A listener sent me a message asking about their driveway options: “We are thinking about redoing our cracked asphalt driveway, and there are so many things to think about. I want it to be more environmentally friendly, last a long time and be attractive and affordable…and it is on a slope, so far I’ve had no companies that can offer a solution. Could you do a show on driveways?”
I brought expert landscape architect Jake Krokowski on to explain the options. Jake Krokowski is a Landscape Architect and Residential Designer based in Greenville SC, and founded JWK DESIGN “to help families create their comfortable, modern homes”. He received his Bachelors degree in Landscape Architecture at Cornell University in 1999, followed by a Masters in Construction Management in 2003. Jake started his career in high-end residential work, but also spent years in resort planning and design. He then put his construction knowledge to use in rebuilding the World Trade Center and surrounding streetscapes following the 2001 attacks, a project he says he’s the most proud to have been involved in. But, a sometimes grueling schedule as a traveling construction manager for a hotel developer, coupled with the pending arrival of his first, son pushed him to return back to residential design. He started his firm in 2015, a move that he says “felt like coming home”.
Jake and I talked about:
- asphalt and concrete
- concrete pavers
- strip driveways
- cobblestone pavers
- permeable concrete
- gravel grid and grass grid driveways
- shell driveways
- and more.
Google any of these driveway options for some beautiful images.
Spoiler- a strip driveway with pavers is the final answer.
This image is actually cobblestone pavers rather than concrete pavers, and mowing grass on this slope would actually be a little tricky/dangerous.
Concrete pavers with grass.
Concrete strip with perennials. Wouldn’t work in my area because of the harsh winters, but what do you think?