Brick Paver Driveway (Design Guide)

Here we share our brick paver driveway design guide including different types, patterns, cost and maintenance tips.
When it comes to designing a driveway, options like different types of gravel and asphalt are common go-to’s. However, if you want to give your driveway a unique look, you’ll want to consider adding a brick paver driveway to your list of home renovations.

This style has a myriad of benefits from ensuring a custom, personalized appearance to more practical benefits that you can take advantage of. Keep reading and we’ll teach you everything that you need to know about having a brick paver driveway outside of your home!

What Is a Paver Driveway?

As stated, there are plenty of great ways to design your driveway to ensure that it stands out and reflects your own personal style. That’s why it’s important to define exactly what your options are and why you might want specific materials, styles, and designs in your renovation.

A paver driveway simply refers to a driveway with a material laid down in a uniform or specific pattern. Pavers are also set in place as they’re laid out rather than being allowed to set freely. This will give you a more even surface for your driveway compared to an option like a gravel driveway.

Pavers can be laid in a variety of patterns and you can even use a variety of materials. As an example, homeowners can choose between options like concrete, cement, cobblestone, and, what this guide will focus on, brick paver driveways.

Each of these choices has its own distinct advantages and vary in style, cost, and maintenance. You can rely on this type of driveway to offer you plenty of choices to find the perfect fit for you and your home.

What Are the Best Pavers for a Driveway?

Paver driveway with gate entrance.

Naturally, with so many options in this market you might be wondering what the best choices out there are. It’s true that some paver materials are more beneficial to a homeowner than others. So, here’s a quick breakdown of your top options.

Overall, if you want the most out of your investment, it’s a good idea to go with options like brick, cobblestone, or concrete. This is true for a few different reasons.

For one, these are fairly economical options. By choosing one of these, you won’t have to worry quite as much about breaking the bank to renovate your driveway. On top of that, these are fairly long-lasting materials to rely on.

This means that you won’t find yourself replacing or repairing them too soon after you lay them out. Remember, these pavers will last longer when they’re properly taken care of and preserved.

In addition to that, these materials are greatly varied meaning that you can stay within these options but still have something that stands out from other paver driveways thanks to the appearance of individual pavers as well as the greater designs they’re used to make up. See more types of driveways here.

Driveway Paver Patterns

There are near endless possibilities when it comes to driveway paver patterns. The design of pavers is a term concerning the position in which pavers are laid out. These are a few of the most popular options you have.

One of the most commonly used options is a herringbone pattern. In this layout, individual pavers are set at a 45-degree angle from the end of the driveway or the beginning of your garage. This interlocking pattern is both attractive and helps reduce how much the pavers shift.

Another option is the ashlar pattern. This pattern uses differently sized pavers to create a more gridded patterns, usually mixing up a use of rectangles and squares of different sizes. This is also a great choice when it comes to highly-trafficked areas.

You can also resort to a classic like a basketweave or running bond pattern. This works well for residential driveways but the pattern isn’t quite suited to high-traffic areas. That means it’s best to avoid this pattern in commercial driveways as well as on heavy-use walkways.

Driveway Paver Designs

There are plenty of different ways that you can design your driveway pavers. As we discussed above, you can vary factors such as your paver material choice and the patterns they’re laid out in. Yet, there’s more to driveway paver design options than just this.

For one, you’ll want to consider your driveway itself. How long is it? How much foot and vehicle traffic does it need to withstand? What’s your personal favorite style that fits you’re existing decor and landscaping while also fulfilling your practical needs?

You can also consider mixing materials and styles to fit into your wants and needs. For instance a modern driveway may have a very different layout than a traditional design.

We’ll take a look at some of these beneficial pairings to help you choose the option that works best for you not only in practice but in appearance on top of that.

Concrete and Paver Driveway

One pairing that you can go with is a concrete and paver driveway. This can mean two different things and both have a set of advantages.

For one, pavers themselves can be made out of concrete. These types of pavers are fairly popular for their longevity as well as their affordability.

Unfortunately, there are a few drawbacks to using concrete pavers such as a higher level of fragility than other options. Using a brick paver driveway is a more durable long-term option.

You can also rely on concrete and brick pavers to make a paired pattern. This will add variety to your driveway design by offering multiple patterns and designs.

The varying textures and appearances will help to create something completely unique and one of a kind. Yet, it could end up with additional maintenance measures to protect both the concrete and brick pavers.

Grass and Paver Driveway

Most people opt to have a grass yard. This can mean that when you install a paver driveway, there is grass on either side of it. Yet, you can also use the presence of grass to your advantage when you’re designing your paver driveway.

When most homeowners use a tight-knit pattern for their pavers, they typically don’t want to deal with grass growing up within the cracks. On the other hand, there is a way to incorporate grass into your design without it looking like a fault in the installation process.

Most intentional grass and paver driveway designs rely on pavers that are spaced out to allow grass to grow between them amply instead of sparingly like you might see on a city sidewalk. These patterns are also more eco-friendly than a tight-knit pattern since they are more porous.

Asphalt and Paver Driveway

Using asphalt and pavers concurrently can give your home a nice touch by blending two seemingly different styles. Unlike the grass and paver choice, though, this isn’t focused on putting the secondary material between individual pavers.

Alternatively, asphalt and paver driveways usually use pavers to frame and enhance the standard appearance of an asphalt driveway. This can solely include placing pavers on either side of the driveway but it also often includes placing pavers at either end of the driveway.

This helps to give the driveway a defined border and boost the even, measured appearance of the driveway while helping you to stand out from other houses with asphalt driveways.

Brick Paver Driveway Cost

When considering any home renovation, one of the first things that any homeowner will look into is how much that renovation will cost. Of course, the importance of knowing the cost of a brick paver driveway is no different. Luckily, these driveways aren’t as costly as you might fear them to be.

You can expect a general paver driveway to cost between $10 and $50 per square foot. The higher quality and more highly sought-after material you choose, the more expensive it will be. More intricate paver designs also increase the price of the project.

On average, a paver driveway made specifically with brick costs about $10 to $30 per square foot. This puts the standard price range for a full project between $6,100 and $18,250. This price largely depends on how big your driveway is but it also varies based on factors such as labor costs for installation and where you source your materials.

In addition, extra perks such as a custom design, a challenging installation or heated driveway can drive up the price you’ll pay.

Is a Brick Driveway Cheaper Than Concrete?

Comparative pricing is also important when it comes to considering specific renovations. After all, you have plenty of options and it’s important to know what will fit you’re home and budget the best!

Generally speaking, concrete is slightly cheaper than a brick paver driveway. While the starting range for brick paver driveways begins at around $10 per square foot, concrete costs, on average, about $7.50 per square foot to start.

However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that brick pavers lose out against options like stamped concrete. For example, brick doesn’t tend to crack the way that concrete does.

This means that you may have to pay more down the line to repair the natural erosion of a concrete driveway. Brick may also crack but you can reduce this by committing to the proper upkeep and maintenance.

Driveway Paver Maintenance

Brick paver driveways are beautiful but if you want them to stay that way, you need to make sure that you take care of them. This is how you ensure that your driveway is lastingly beautiful and preserved.

One of the best measures to take is to start adopting healthy cleaning habits with your brick paver driveway. Some of the daily tasks of upkeep are as easy as sweeping debris off of it regularly, especially in times like autumn.

You should also periodically powerwash it to offer a deep clean. Do not use a sandblaster – this will damage the surface of the bricks and make them more susceptible to water damage in the future.

You should also avoid using muriatic acid on your bricks as well. This will cause discoloration or give the bricks a mottled look.

How Long Do Paver Driveways Last?

Another thing that factors into the cost of a project is how long that project will last. If you opt for something with a short lifespan, you’ll incur the costs of either repairing it or replacing it shortly down the road. If you’re trying to save money and time, it’s better to choose an option that will allow you to enjoy the beauty of your new renovation for years to come.

When it comes to paver driveways, you’re in luck because they’ll stick around for quite a while! For the most part, you can expect your paver driveway to look excellent for the next 30 to 50 years. However, this can depend on a few factors.

For one, the materials you get will play into their longevity. For instance, permeable pavers last closer to 20 to 25 years as a median while a cobblestone paver driveway will easily stick around as long as 75 years. Brick paver driveways lean towards the upper range of the expected lifespan of a paver driveway.

You’ll also have the chance to enjoy your paver driveway for longer if you stay up-to-date on maintenance like we’ve discussed and will continue to discuss. After all, anything will last longer if you treat it well compared to something that isn’t taken care of.

Driveway Paver Sealer

Another important maintenance step in caring for a brick paver driveway is to seal the driveway properly. This will help with a variety of issues such as repelling stains and extending the lifespan of your pavers.

Most brick paver driveways are done by contractors who help install the new driveway shortly after the initial job is done.

Regardless of when this process is done, the important first step to remember is that the brick needs to be cleaned first. You don’t want to trap any debris in the with the brick, taking away from its aesthetic qualities and longevity.

If the proper sealant is being used later to reseal a brick paver driveway, most contractors will also remove the old layer of sealant. This is especially helpful in fixing uneven sealing but is it generally is better for the bricks and their lifespan overall.