Interlock or concrete? An honest comparison.

We build both, so this is not a sales page for one of them. Concrete is usually cheaper to install and gives a seamless look. Interlock costs more up front and is repairable, which in Ontario's freeze-thaw is worth more than it sounds. Here is the comparison in full.

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Based in

Whitchurch-Stouffville

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Before we start

Written scope

On site

Same crew throughout

Side by side

Where each one wins.

	Interlocking pavers	Poured / stamped concrete
Install cost	Higher	Lower
Ground movement	Flexes with it — units shift, not crack	Cracks, permanently
Repair	Lift, re-base, reset the affected area	Patch shows, or replace the slab
Utility access	Lift and relay over the trench	Cut out and re-pour
Look	Modular, wide colour and pattern range	Seamless; stamped mimics pavers
Colour over time	Through-body colour on quality units	Surface colour wears at traffic points
Maintenance	Re-sand joints every few years	Reseal periodically
Salt and de-icer	Tolerant; individual units replaceable	Surface scaling is a known risk
Base requirement	Identical — this is where both actually fail	Identical

The point most comparisons miss

Both fail for the same reason.

Every argument about pavers versus concrete is secondary to what is underneath. A concrete driveway on a shallow, poorly compacted base cracks. An interlocking driveway on the same base sinks. The surface choice is a preference; the base is the build.

Fig. 1 — Our driveway section, either surface

80 mm
Driveway-grade pavers

80 mm units under vehicles, 60 mm on walkways and patios. Using 60 mm on a driveway is the most common shortcut in the trade.
25 mm
HPB bedding course

Screeded high-performance bedding, kept to one inch. A thick sand bed is a rutting problem waiting to happen.
300 mm
Granular A base, compacted in lifts

12 inches under a driveway, 150 mm under walkways and patios — placed in 75–100 mm lifts and plate-compacted between each one. One deep dump of gravel compacts on the surface and stays loose underneath.
Fabric
Non-woven geotextile

Separates base from subgrade so your clear stone doesn't slowly migrate into the clay. Cheap on install day, impossible to add later.
Edges
Restraint spiked at 250–300 mm

Polymeric sand swept and set into the joints. Edges are where interlock starts to walk apart.

Whichever surface you choose, ask the same question: how deep is the base and in how many lifts is it compacted?

Choosing

Which one for your driveway.

Choose interlock if

You want it repairable in place
Utilities run under the driveway
You want pattern, border and colour options
You are staying long enough for repairability to matter

Choose concrete if

Install budget is the binding constraint
You want an uninterrupted surface
You like the stamped look and accept resealing
The area is decorative rather than heavy-use

Either way

300 mm compacted base under a driveway
Geotextile between base and subgrade
2% minimum slope away from the house
Drainage resolved before the surface goes on

Non-negotiable on both.

Questions

Interlock vs concrete, answered.

Which lasts longer, interlock or concrete?

Both last decades when built properly. The difference is how they age. Interlock moves with the ground and individual units can be lifted and reset; concrete is a single slab, so ground movement shows up as a crack that stays there. In freeze-thaw conditions that difference matters more than it would in a milder climate.

Which is cheaper?

Poured and stamped concrete usually costs less to install than a comparable interlock driveway. Over twenty years the arithmetic narrows, because a cracked slab is either lived with or replaced whole, whereas a settled section of interlock is lifted, re-based and reset for a fraction of the cost.

Does interlock get weeds between the joints?

Far less than it used to. Polymeric sand hardens in the joints and suppresses most growth, and the weeds people remember are usually seeds landing on top rather than growing up through. It does need topping up every few years, which is a small job.

What about stamped concrete — best of both?

It gives you the look of pavers in a single pour, and it is a genuinely good product well laid. But it is still one slab: it cracks, the colour is surface-applied and wears at high-traffic points, and it needs resealing. It is the right answer for some jobs and we build both.

Other things we build.

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