What kind of driveway material is appropriate for a midcentury home? Pavers? Concrete? Pea gravel? Asphalt? Reader Jane does not like the pinky-gray brick paving blocks added at some point as the driveway of her 1958 home, and welcomes our ideas and suggestions. I have some immediate reactions and thoughts… but I have not researched this topic… Readers, what do you think? Read on for Jane’s complete question and story…
Jane writes:
I searched your site for any info on driveways… but I think it is a topic you have yet to cover! My midcentury home has been unfortunately renovated with a pinky-grey interlocking brick. I [*h*-word edited by pam] interlocking brick. With a passion. Looking up ways to cover it seems to result in no answers – apparently, everyone on the internet wants to put this in, not cover it or take it out!
Wondering if you have any thoughts on midcentury driveways — I think concrete looks best… but maybe pea gravel would be a cheap way to cover up the interlock… I dunno. I was thinking to maybe post a pic of my Midcentury Don Mills (Ontario) house exterior and have some of your readers weigh in on cool midcentury driveway ideas.
Forgive the lawn, it’s Canadian winter, everything is dead at the moment.
I just got a quote from my family contractor, he said 8 to 10 THOUSAND dollars just to rip out the interlock and put in plain concrete. Ay caramba! Now I know I need some more options! I wonder what else would look good with this house.
Dumping pea gravel over the interlock is looking like the cheapest option… but can you roll giant recycling bins over that stuff? Will it get all over the road? So many questions!
Can you just pave over interlock? I’m guessing the experts will say no…
I also asked Jane for more info on what got her into this lovely home. She responded:
I have always had a fetish for Mid Century houses. Didn’t grow up in one, but I had friends who did. I swore one day when I could afford one, I’d buy one! We bought the house in 2010 after a very loooong search – they say no one leaves Don Mills, except in a hearse. People all moved in in the late 50s when it was built, then loved it so much, they never moved out. So housing stock is hard to come by. Don Mills is the only area in Toronto (within commuting distance to my job) that has these types of homes. First modern planned community in Canada. Lots of great MCM houses. And a great place to live.
Anyway, after 10 months of searching, we found this one. Unfortunately it had fallen prey to some ‘flippers’ who bought it in 2008, put in some cheap Home Depot/Ikea updates, then resold in 2010. I’m in the process of trying to undo all that they did, such as putting fake wood floor over perfectly good linoleum (arrrgh!), painting over wood panelling (gasp!), ripping out kitchen (silent weeping), etc.
I have pics of what the original house looked like in ’58 – but doing before and afters will wait for another time, when I am happy with my interior (but will I ever be happy?) haha.
By the way, the grey in the front was picked from that palette of Eichler colours you posted ages ago – Chelsea Grey. Thanks for that – they have been very useful. I’m picking some more from that set for my fence.
Cheers, Jane
Thanks, Jane, for all this information. This is a good one. Readers: Read more about historic midcentury Don Mills at Jane’s blog, Don Mills: Rediscovering the Suburban Dream.
And now: Let’s hear your ideas… I’m gonna hang back, read your ideas, think about ’em, and pop in later with an opinion and ideas…
Sarah V says
I’ve used exterior masonry stain in our house to cover our pink/purple brick fireplace (I’m with you on the pink bricks!). I blogged about it here: http://craftywaffles.blogspot.com/2012/02/if-you-dont-like-it-then-you-should-put.html. We are super happy with it and have gotten tons of compliments on it. I think a dark grey/charcoal would be a great look with your house’s grey siding and should cover the pink well.
You can get it in about 20 different colours and it’s only about $30/can at Home Depot/Rona. I’m not sure how long it would last in the Ontario Winters, but even if you need to re-stain every spring at $30 a pop it’s a low cosmetic investment until the driveway needs to be relplaced.
Terri says
I have a handyman working on the entrance to my livingroom. He said that the asphalt driveways are very hard on the hardwood entrances into the 1950’s homes.
Our subdivision was built with concrete and a few neighbors did asphalt in the 1970’s…those are now being replaced with the pebble finish – crazy expensive. (This is our next replacement…circa 1948 cracked concrete driveway on a hill!)
June Cahill says
Love TappanTrailerTammy’s thought process – so sad to rip out a totally functionally and virtually maintenance free driveway – so many wish for that! I’d try to do the LEAST possible – and save the $$ for re-making the inside!:)
Eartha Kitsch says
Wow, I think that the current driveway looks really pretty!
Our driveway is black asphalt with cracks and grass growing through so I’d love to have those bricks. I wouldn’t recommend gravel of any kind – it’s less than fun as it washes away if you’re on any kind of a slope and really is hard to get rolling bins up and down.
Jennifer says
We had to have our driveway redone a few years back, and I really really wish that we’d put in the “two strips with grass/gravel in between” option, instead of solid concrete, like was there when we bought the house. Next time it needs replacing, that’s what I intend on doing.
Chris says
This may be the case were you don’t love it but, the best decision is to live with it.
Thoughts on the alternatives:
Gravel (I have this on my 1951 house an hour south of you in London, ON) …every spring you have a mountain of gravel to get out of your lawn … picking and raking gravel out of the lawn is not a fun way to spend a Saturday. Also if you don’t hand shovel it but use a snow blower, every so often the blower will hit a stone at the right angle to fling it from the blade and well depending what it hits that could be ‘unfortunate’.
Concrete: Would be most authentic in my opinion, but with the constant freeze-thaw cycle in Southern Ontario from December thru March, you need a good, well drained base to keep from heaving badly, meaning the pavers need to go, the sand under them needs to go, proper drainage gravel needs added, then the 4-6″ concrete slab needs poured. It’ll look great, and last, but cost you 15 grand give or take.
Asphalt: Same problem as the concrete. With the cimate issues in Don Mills, you need a proper base or it will crack. You can not put it on top of the pavers as the pavers will be moving all winter lawn. Asphalt is black and absorbs more sunlight during the winter and therefore warms the ground under it and expands and contracts more. The material is much more flexible as long as it slides nicely over the surface its on, the pavers would lock to it and cause it to crack and delaminate. Asphalt repair is a major issue each spring in sw Ontario because of the freeze thaw cycles and layers not bonding well to each other (take a drive around town right now for examples).
Tar and chip on top will crack in the winter along the joints of the pavers like the asphalt and will also have stones work their way free resulting in loose gravel bringing you back to the issues of the gravel driveway option.
Pavers are one of the most common driveway materials in the GTA because they handle the freeze-thaw better than most other options. Concrete would be great, but the key is the proper base under it or its going to heave and crack so your left deciding if you’re willing to pay the cost to get it?
Adrian says
If you decide to take away the stone, I think I might know a few people who may be able to use it. You may not even need to do any labour. Please let me know if you do make a painful decision.
Larry says
I agree with Lynda Davis – I bet if you post on Craigslist that someone could have them for free if they come and remove them without totally tearing up the area around it, you would find someone that’s doing a patio project that would break their necks to find a few friends to help them come get them. Those things can be expensive and that person would jump on the chance to get them for free. And it would be a great reuse/recycle mission!
shelly says
My 1956 asphalt driveway is crumbling and needs to be replaced but I’m broke. Your driveway looks great and it’s in perfect condition. It’s similar to the old brick driveways but without the weeds growing through the holes and spaces. Be happy and you can spend your money on the interior.
lynda davis says
The links to the neighborhood pictures are beautiful Now I see the setting, asphalt is probably correct and wouldn’t cost as much as concrete. Perhaps, if the pavers are easy to lift, you could offer a Craigslist thing for people coming to get them free for the labor?
I had tar and chip before I did asphalt and it was hard to shovel snow and hard for kids to play on all those little rocks. We put asphalt over the tar and chip drive and it has been fine. To me, tar and chip looks like an appropriate drive for a colonial neighborhood or a country setting.