Choosing the right driveway material for UK weather conditions

A fantastic driveway adds the finishing touch to your home or business premises.

It creates a breath-taking first impression, unites your design aesthetic and can even add around 5% to the value of your property.

There are plenty of driveway surfacing options to consider when planning a driveway, such as asphalt, concrete, block paving, gravel and resin-based surfaces.

But each material has different levels of performance in the various UK weather conditions.

So depending on where you live, certain materials can last longer or require less maintenance than others.

To help you make the right choice for where you live, let’s take a look at how different UK weather conditions can affect your driveway – as well as the best and worst materials for each.

How does hot weather affect driveways?

The UK isn’t typically known for being a hot country.

But during the summer heatwave of 2022, temperatures reached a record high of 40.3oC! So it’s clear that high temperatures are very possible.

And even under normal summer conditions, your driveway can still get incredibly hot.

For example, if your driveway has no shade or protection from prolonged sun exposure, 20oC ambient temperatures can heat a dark-coloured driveway up to over 50oC!

As the temperature increases, it causes objects to expand. The same is true of your driveway.

These expansions can cause your driveway to crack, creating potholes that can damage cars or trip people up.

Similarly, intense heat can make certain materials go soft.

If you park a heavy vehicle on your driveway, especially for long periods of time, the weight can deform the hot driveway surface and cause permanent damage.

Lastly, even if your driveway surfacing material resists heat, extensive sun exposure can cause the colour to fade.

This can ruin the aesthetic appeal of your driveway and make your entire property seem less inviting.

Best driveway materials for hot weather

• Concrete: This material is well known for its high heat resistance. It doesn’t get too hot even under intense summer sun. And since concrete driveways are less prone to expansion and shrinking in extreme temperatures, they’re less likely to crack.
• Resin: Both resin-bound and resin-bonded driveway surfaces can withstand incredibly high temperatures, allowing them to maintain their stability and durability. While prolonged sun exposure can cause the colour of standard resin to fade prematurely, you can request UV-stable resin for extra protection.

Worst driveway materials for hot weather

• Tarmac: At high temperatures, tarmac driveways can turn soft and start to crumble, especially under the weight of heavy vehicles. And unless it’s protected from UV rays, tarmac tends to turn grey fairly quickly in the sun. That said, there are a few ways that you can protect a tarmac driveway from hot weather.

How does cold weather affect driveways?

Just as hot weather causes surfaces to expand, cold weather causes them to contract.

This can have a similar effect in causing cracks and surface damage.

But shrinkage isn’t the only risk of cold weather.

If you experience heavy snowfall, you’ll need to remove it from your driveway.

However, careless shovelling can cause additional damage to certain driveway surfacing materials.

While you could use salt, grit or deicing chemicals to melt snow and ice instead, these can also cause damage.

The further north you travel in the UK, the greater the risk of cold, ice and heavy snowfall.

So if you live towards the north, choosing a cold-resistant driveway surfacing material can help your driveway last much longer.

Best driveway materials for cold weather

• Tarmac: Although tarmac’s flexibility can be a problem in hot weather, it makes this material very resilient to the cold. Tarmac can expand and contract without cracking, making it a great choice in freezing temperatures.
• Resin: Just as resin-based surfaces perform well in heat, they do the same in cold weather. Resin is very resistant to freeze-thaw cycles, making it extremely hardwearing. But de-icing salts and chemicals can damage resin. So be sure to use sand or non-corrosive de-icer specifically designed for resin surfaces instead.

Worst driveway materials for cold weather

• Concrete: Concrete is very susceptible to frost heave, and is easily damaged by salt, grit and de-icer. This can lead to cracks that must be repaired, making it a poor choice in the cold.
• Block paving: When snow and ice make their way into the gaps between block paving slabs, they can cause significant wear. In snowy weather, shovel the snow to one side and spread sand or salt to melt the snow and ice away.

How does rain affect driveways?

The UK is famous for wet weather.

In fact, in 2023 there were over 170 days with 1mm or more of rainfall!

As such, picking a driveway surfacing material that performs well under heavy rain is a good idea.

When rain pools on the surface of your driveway, it makes it more slippery.

This can be a hazard for vehicles and foot traffic.

Worse still, rain can erode the sand and joining material between certain types of surfacing.

And it can encourage the growth of weeds that push up from below, creating and expanding cracks.

But the biggest problem is that if rain penetrates your driveway without fully draining, it can cause the surface to weaken.

This is doubly true if the rain is followed by cold weather, as the remaining water can freeze and break your driveway apart.

As an experienced and professional driveway surfacing contractor, Hazell & Jefferies Ltd can install effective drainage systems when laying your driveway. So you can protect against water damage no matter which material you choose.

Best driveway materials for wet weather

• Aggregates: Loose driveway surfacing materials like gravel, shingle and chippings have excellent drainage properties. They prevent water from pooling on the surface and reduce the risk of erosion. And while weeds can still grow beneath aggregate surfaces, they won’t cause cracks.
• Resin-bound surfacing: Resin-bound surfacing is naturally permeable, allowing water to seep through and go back into the ground. These driveways are also fully compliant with Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), making them a popular choice for wet areas. But be aware that the similarly named resin-bonded surfaces aren’t permeable. So they need a drainage system added during laying.

Worst driveway materials for wet weather

• Concrete: While small water particles filter through concrete, it’s not highly porous. So water tends to pool on traditional concrete surfaces without an effective drainage system. However, there’s a specialised type of permeable concrete that allows water to pass through naturally, solving this issue.
• Block paving: Similar to concrete, while special permeable block paving allows for some water absorption, traditional block paving doesn’t. Heavy rainfall can also wash away the sand packed between the slabs, causing them to come loose. When this happens, the gaps will need to be refilled and repaired.

How does windy weather affect driveways?

You might not think that wind could harm a durable driveway surface.

While this is partly true, strong winds can drag branches and other debris across the surface, which can cause damage.

 Similarly, materials that aren’t tightly sealed could blow away.

Mountainous areas and coasts tend to be much windier than low-lying inland areas.

So if you live towards the north or along the edges of the UK, you might need to consider how strong winds could affect your driveway.

Best driveway materials for windy weather

• Block paving: This driveway surfacing material is extremely durable, and can resist abrasive wear caused by flying debris. In fact, a well-maintained block paving driveway can last around 20-25 years on average.
• Concrete: With an average lifespan of 25-30 years, the durability and wear resistance of concrete surpasses even that of block paving.

Worst driveway materials for windy weather

• Aggregates: Particularly powerful winds can displace gravel and other loose driveway materials, creating an uneven surface. You might also lose a lot of aggregate over time. So you’ll need to buy more to refill your driveway.
• Asphalt: Asphalt isn’t as hardwearing as other driveway materials. So the abrasive wear of blown debris can cause it to wear out more quickly.

What’s the best driveway material for UK weather conditions?

While the UK experiences fairly changeable weather conditions, they don’t tend to be particularly extreme.

Even in Europe, our country isn’t as hot as Spain or as cold as Germany. And we’re not as wet as Switzerland or as windy as the Netherlands, either.

In other words, you can make any driveway materials work no matter where you live in the UK – provided you partner with a knowledgeable and established driveway surfacing contractor.

The driveway experts at Hazell & Jefferies Ltd have spent more than 50 years laying high-quality driveways for homeowners and businesses across the country.

If you choose a non-permeable driveway surfacing material, we also install an effective drainage system to protect against heavy rainfall. We can seal your driveway to protect it against extreme temperatures, strong winds and UV damage too.

And if your surface ever gets damaged, we can return to perform fast, long-lasting driveway repairs that restore it to top condition.

Talk to us about your weatherproof driveway

From our headquarters in Oxford and Reading, we deliver weather-resistant driveways throughout Didcot, Abingdon, Wallingford, Henley-on-Thames and far beyond.

Contact us today for your free quote, and get a high-quality driveway that you can enjoy for years to come – whatever the weather!