Paving is an artful way to create smooth and walkable (or drivable) surfaces around your home or business. Many people opt for paving instead of poured concrete or asphalt because it has a touch of character, which is great if you’re trying to catch the eye!
Now, even though you would consider both sectors ‘paving’, residential vs commercial paving actually have some key differences. If you’re a homeowner considering having your driveway paved, or a storeowner figuring out the best approach for your outdoor pathway, these are differences you should be aware of.
Read on as we unpack the key differences between residential vs commercial paving, with a few tips from us, your team for commercial and residential concrete driveway services.
Difference 1: The depth of the paving structure.
The single biggest difference you’ll find between residential vs commercial paving is the depth of the structure that supports the pavers. This is because the finishing paving for a commercial spot needs to have much greater load-bearing capacity than that of your standard residential backyard.
As a rule, we ensure a solid base when installing pavers. Without the base, pavers will shift and sink over time, creating an uneven (or even unsafe) surface to walk or drive on.
That paver foundation is what’s at stake here, so let’s dig a little deeper (literally).
Residential layering.
Your backyard is unlikely to host any vehicles larger than the occasional light delivery van. As installers, we can predict that your pavers don’t need to be strong enough to handle the kind of loads most commercial carparks must be prepared for.
Since lighter vehicles create much less structural stress, the depth we excavate and the depth of the paver foundation we pour don’t need to be too deep. For instance, when we pave a typical residential driveway, we expect to create a compacted base layer of roughly 150mm of aggregate beneath the pavers to ensure they’re stable.
Commercial layering.
On the other hand, commercial pavers have to withstand much more potential stress. The types of vehicles that will cross a carpark, industrial yard, or delivery bay are much less predictable; from small delivery vans to heavy freight trucks, they are all on the table.
This is why the difference between residential vs commercial paving is so important. If we laid a residential-style driveway in a commercial zone, the sub-grade would likely fail within just a few months. That would create serious issues like rutting, potholes, and shifting pavers, all of which are dangerous.
So, for commercial paving, we generally dig much deeper to create a compacted sub-base that is up to twice that of residential paving. 300mm’s worth! We might also use additional reinforcement with geotextile stabilisation fabrics to distribute heavy loads more easily.
Difference 2: Which materials we use for the pavers.
While the sub-base is the biggest difference between residential and commercial paving, the materials we opt for also factor into this equation.
From a residential standpoint, homeowners usually want backyard or driveway paving that complements their home’s architectural style. Residential pavers are also thinner than commercial ones, around 60mm thick on the high end.
For commercial paving, it’s much more important that pavers be able to take heavy weights, so the way they look takes a backseat to their structural strength. Commercial interlocking pavers are much, much thicker, starting at a minimum of 80mm and scaling upward. These pavers are also manufactured with higher compressive strengths to resist the shearing force of a hefty truck turning its wheels while stationary.
Difference 3: How we handle drainage and stay compliant.
If you cover any patch of ground in paving, you’re immediately stopping the rain from reaching the soil and draining away. On a small scale, like your home’s backyard or driveway, that’s not too much of an issue. We can handle it by creating a small 1-2% slope on the pavers so that any runoff water is directed to the surrounding grass.
But as with most things in residential vs commercial paving, the scale of the issue when we take things commercial demands a much more comprehensive solution.
For a commercial carpark, delivery bay, or even footpath, we are covering a much larger surface area. During a downpour, poorly engineered pavers can create serious issues, like flooding, if they don’t properly account for drainage, which is why we do a lot more math on our commercial paving installations.
For instance, we calculate the peak rainfall the area might experience and incorporate catchment systems, such as iron-slot drains and oil-grit separators, to filter out nasties before they reach the stormwater drains. We also often include on-site detention basins to hold the water before releasing it into the city’s system at a predictable rate.
As you can see, when you hold residential vs commercial paving up to the light, three very important differences pop out. The depth of the paving structure, the materials we choose, and how we handle drainage all determine whether a residential or commercial project will succeed.
This is why it’s so vital to work with an experienced paving company here in Auckland: we know the regulatory landscape, understand the key differences, and deliver an excellent result every time. So, once we’re done, you can get on with life, pavers intact.
Talk to Asphalt & Civil about paving your home or business today.
We are Auckland’s most trusted concrete and asphalt specialists. Whether you’re paving a commercial carpark or putting a private sports court on your property, we tackle it all. Get in touch today to book your job.