Our top 7 tips for designing and building a concrete paver driveway: Tip ONE

Driveways make the first impression of your home. However, they are often overlooked!

Thinking about upgrading your old driveway with brick pavers? You can't just hire any old handyman for that; you want a reliable, insured and seasoned professional.

Over the next few weeks we will provide you with our top 7 tips to help you select the best contractor for your driveway project. Bonus? We'll include downloadable guide with the basics steps to follow!

Tip 1:

Before you do ANYTHING, consult with your HOA and city or township regarding building ordinances. Again, do this BEFORE you move forward with your new driveway project. 

Driveways aren't as simple as you might think. You will need to check with your city about their ordinances for driveways, as there are ever-changing mandates and guidelines regarding stormwater runoff, paver choices, and more.

Typically, properties have a maximum area allowed for impermeable surfaces like driveways. Fortunately, if you're not planning on expanding your new driveway's square footage or orginal footprint it is unlikely that your HOA or city/township will deny your plans. However, you may still be required to file a permit for your driveway project.

However, over the years we have seen that increasing driveway areas may not be permitted unless you use a permeable paver option. If you are not familiar with various paving materials what you need to know is that traditional driveway pavers are often considered as impervious areas.

If your municipality mandates that you use permeable pavers, you will want to work with a contractor to select the right permeable pavers.  

Seriously. Don't mess with those HOA rules. Ask for permission or pay the price!

Finally, if you live in a neighborhood with a homeowners association (HOA), you DEFINITELY want to check with the board to find out about any restrictions or guidelines regarding paver styles, colors and/or materials. This is an important step that should occur before you start the construction process.

Knowing all of these factors is crucial to the design and installation of your project, and it's not something you want a handyman to tackle. We're here to help you figure it out- we've done this before!

If even step one of designing or building your new paver driveway seems overwhelming don't worry—American Paving Design can handle every step of the process so you can relax and enjoy the results. Click here to call or contact us online.