South Florida Driveway - Concrete Pavers

6 years ago

I am having the hardest time deciding on a color/style for our new driveway. We have a large space to fill, our house has a white tile roof and is currently green but we plan to paint it a grey blue color. I have gone back and forth on the style I like, but I am leaning towards the look of the Old Chicago Brick with a 90 degree herringbone design (see attached photos below). I keep going back and forth on what I like. We have seen many homes down here with the Old Miami style brick that looks great but these bricks are much larger than the traditional Old Chicago Brick. We tend to like the lighter color pavers more although I know they may fade or look dirty over the years. This is a big investment for us so I want to be sure I am making the right decision.

I am finding it frustrating that the driveway companies we have reached out to do not have more photos of driveways they have done in all colors available or even that they don't drive us around neighborhoods to point out the colors we like on homes they have done. They mostly just have small samples of the pavers to show us the color options but this does not help me visualize on a driveway.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Our current driveway:

Clay brick in herringbone pattern:

Driveway company recommended the Old Chicago color below but I think the Saltillo color looks more like it.

Old Miami in a lighter color:

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Comments (5)

K Laurence
6 years ago
My patio & walkways are all done in a lighter shade, this was intentionally done because darker colored pavers can get very hot, radiating more heat. I know because my neighbor had his patio done in a darker paver, his patio is much warmer than ours during warmer weather ( which is always where I live, even though our temps are generally in the 60’s & 70’s year around ) the pavers can get hot. I live at the beach in So. California. So , regardless of color, I think your wise going with lighter.
cesherman thanked K Laurence
PRO
Dig Doug's Designs
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
I'm not recommending a paver, just showing you what they would look like on your driveway.
cesherman thanked Dig Doug's Designs
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I have seen people use the brick you describe. As wit anything else the quality of the job will be dependant on the base beneath it. As far as the look a chevron loo is very nice with the small brick. The flat roof tile may work as well but you should lay a few out first to see how they will look and not have little toe trippers on the surface. The barrel type could be used up side down as drain tiles on the edges of flower beds. Of course you would want to cut them to only have 1 reverse barrel running down the gutter. With a little creativity you could use all 3. Brick with flat roof tile inlays and barrel tile gutter edging. ( cut the tile between the barrels and form an s shape,lying on it's side. The hump forms a curb and border for the brick, rolling into the gutter.) The biggest problem I foresee is getting the colors to work out if using all 3. Some contrast can work as well. Just use your imagination and do a little trial and error.
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There is a really wide range of paver options, and they can vary locally because most pavers are manufacturered within a few hour drive of where they are sold (weight and freight makes it not common to ship across country). Belgard has manufacturing plants around the country, but not necesarily the same types/shapes/colors of pavers sold on the west coast as the east coast. On our area, Belgard has 6-7 different types of pavers that range in price by over $5 per square foot, so just having a quote that says "belgard pavers" still doesn't actually say what you are getting. It's kind of like getting a quote for a "Ford" car- you need to specify what type. Ask where your contractors buy from and go look at the different types (and other brands). Pick one you like and the ask all companies to quote that paver so younare comparing apples to apples. Belgard makes good products but in our area I wouldn't say they are the only good paver brand, ask experienced contractors in your area and they can recommend what pavers they feel are good (and which to stay away from). I like paver driveways - no cracking (which concrete does in our climate), beautiful, last longer than asphalt, and weeds can be managed by good installation, proper drainage, and maintenance.
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cesherman
Original Author
6 years ago
Wow, thank you so much for doing this. This visual really helps!!!
PRO
Zone 4 Architects, LLC
6 years ago
Would also recommend lighter color pavers due to the heat absorbtion, although from your samples, they appear to be similar in color. Also think about the shape of the driveway and how a pattern will run, whether it will need edging courses, and make sure that you discuss these things with your installer when you are getting pricing so that there isn't a surprise when it is either not installed the way you intended or they ask for more money because the installation is more complicated than they assumed.
cesherman thanked Zone 4 Architects, LLC
PRO
Yardvaark
6 years ago
This sounds like a project where you are expecting the installer to do the design -- create the layout, grade and details -- and then you just pick the color and end up with a fantastic driveway. If that's the case, I would absolutely be worrying about the layout, grade and details first, as any of those things are capable of bringing as much or more remorse than the wrong color paver. Hopefully, you are improving the layout over the existing one.

I would consider heat absorption to be of relatively minor consequence in the big scheme of things. People will probably not walk on the driveway in their bare feet. But what will affect you every day, especially in summer is glare. If the color is too light, you may be barely able to stand it. If I were you, I'd pick a bright, sunny day and walk onto a large area of fresh "white" concrete, without sunglasses, and see what you think. Then find some dark paving and make a comparison. I find paving that is light to be quite annoying, such that I can't wait to get into the shade. (I'm in the Tampa area.)

Other than that, I find colors that lean orange, beige, yellow, etc. to be less likable than those leaning red or grey. But there are so many degrees of color that one must choose based on actual details and characteristics, not verbal descriptions. How are you viewing samples? Hopefully, you are laying them out and viewing from a distance with the house in the background so all can be appraised as a single scene. You could even photograph this so we could see it and offer an opinion. If you are looking at samples independent of the house or in artificial light, that is worthless. Keep in mind that there may be several nice colors .... no just one perfect color.

South Florida Driveway - Concrete Pavers

Comments (5)

K Laurence

Dig Doug's Designs

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South Florida Driveway - Concrete Pavers

Comments (5)

K Laurence

Dig Doug's Designs

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ceshermanOriginal Author

Zone 4 Architects, LLC

Yardvaark

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GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

cesherman
Original Author