Driveway renovation, County Durham

Having had a new natural stone step built on the existing drive, they realised the current black and red chip asphalt surface wasn’t in keeping with the vision they had for their property. 

“As is so often the case,” says Val, “new work highlights other areas in need of attention. In this case, the improvements we’d made shone a spotlight on our rather ugly driveway.” 

Conveniently, Ron and Val’s landscaping contractors were also driveway specialists, so they decided to take the plunge and have the work done.

Looking for paving ideas, Val found the Tobermore website and began browsing through different products.

 “We liked the range of blocks on offer and the photos showing completed driveways. Having found a local Tobermore stockist, we went along to see sample blocks and speak to someone about our options. We soon agreed that the Tegula blocks were the perfect choice for our new drive.” 

With the blocks decided on, Val came back to Tobermore to begin the design process. 

 “Tobermore made this very simple to achieve,” she says. “We used the Paving Visualise Service. We uploaded a photo of our existing driveway and very soon I was speaking with one of Tobermore’s design team. They emailed back a series of images showing our new driveway superimposed. It was very impressive.” 

Val requested some tweaks to the design and added a perimeter border, featuring alternating rows of gold, charcoal and bracken blocks. 

By December 2020, the work was complete. 

“We are delighted with our new drive,” enthuses Val. “Our house is built with local sandstone, and the colour tones in the Tobermore block paving really complement this. With some newly planted pots and a garden bench, this is now a favourite spot for enjoying a morning coffee – it really feels like an extension of the garden.”