Hardscaping & Masonry · Gloucester, MA
Paver driveway installation on the North Shore
George Hardscaping has installed paver driveways for North Shore homes since 2005. We take out the old surface, build the base in compacted layers and set concrete pavers, paving brick or stone in the pattern you choose. Here is how a driveway is built and what to settle before the first visit.
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Pavers or Asphalt
What a North Shore winter does to a driveway
A driveway here freezes, thaws, takes plow blades and gets salted. Asphalt is one solid sheet, so when the ground moves it cracks. Pavers are small units locked together, so they can shift a little with frost heave, roots and settling and stay in one piece. Their joints and textured faces also give better grip than smooth asphalt in rain and on slush.
Asphalt can cost less on day one, but it needs sealing and crack repair. A damaged paver is lifted out and replaced on its own. The same goes for utility work: if a line under the drive ever needs digging, the pavers are taken up and reinstalled, and the driveway looks as it did before. A Salem client told us after the first winter, "We used to have an ice rink every time it snowed and then warmed up. With our new paver driveway, the meltwater drains away instead of creating dangerous ice patches."
Road salt is the other test. ICPI Tech Spec 2 sets a freeze-thaw standard for concrete pavers of no more than 500 g/m2 lost after 50 cycles in a 3 percent salt solution. CMHA guidance says concrete pavers can resist deicing salts better than conventional paving, and warns that mortared joints break down under traffic, frost and salt. That is why we lay a driveway with sand-filled joints.
- Small units move with frost instead of cracking
- Textured faces and joints grip in rain and slush
- One damaged paver is replaced, not the whole drive
- Pavers lift out for pipe or cable work, then go back
- Concrete, brick and stone in many colors and patterns
Materials
Which paver for which driveway
The surface you pick sets the look, the upkeep and the budget. The base underneath matters more than any of it.
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01
Concrete pavers
The workhorse for driveways. They come in many shapes, colors and textures, and many mimic pricier stone. They take extreme weather and heavy loads. See Belgard paver colors for the palette.
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Paving brick
Choose it for subtle color tones and a classic look. It is easy to maintain and suits older North Shore houses.
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Stone pavers
Natural stone costs more and looks like nothing else. It suits a short drive or a forecourt where the look carries the whole entrance.
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Permeable pavers
Wide joints let rain soak into the ground instead of running to the street. Consider them on a wet lot, or where the town limits hard surface. Our permeable driveway guide compares the options.
The Build
How we build a paver driveway, in order
A driveway lasts or fails on the layers you never see. This is the order we work in.
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01
Plan the drainage and the layout
We draw the layout first, with water, material and pattern settled. Utilities get marked (always call 811) and we secure the permits.
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Dig out and test the soil
Existing surfaces come out. In New England's freeze-thaw climate that typically means digging 12 to 15 inches to fit a deep base. We test how the soil drains before building on it.
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Fabric and crushed stone
Geotextile fabric keeps soil and stone from mixing. The crushed stone base goes in 3-inch layers, each compacted before the next. ICPI Tech Spec 2 sets 6 inches as the minimum base for a residential driveway.
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Edge restraints and sand
Edge restraints go in to stop the pavers creeping outward. A screeded 1-inch layer of coarse, washed sand is the bed they sit on.
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Pavers and joints
Each paver is placed in your pattern. Fine joint sand or polymeric sand locks them together, and the surface is swept clean.
Your Site
What on your lot changes the plan
Two driveways on one street can need very different work. These are the points we go over at the first visit.
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The slope
A gentle grade needs careful planning. A steep one may need terracing with retaining walls or another surface. We have worked slopes from Gloucester to Boxford, and we listen before suggesting an approach.
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Salt air and rolling ground
Coastal lots in towns like Gloucester take ocean wind and salt spray. Inland, in places like Boxford, rolling ground makes drainage the main job.
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Where the water goes
Walk the lot in a heavy rain. Pooling at the garage, runoff to the street or a wet spring all change the base and the grade.
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What parks on it
Count the cars, and say if trucks, trailers or deliveries use the drive. Heavier loads and a turnaround change the layout.
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What is there now
Old asphalt, gravel or bare ground each mean different digging. A paver driveway often ties in with a front walk and entry steps, so plan them together.
Old driveway coming out or the ground uneven?
George Hardscaping also offers excavation and land clearing, so digging out and preparing the ground can be part of the same job.
Permits and Upkeep
Permits, winter care and keeping the drive looking new
Permits. Most towns in Essex County require a permit for a new driveway or a major change to an existing one. Rules usually cover the width at the street, setbacks from the property line, drainage so runoff does not reach the road, and the curb cut where the drive meets it. We handle the permitting process for our clients in all Essex County communities. A homeowners association may have its own rules on paver color and pattern, and some towns limit hard surface, which can point you to permeable pavers. Call 811 before anyone digs; the hardscaping page explains how that works.
Plowing and snowblowing. Set a snowblower a little high so it does not scrape the surface. A plow should have a rubber or polyurethane edge, not metal, with the blade about 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the pavers, run along the pattern and not against it. A Gloucester client told us, "I've been snow-blowing my paver driveway for eight winters now, and it still looks great."
Repairs and spares. If a section sinks or a paver is damaged, the pavers are lifted, the base and bedding sand are fixed and the pavers go back with fresh joint sand. We suggest keeping at least 5 percent extra pavers from the original job so a repair matches. An Ipswich homeowner told us their paver driveway, installed fifteen years earlier, "still looks as beautiful as the day it was completed."
George Hardscaping has a 4.9 rating from 36 Google ratings and has worked across the North Shore since 2005, more than 20 years. We have also blended old and new pavers on a Danvers patio and a Rockport one.
74 Essex Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930From the Blog
Driveway guides
Questions
Paver driveway questions
How is a paver driveway built?
It is built in layers: the old surface comes out, the soil is tested, geotextile fabric and a compacted crushed stone base go in, then edge restraints, a 1-inch sand bed, the pavers and joint sand. We typically dig 12 to 15 inches in New England's freeze-thaw climate and compact the stone in 3-inch layers.
Do I need a permit for a paver driveway in Essex County?
Most towns in Essex County require a permit for a new driveway or a major change to an existing one. Rules cover width at the street, setbacks, drainage and curb cuts, and some towns limit hard surface. We handle the permitting process for our clients, and a homeowners association may have its own rules on color and pattern.
Can road salt damage pavers?
Concrete pavers are made to stand up to salt, but how you de-ice still matters. CMHA says concrete pavers can resist deicing salts better than conventional paving, and the ICPI freeze-thaw standard allows no more than 500 g/m2 lost after 50 cycles in a salt solution.
Can I plow or snowblow a paver driveway?
Yes, with a little care. Use a plow with a rubber or polyurethane edge held about 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the surface and run it along the paver pattern. Set a snowblower slightly high so it does not catch a raised paver, and clear snow before it packs into ice.
What affects the cost of a paver driveway?
Size, what has to come out first, how deep the dig and base need to be, slope and drainage, the edge work, and the material and pattern you pick. Stone costs more than concrete pavers. We give an estimate after seeing your site, so call (781) 222-0805 or use the form below.
Will pavers work on a sloped or coastal driveway?
Often yes, but the slope and the water decide it. A gentle grade needs careful planning, a steep one may call for terracing with retaining walls or a different surface, and coastal lots add wind and salt spray. We walk the lot first and talk through the options, including permeable pavers.
Request a Driveway Estimate