The Environmental Benefits of Permeable Pavers

When it’s pouring rain outside, there are few options for making the most out of your walkways and driveway. it’s often unpleasant to walk on the muddy ground, gravel can leave natural streaks where the rain flows, and traditional pavement turns into a rollercoaster for stormwater runoff—straight to the drain rather than your plants.

Permeable pavers, on the other hand, can enhance your curb appeal, create the perfect outdoor party space and lovely walkways for meandering through your garden, and help the environment by accommodating the natural water cycle. Here’s what you need to know about this environmentally-friendly pavement option.

What Are Permeable Pavers?

Permeable pavers are a bit like puzzle pieces, with plastic, concrete, asphalt, or clay bricks as the primary building material. Unlike interlocking puzzle pieces, however, permeable pavers have joints or materials made out of permeable materials like grass, gravel, crushed quartz, or some other aggregate between each brick, plastic connector, or other hardscape pieces. These aggregates create that infamous permeability that allows water to flow between the hardscape materials.

You can use permeable pavers on your driveway, front walkway, patio, or garden pathways. Depending on which aggregate and type of paver hardscape you choose, your design will either create an earthy, rustic, or natural aesthetic that also retains and redistributes rainwater in a way that keeps it all from streaming down the drain.

3 Environmentally-Friendly Paving Options

While researching your options for environmentally-friendly pavers, you might come across a few different names that all seem very similar: permeable interlocking concrete pavers, porous pavers, and pervious pavers.

That’s a lot of “p” words, so let’s delve into how each of these three permeable pavers works to keep the confusion at bay.’

1. Permeable Interlocking Concrete Pavers

Permeable interlocking concrete pavers have impermeable concrete bricks as the primary building material and a porous aggregate in between the bricks to let water flow through—rather than across—the surface. This type of paver is the most popular option for residential homes, as they look aesthetically appealing with their more seamless and thicker hardscape materials.

2. Porous Pavers

As the name suggests, porous pavers are porous. These pavers contain a grid-like structure made of concrete, plastic, rubber, or another impermeable material, depending on the kind of traffic traveling across the surface. The permeable pores often contain grass, gravel, or sand to allow water to flow through and become absorbed by the ground underneath and around the hardscape.

3. Pervious Pavers

Pervious pavers are the costliest type of permeable paver. Instead of using an aggregate in the joint system, this option uses porous asphalt or concrete as the aggregate and hardscape material. The material is durable but less compact than standard asphalt and concrete, enabling the water to filter through to the ground beneath the pavement.

How Do Permeable Pavers Work?

With all of that potential confusion aside, let’s get to the nitty-gritty on how permeable pavers work. Permeable pavers work much like your traditional concrete or asphalt pavement. Pavers are solid and durable, and they utilize the power of hardscape material to allow for vehicles and passersby to walk across safely.

At the same time, pavers don’t come with the same flooding risk and water waste as concrete, asphalt, or gravel. The hardscape mechanisms, combined with the permeable elements, allow the water to simply drain through the pavement into the ground below. This helps reduce flooding and evenly disperse water during heavy rainfall.

Benefits of Permeable Pavers

Permeable pavers are environmentally-friendly, but what else do these paver systems have to offer for you as a homeowner? Choosing a permeable paver for your home comes with many benefits:

Permeable pavers help remove pollutants from water. When a paving stone or permeable surface absorbs rain or surface water, the water seeps into the aggregate base underneath before entering the soil. This base serves as a filtration system that can remove or reduce pollutants.

Recycled materials play a big role in pavers’ construction. Homeowners who want to install driveway pavers and remove their existing concrete can recycle the old material and be good stewards of the environment. This recycled concrete is a key component in making new paving stones.

Permeable pavers help with stormwater management. By more evenly distributing rainwater across the ground, permeable pavers help prevent flooding and reduce runoff water.

Paving stones can have a natural, rustic appearance. Some homeowners elect to have their paving stones laid further apart so grass can grow between them. Homeowners can achieve this natural aesthetic in any space, including driveways, patios, and walkways.

Permeable pavers are extremely durable and perfect for high-traffic areas. Concrete or asphalt pavers are strong enough to hold a fire truck without breaking or cracking. Many pros even recommend them for parking lots as a Low Impact Development strategy (LID). More commercial developers are installing driveway pavers instead of laying solid concrete.

Permeable interlocking concrete pavers don’t crack like traditional concrete pavers. This pavement option is more durable than a concrete or asphalt pavement system, as the pores allow for airspace and natural temperature changes. In other words, you won’t need to repair your pavement as frequently.

If you live in a typhoon or flood-prone area, know that some paving materials fare better than others. If you would like to learn more about the best paving materials for withstanding floods and typhoon damage, contact Andorra Roof Tiles & Pavers today.

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