate shows; if they are surface colored, that eventually goes away
too.

If you want something that will look the same after decades, use clay brick.
There are probably some streets where you live that were paved with brick
more than 100 years ago and - if they haven't been covered up with asphalt -
I'll bet they still look good.

Nowadays, most clay brick is cut; i.e., a big extrusion is cut into
individual bricks which gives a rougher surface than the old time brick
pavers which were individually molded.

You should have no problem finding clay bricks where you live; they may be a
bit more expensive than those made of concrete but even if so, they are well
worth it.

As far as maintenance goes, clay bricks are maintenance free assuming you
don't spill paint or oil on them. If you have a good base and the joints
are well sanded in, very little will sprout in the joints. I have roughly
1800 sq.ft. of them in my Florida courtyard; weeds grow all year here but I
rarely get any in the courtyard, so few that it is easier to pull a half
dozen or so rather than use an herbicide. If I were to use an herbicide, I
would have no worries about using it even though the courtyard is around a
large oak and there are ornamental plants around the sides; easy enough to
not spray those and it won't hurt pets once it dries.

Hmm.

I have a few brick pathways and a patio of pavers.

The bricks in the pathways have been known to crack.
Not a lot of them but once a year or so.
The bricks I set up as soldiers at the edge of the pathway
break a lot more.

I'm in NJ and it's clearly the frost/thaw that breaks the bricks.

The paver patio is around 15 years old and shows no degradation.

Neither of these has a car driving on it.
I don't think the bricks would last long under a car.
30 years with concrete bricks on double friveway in Central Ontario.
No problems. Parking a truck on the drive regularly caused
track-sagging so I lifted those, added and compacted more sand, and
re-layed the bricks. 30 years and still going strong

Concrete brick and clay brick are different.
Clay wouldn't stand up to the freeze-thaw cycles up here - they would
turn to mush in a few years. - and I've never seen concrete pavers
that were not coloured all the way through up here either. - unless
someone died / stained them.

wrote:

Clay wouldn't stand up to the freeze-thaw cycles up here - they would
turn to mush in a few years. - and I've never seen concrete pavers
that were not coloured all the way through up here either. - unless
someone died / stained them.

Why would clay brick be less resistent than concrete? Clay is fired,
concrete isn;t. Both absorb water.

On Thu, 18 Jun 2015 06:23:58 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

wrote:

Clay wouldn't stand up to the freeze-thaw cycles up here - they would
turn to mush in a few years. - and I've never seen concrete pavers
that were not coloured all the way through up here either. - unless
someone died / stained them.

Why would clay brick be less resistent than concrete? Clay is fired,
concrete isn;t. Both absorb water.

Clay bricks more easily chip. The concrete paver sidewalk I laid
about 15 years ago hasn't changed color and has coloring all the way
through - as you can see when you cut one.
I think whether you like one or the other is all personal taste. My
wife picked the pavers, and liked the color and interlocking pattern.
They say the concrete pavers will erode faster, but mine look just
like they did when I laid them, so they are well made.
You can get bad manufacturing whether concrete or clay.
I believe a good clay tile will last centuries. That's not important
to me since the sidewalk wasn't meant to be "for the ages."

On Thu, 18 Jun 2015 06:23:58 -0400, "dadiOH"
wrote:

wrote:

Clay wouldn't stand up to the freeze-thaw cycles up here - they would
turn to mush in a few years. - and I've never seen concrete pavers
that were not coloured all the way through up here either. - unless
someone died / stained them.

Why would clay brick be less resistent than concrete? Clay is fired,
concrete isn;t. Both absorb water.

Just my experience - clay doesn't stand up as well as pavers, and if
water gets into clay bricks on a wall or chimney they "explode" when
they freeze, blowing off chunks of brick