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Driveways and hardscaping.

Driveways, patios and walls only last as long as the base under them.

Driveways

Driveway surfaces

Every driveway needs some upkeep. Concrete is the strongest and needs the least, but no surface is maintenance-free, and all of them depend on a good base and the right slope.

Illustration of a long, freshly graded gravel driveway winding through a field between birch and maple trees in fall color, with grassy ditches on both sides and a white farmhouse soft in the distance.

Gravel

The most economical, and the natural fit for a long rural drive.

Upkeep: Regrading and fresh stone every few years, and plowing pushes some stone into the yard.

Asphalt

Smooth, quiet and plow friendly, and it flexes with frost.

Upkeep: Crack filling and sealcoating every few years.

Concrete

The strongest and longest lasting, with a clean look.

Upkeep: Sealing every few years helps it stand up to salt, and joints control cracking but don't stop it entirely.

Pavers

Individual units on a compacted base. The most decorative.

Upkeep: Topping up joint sand, pulling weeds and resetting the odd paver that settles.

Base and slope

The base is several inches of gravel compacted in layers, so the surface has something solid to sit on through frost and heavy trucks. The slope runs away from the garage and the house, usually at least 1/8 inch per foot, so water never sits on the surface or soaks in at the edges. Get those two right and any of these surfaces lasts longer and needs less upkeep.

Patios and walkways

Patios and walkways

Illustration of four patio samples on a lawn by a lake: pea stone inside steel edging, a broom-finished concrete slab, rectangular concrete pavers and fitted natural flagstone.

Pea stone or gravel

Economical, drains well and feels casual.

Concrete

Broom finished or stamped with a pattern. Durable and affordable.

Concrete pavers

Many shapes and colors, laid on sand and gravel.

Natural stone

Flagstone or bluestone. The most natural look and the most expensive.

Retaining walls

Retaining walls

Costs overlap here. With good fieldstone on hand, a boulder wall can come in close to an interlocking block wall, and taller walls of any kind may need an engineer.

Illustration of five short retaining walls along the same sloped lawn: stacked timbers, interlocking concrete block with a cutaway showing drainage gravel and a perforated drain pipe behind it, natural boulders, a mortared block wall faced with stone and capped, and a smooth poured concrete wall.

Timber

The most economical, with the shortest life.

Interlocking block

Concrete block made to stack without mortar, stepping back slightly each course. Clean, durable and the most common.

Boulders

Natural stone set by machine. The most natural look.

Concrete block

Mortared block on a footing, reinforced with steel and grout. Often faced with stone or stucco.

Poured concrete

Formed and poured on a footing with steel inside. The strongest choice for tall walls and walls that hold up a driveway or building.

Drainage behind every wall

Whatever the wall, it needs drainage stone and a drain pipe behind it. Water pressure, not soil, is what pushes most walls over.

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