The maintenance and upkeep of a pathway or driveway is an important part of home maintenance. A well maintained path can not only look good, and complement your home and surroundings, but can also be an important safety feature around your house.

Both driveways and pathways can be found with a variety of surfaces, from a basic tarmac finish, to an intricate block-paved design. There are a range of different options you can choose. You can also mix and match to a certain extent; though it may be difficult to "blend" the two if the path and driveway connect to one another

Tarmac

Tarmac is a commonly used material on driveways, as it is relatively inexpensive, and is also flexible, requiring few special techniques. However, you pay for this in a lack of visual interest - tarmac is utilitarian, in that it does its job, without being concerned with its aesthetics. Tarmac is also fairly simple to lay, although it should only be done by a professional to prevent bubbling and poor laying, which could allow plant life to grow through if the tarmac is not dense enough.

Flagging is another common way of finishing your drive. It is a cheap option again, but is less versatile than tarmac as the size of the flags prevent them from being used on un-level ground. Flags also look less aesthetic, as they are usually a uniform size and shape. While available in a limited range of colours and textures, the range is not very large, so laying complementary colours is difficult. Flags may also be less convenient for use on a drive which isn't a simple shape, as they will need to be cut down to specific shapes and sizes. However, flagging is a cost effective way of laying a drive, and the drive itself should be long-lasting. It is crucial to ensure, should you lay the driveway or path yourself, that the flags are correctly bonded, in order to prevent weeds and vegetation from growing between the flags.

A common material for use on flat, level driveways; gravel looks good and is a versatile material, available in a variety of sizes and types. The most common gravel surfaces are 'self-binding' or 'hoggin', both of which bind together well, preventing gravel from being washed away or carried away in the soles of footwear. Once gravel is laid, it should be compacted using a compactor, which helps bind the gravel to give a stronger surface. Un-bound gravel can easily move around, causing ruts and an irregular surface

Sometimes, in order to prevent ruts from occurring, people will add two parallel lines of flags or slabs to a driveway, upon which a car may sit and drive upon. This prevents the car causing ruts or grooves in the gravel, allowing it to remain level.

Crazy paving is a common material for outdoor surfaces, though its use in driveways tends to be limited. It is a good looking surface, though can be expensive due to the increased labour required to accomplish a professional crazy-paved surface. However, the materials can be cheap as they are commonly available discounted as 'broken' stock. The biggest issue when laying crazy paving is the mortar. This is the weakest point of the paving, and thus should be done professionally to ensure your paving can last for years to come. Done cheaply, and the paving can fail very rapidly, necessitating costly repairs.

Block paving has become a very popular material for the surfacing of drives. It is versatile, and can look stunning if professionally laid. It is also reasonably versatile, and can be laid on sloped driveways as well as level ones. A large variety of patterns can be created, from simple alternating block colours, to complex designs involving numerous colours or block, and numerous shapes. Even a single-colour design can still look great, as block paving allows you to pattern the tiles - from a plain 'stretcher bond', to a more interesting 'herringbone' look. The majority of block paving used comes in cuboid-shaped blocks, most commonly in a red brick colour, though several are available. The blocks may be made from concrete or clay; concrete blocks tend to be grey, while clay blocks have a larger range of colours, mainly in the pink and red ranges.

More recently, it is also possible to block pave using 'cellular' blocks, which are a polygonal shape as opposed to a cuboid. The shapes are usually six-sides, allowing them to correlate so that they may be laid easily without having to leave huge gaps.