Pavers vs. Epoxy
 

If you were starting with the blank concrete driveway, and you wanted to do something more esthetically pleasing, would you go with pavers, or epoxy?
What are the relative pros and cons of each approach?

Which is more expensive to install?

What is the frequency and cost of maintenance ?

Can you give me an idea of cost of each for installing, per square foot (if that's how they charge)?

Thanks

I have a couple of neighbors that removed pavers due to the constant maintenance, cracking, re-sanding, sealing, etc. Epoxy can be VERY slippery when wet if a friction additive (like shark grip or equal) is not added to the final coat. There were some recent complaints about the clear overcoat pealing in garage floors near the front of the floor, not sure if this was due to water on sunlight, but needs to be considered for a driveway. We had our drive way painted (xylene based paint) around 5 - 6 years ago, almost NO maintenance. It is now due for a sealing coat. Original cost was around $2 per square foot, I did get a quote for sealing that was less than $.50 per square foot.
You need to do your own due diligence on pavers, there have been reports of thin pavers cracking a lot, installations that caused water to either enter or not drain correctly from the garage, incorrectly glued edge pavers breaking free and allowing other to move.
There are several other treatments for driveways, several neighbors had a beautiful concrete overcoat design applied, sorry I do not remember the name, but I know they have almost a year waiting list.
Hope this helps.

I have had pavers for the last 10 years. Beautiful to look at, but they do need some maintenance. I have mine power washed and sealed every 4 years or so. I have had to replace only 4 in 10 year. Two broke because a cement truck back onto my driveway while a construction project was going on next door. Your decision.

I just pressure washed, resanded, and resealed my pavers after 3 years. It is actually a pretty easy DIY job if you are so inclined.

If your neighbors had problems with pavers cracking then they probably used the thin pavers, which can be problematic for driveways. The thick pavers are pretty much bulletproof. Pressure washing, resanding, and resealing every 3-4 years is typical.

We waited 7 years before we did anything to our driveway and then went with Paradise Pavers after driving around some of the older villages and looking at the various ways to finish a driveway. Painted driveways seemed very faded and old looking and how to repaint without stripping original design is a mess and expensive. We just had our driveway cleaned and sanded and resealed after 3 years and other than that no maintenance. We would have loved to go with Florida Deck & Concrete but too expensive.

It's probably a personal preference. Pavers would be more expensive and do require more maintenance We have them and our installer recommended we do not use the thin ones so ours are I would "guess" 2-1/2" thick. We have had no problems with them going on 3 years and I am about to power wash, sand, and seal them myself and if anyone has any tips on doing that please send me a PM.

Has anyone had the floor in their garage polished? Similar finish you see in big box stores.

We have sculpted concrete for 4 years now which has given us a river rock look. The original company is gone but other companies are in the area. I pressure washed and resealed it myself about 6 months ago - no big deal. Only issue we have is a small area at the end of the driveway where a heavy truck must have come up on to the driveway. Looking into how I fix that small spot.

Our neighbors just had their epoxy driveway just powder washed and resealed.

Asked the contractor for a price. They could not give it to me as they only work with people they have finished the driveway for in the past as otherwise they would not know if it was enamel or latex and even years later could not mix the two.

They say others would do it but if they use the wrong type you will be very sorry with the result.

The folks we purchased the house from have no idea who originally did it and of course no idea as to the finish.

I have had both and given a choice I would just keep bare concrete.

But between the two I would take epoxy. It is cheaper and easier to maintain.

Why would you prefer to keep the concrete? Less hassle?

Can you give me an idea of how much cheaper epoxy is?
I actually like the look of the epoxy over the pavers, I am surprised to hear it's less expensive.
I have found it slippery when wet though. I'd hate to avoid the northern ice only to come to TV and slip on the wet epoxy.

Non slip surface was the reason we put pavers on the lanai floor and the driveway. Safety was our number one concern. In our research, pavers was the most non slip surface. We used the thin pavers for the lanai and the thick pavers on the driveway. The look of the pavers is richer (to me) than any other application that I have seen. Yes, there is maintenance but it is worth it to hubby and me.

I’m with you - just concrete for me. After all, it’s a driveway and a garage floor. :clap2:

. I bought pre-owned so I can't answer the price question. I can tell you that I did my own sealing with a solvent based sealer, as it has more solids than water based sealers. I bought 10 gallons but needed about 7. I added glass beads for texture. All in with sand this cost about 600.00. This for a drive with full length cart drive and some landscaping paths.

Others have reported 1,200.00 for someone else to do sealing with a standard two car drive and no glass texture beads.

To your first question, why plain concrete? It requires zero maintenance. The beauty of my home is not judged by the driveway. It does not improve the quality of my home experience. For less money I can get magic stairs (electric attic stairs). Arguably just as un-sexy as a driveway but it improves the usability of my storage space. You could easily choose something unique to you that would be a better, sexier, home upgrade.

Where did you purchase the sealer?

I would never put in pavers. Weeds grow in-between them and they can get knocked out of place or become uneven and be a tripping hazard. In the spirit of low maintenance, skip the pavers.

And let's face it, a bare concrete driveway is a lot easier to shovel in the winter.

We have had both ...
2 car plus golf cart garage- thick pavers cost $9000, were beautiful but required more upkeep.
Painted was very nice also. Cost $1800 and very little maintenance required.

I prefer bare concrete. But, I don't think epoxy is allowed to be used on the driveway, or anywhere outside. It can only be used in the garage. They apply a concrete stain to the driveway, which needs to be sealed periodically.

You really need to get out more often.

I would be surprised if I didn't find an epoxy drive on the street that you live on. Perhaps it is rare in a patio villa neighborhood but it is common everywhere else.

I appreciate all of this information, and the personal opinions as well. But just to further illustrate my ignorance on the subject, when one refers to "painting" a driveway, is this a different treatment than epoxy?

Also, I gather from one of the posts, that when it comes to epoxy, there is a "latex" option vs. an "enamel" option? Is this correct?

You are correct that they make an epoxy product that is appropriate for concrete driveways. But, most of the coated driveways I have seen in The Villages are covered with a concrete stain product, with a different epoxy product used in the garage. I understand that the epoxy used in the garage offers better protection against oil and gasoline spills. None of the driveways on my street have an epoxy coating.

pavers
 

Definitely use pavers...do not use paradise pavers..use jamie...do not use the thin pavers.remove concrete and put thick pavers down....

We were told by a couple companies, that you can't use epoxy on outside concrete because the sun (uv rays) will yellow the color. Epoxy is used in the garage. Water based or solvent based paint is used for outside cement.

One comment I would make is not to use Pooters if you choose pavers. This is from personal experience with that company.

Our first Florida home (20 years ago) we had our driveway stained/painted mainly because everybody on the street was doing it. Sold after 3 years and had it sealed every year. We drove by the house three or four years later and it was fading badly. My guess is they did nothing to it. I didn’t follow the “herd” after that because I didn’t see the utility of painting the driveway. Pavers no way as I don’t want the aggravation. I pressure wash once a year the house and driveway. But it’s a personal matter so do what makes you happy.

Stay away from Stone Creations of Ocala. The coating they applied chipped and came off.

Our neighborhood is 18 years old. Most of the pavers that were installed 10 years or more ago have cracks and broken pieces. Had my driveway painted 17 years ago and still looks great although a little faded. New fad is the stone look which neighbors are using to replace their pavers.

Our driveway is bare naked and we have a nice surface in The Garage and on the front porch and on the lanai and the birdcage.

I am of the belief that sometimes less is more. On the other hand I have seen some lovely painted driveways. AND I have seen some peeling cracking butt ugly ones too.

The best driveways I've seen were done by RAM Design. They're expensive but beautiful. Every driveway is a unique work of art and holds up well. Their work is instantly recognizable.

That's your personal opinion. God created Roundup for weeds, once a month it takes less than 5 minutes to spray the few weeds that come up, the pavers will only become uneven if the base is not prepared correctly, ours is still perfect 3 years after installation and if they did rise it's a 10 minute fix to level one. I don't mind the maintenance to have the beauty of a paver driveway, if done right they really add to the curb appeal of a home, we also added a small matching courtyard and matching hardscape so that it all blends in nicely.

Pavers
 

We have had thin pavers for 15 years and yes they need a lot of maintenance to look good. Also the driveway must be perfectly flat to avoid cracking. If using thick pavers, I don't know how they transition into the garage since with the thin pavers we already have over a 1/2 inch bump. I would go with epoxy coating if I were to do it over again. There are some very nice treatments in my neighborhood and they seem to be holding up very well with a top dressing every three or four years. Our pavers fade and need a cleaning and resealing every two years to look real good. Cost is over $400.

We spent over 4 months driving around in our golf cart and car looking at and taking pictures of well over 100 driveways to determine what was the best;we didn't find anything that we were happy with as all required constant maintenance, paint faded, pavers broke & weeds coming up through pavers, design ones chipped & you can't touch up;we stuck with good old Concrete;already had a heavy duty pressure washer so all I have to do is clean every 2 yrs;As a DIY, I look for less work, not more;We watch our neighbors driveways fade, blocked off for 3 days to seal or work on pavers....

Epoxy is less expensive to install and maintain.

They cut out a large section of concrete in front of the garage to bring them level with the floor gradually tapering them into the lower driveway sections. You should not have had a 1/2" bump at your garage with the thinner pavers, they were not installed correctly

The installers cut out about 6 feet of concrete to create a smooth transition to the garage. The first row of pavers on the garage floor "turndown" are thin pavers and then the rest of the driveway are thick pavers. The first row of thin pavers are under the garage door and gives a nice, finished look. I just resanded and resealed my pavers for $240.

Who do you use for PW and sealing your driveway?

I am not sure who your post was directed at. If it was me, I did the work myself.

Pavers are fine as long as you use the thick pavers. Most companies try and get away with the thin pavers as they crack. Use the full thickness pavers. The pavers do look much better and cost about 6-7 bucks a square ft. Apoxy is great if your driveway is in great condition ie: no cracks that cost about 2.50 to 3 bucks a square ft. Same maintenance is involved RE-sealing every 4-5 years