Imprinted Concrete vs Block Paving vs Resin: Which Driveway?
Published: 25 September 2026
Five driveway surfaces, one honest set of tables: 2026 cost per square metre, what a 50–60m² drive comes to, how long each lasts, what each asks of you every spring, and which one wins on a Birmingham clay front garden, a slope, a period house or a rental.
Three Surfaces, Three Different Bargains
Pattern imprinted concrete is one 100mm slab of fibre-reinforced, air-entrained concrete, coloured with a surface hardener and pressed with texture mats so it sets looking like slate, stone, cobbles or brick. No blocks to sink, no joints for weeds; the sealer is the wearing layer and wants renewing every three to five years. Kept sealed, the guides quote 25–30 years. It is impermeable, so it needs a drainage design.
Block paving is hundreds of individual blocks bedded on sand over a stone base. It is the most forgiving surface to repair, because any block can be lifted and relaid, and the most demanding to keep, because every sand joint is a seedbed. A permeable version, laid on an open-graded base, drains through and needs no planning permission.
Resin bound is stone bound in clear resin and trowelled over a base. The surface is smooth, modern and permeable if the base beneath it is; its life and its price are both decided by that base, which is why the guides disagree about it more than about anything else.
Cheapest: gravel, then tarmac. Least upkeep: plain or imprinted concrete. Easiest to repair: block paving. Planning-free without a drainage design: permeable block, resin on an open-graded base, gravel. Best on Birmingham clay: a concrete slab on 100–150mm of Type 1 with a channel to a soakaway.
Cost, Life and Time on Site
| Surface | 2026 guide per m² installed | 50–60m² drive installed (2026 guides) | Expected life | Time on site |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern imprinted concrete | £75–£130 | 60m²: £5,000–£8,000; MyJobQuote £6,200–£8,000; Checkatrade Birmingham £5,250 | 25–30 years (Checkatrade Birmingham), resealed every 3–5 years | 3–4 days for 30m², 5–6 for 60m²; no parking for 7 days |
| Plain concrete | £85–£125 | 50m²: £4,750 (Checkatrade); 60m²: £5,000–£7,500 (MyJobQuote) | 30–40+ years (Checkatrade Birmingham) | 2–3 days for 30m², 3–5 for 60m²; 7–10 days of curing before parking |
| Block paving | £100–£150 | 50m²: £5,000–£7,500 (BookaBuilderUK); 60m²: £4,500–£7,500 (MyJobQuote) | The blocks outlast the bed; relaid rather than replaced | Laid block by block, the slowest surface to lay; usable once jointed |
| Resin bound | £90–£140 | 50m²: £4,500–£7,000 (BookaBuilderUK); 60m²: £3,500–£5,500 (MyJobQuote) | As long as the base under it | The base is the long job; the resin goes on last and cures quickly |
| Tarmac | £60–£90 | 50m²: £3,000–£4,500 (BookaBuilderUK); 60m²: £2,500–£5,000 (MyJobQuote) | Wears and softens; resurfaced rather than rebuilt | The quickest hard surface; usable once cooled |
| Gravel | £40–£70 | 50m²: £3,000 (Checkatrade); 60m²: £2,100–£4,800 (MyJobQuote) | Indefinite with topping up | Quickest of all once the base is in |
Two notes on the money column. Block paving's floor is lower than the band suggests: MyJobQuote's concrete guide starts it at £70 per m² and Checkatrade's April 2026 table has it at £100, against BookaBuilderUK's £100–£150. Resin bound is where the guides disagree most, from MyJobQuote's £3,500–£5,500 for 60m² to BookaBuilderUK's £4,500–£7,000 for 50m², because the price depends on what is under it: resin over a sound existing base is cheap, resin on a new open-graded base is not. The full per-size tables for concrete are in the imprinted concrete cost guide and the concrete driveway cost guide.
Maintenance, Planning, Weeds, Repairs and Looks
| Surface | Maintenance | Permeability and planning | Weeds | Repairs | Look |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pattern imprinted concrete | Reseal every 3–5 years at £4–£8 per m² | Impermeable: over 5m² needs drainage to a lawn, border or soakaway, or planning permission | None; no joints | Cracks £100–£300; resurfacing £40–£70 per m²; patches are hard to colour-match | Slate, stone, cobble or brick patterns in one continuous surface |
| Plain concrete | Very low; sealing optional | As imprinted | None | Same costs; a patch shows as a different grey until it weathers | Brushed, tamped or exposed aggregate |
| Block paving | Weeding, re-sanding, lifting sunken blocks | Permeable blocks on the right base are permitted development; standard blocks are not | Yes, in every sand joint | Lift and relay single blocks; the best of any surface | Traditional; clay pavers suit period houses |
| Resin bound | Occasional pressure wash | Permeable on an open-graded base, so permitted; on an impermeable base it is not | Little, if the base is right | Patches show; a failed base means relaying the area | Smooth and modern, many stone colours |
| Tarmac | Softens in heat, marks under tyres | Impermeable unless porous asphalt is specified | Edges only | Patches always show | Plain black; suits long drives |
| Gravel | Raking, topping up; must be retained at the kerb for a dropped kerb | Permeable and permitted | Yes, unless on a membrane | Top it up | Country look; noisy, and migrates on slopes |
The planning column comes from the front-garden rule in force since 1 October 2008: more than 5m² of impermeable surface needs permission unless the rainwater drains to a lawn, border or soakaway inside your boundary. The government's guidance lists three routes to a compliant drive: gravel or planting; directing water from an impermeable surface to a soakaway or rain garden; or permeable block paving, porous asphalt or porous concrete. Our driveway rules guide covers Birmingham's version, including the council's requirement for a drained hardstanding before it will build a dropped kerb.
Which Driveway for Your Situation
On a tight budget
Gravel at £40–£70 per m² or tarmac at £60–£90. Checkatrade's April 2026 table prices a 50m² drive at £3,000 in gravel, £4,500 in tarmac, £4,750 in concrete, £5,000 in block paving and £6,000 in resin. If you want a hard surface for the least money over ten years, plain concrete: £85–£125 per m², nothing that has to be resealed, and a 30–40 year life.
On clay ground
Most of Birmingham. A single slab on 100–150mm of compacted Type 1 spreads the load; individual blocks rock and sink over every soft spot. Permeable surfaces are the wrong instinct here: the government's guidance says that on clay soils it may be necessary to connect a soakaway to the house roof-water drain, and that combined systems with an overflow are "useful if the soils are clayey and do not drain very well". Verdict: imprinted or plain concrete with a channel to a soakaway or the roof-water drain, or permeable block with an overflow if you must have blocks.
On a sloping drive
The guidance says a drive steeper than 1 in 20 may not suit permeable surfacing at all, and recommends an impermeable surface with the water directed to a soakaway; Birmingham City Council refuses a dropped kerb on anything steeper than 1 in 10. Gravel migrates downhill. Verdict: brushed concrete, with the brush strokes run across the direction of travel for grip as Pavingexpert advises, or imprinted concrete in a textured pattern with an anti-slip additive in the sealer.
On a period house
Clay pavers, at £85 per m² for the material alone against £25 for concrete blocks in Homebuilding & Renovating's table, or a cobble or ashlar imprinted pattern at a fraction of the labour. In one of Birmingham's 29 conservation areas, or where an Article 4 direction applies, check with planning before you order; the front-garden drainage rule applies regardless.
On a rental
The surface that asks the least: plain concrete first, imprinted second, with the reseal at £4–£8 per m² every three to five years the only recurring cost. Tarmac is cheap and quick but marks under parked cars in summer; gravel needs raking and ends up on the pavement; block paving needs weeding nobody will do.
Birmingham and the West Midlands
Birmingham's front gardens are mostly interwar: 106,000 homes, 30% of the city, twice the national share, most of them the 1930s semi whose lawn is now becoming a drive. Under them is Mercia Mudstone or clayey glacial till across the south-west of the city, sandier drift to the east, and made ground over old coal workings through the Black Country. That is why block paving laid on 50mm of stone sinks here, and why every surface in the table needs the same 100–150mm of compacted Type 1 underneath it.
Water is the other local fact. Perry Barr's neighbourhood plan proposed discouraging paved front gardens after flooding in Perry Beeches, and the flash floods of 27 August 2026 made the same point city-wide. Birmingham City Council requires a drained or permeable hardstanding, which it defines as porous tarmac or concrete, slab or block paving, before it will build a vehicle crossing, and loose gravel must be retained at the kerb. Our installation partners quote across the region, including Solihull, Sutton Coldfield, Halesowen and Bromsgrove.
Driveway Comparison FAQs
Is imprinted concrete cheaper than block paving?
Usually. The 2026 guides put imprinted concrete at £75–£130 per m² installed and block paving at £100–£150, with MyJobQuote's floor for blocks at £70. For a 60m² drive MyJobQuote gives £6,200–£8,000 imprinted against £4,500–£7,500 block paved, so a cheap block quote can undercut it; the difference is in the upkeep afterwards.
Which driveway surface lasts the longest?
Plain concrete: Checkatrade's Birmingham page quotes 30 to 40 years or more, against 25–30 years for imprinted concrete kept sealed every three to five years. Block paving is relaid rather than replaced, resin bound lasts as long as the base under it, and tarmac is resurfaced when it wears.
Which driveways need planning permission?
Any impermeable surface over 5m² in a front garden, so imprinted concrete, plain concrete, standard block paving and ordinary tarmac, unless the rainwater is directed to a lawn, border or soakaway inside your boundary. Gravel, permeable block paving, porous asphalt and resin bound on an open-graded base drain through and are permitted development. A dropped kerb is a separate application to the highway authority.
Which driveway is best on clay ground?
A single slab on 100–150mm of compacted Type 1, so imprinted or plain concrete, with a drainage channel to a soakaway or, on clay, to the roof-water drain. Individual blocks sink over soft spots, and the government's guidance notes that permeable systems drain poorly on clay and may need an overflow to the drains.
Is resin cheaper than imprinted concrete?
Per square metre they overlap: resin bound at £90–£140 (BookaBuilderUK) against £75–£130 for imprinted concrete. MyJobQuote's 60m² comparison has resin at £3,500–£5,500 and imprinted at £6,200–£8,000, but resin's price depends on the base: cheap over a sound existing slab, not cheap on a new open-graded base, which is what it needs to be permeable.
Getting a Concrete Drive Priced
We price imprinted and plain concrete drives the same working day from the 2026 rates above, then arrange a vetted local installation partner to survey and quote in writing; if the honest answer for your frontage is block paving or resin, we will say so. Installed work is carried out by a vetted local partner; you'll be told who is attending before the job is booked.
Service pages: imprinted concrete driveways and concrete driveways in Birmingham. Supply only: concrete for driveways and the concrete calculator. Patterns and colours: the colours, patterns and sealing guide.
Not Sure Which Drive Suits Your House?
Tell us the size, the postcode and what is under the lawn — we'll price the concrete options the same working day and arrange a vetted local partner to survey it.