For this reason, the use of interlocking pavers in driveways, front walkways, and entries has skyrocketed. Most new communities now incorporate the front yard pavers as standard while the backyard landscaping, pool and pavers may be standard or options. Many older communities facing costly HOA repairs to cracked concrete driveways have already instituted driveway replacement plans either replacing all of their driveways with pavers in phases or facilitating group discounts and/or incentives to encourage individual homeowners to replace the driveway and thus relieving the HOA of any liability for the cracked driveways in the future.
Developers have long known that paver streets sell homes and add value whether it be the high end custom home community that wants the highest value, a high density condo project that needs to look like a warm village rather than a cramped and sterile environment, or the multifamily community that doesn’t want its new project to feel cold and foreign but rather look like it has always been a part of the region forever. Municipalities have woven millions of square feet of interlocking paver streets into the urban fabric of Vancouver’s Olympic Village, North Bay Ontario’s downtown, Seattle’s downtown, Chicago’s Green Alleys, Hong Kong’s airport runways and the Los Angeles Zoo, just to name a few. Europe may have more pavers than asphalt in their streets.
The lifecycle of interlocking pavers is now longer than thirty years and may be pushing up to forty years. It is important to note that the quality of the installation and the knowledge of the industry technical specifications will impact the life span of the pavement. Any installer performing street work should not only have a contractor’s license for this specific trade, but must have an ICPI Commercial certification, and provide references from other jobs of similar size and scope that are a minimum of five years old. These jobs should be inspected. Since we know that pavers have more load-bearing than concrete, will not crack, do not need resealing, and come in endless colors, designs and architectural styles from contemporary to old world, you may never look at asphalt the same ever again.