I've had permeable paving for about five years now, and honestly, upkeep hasn't been much worse than regular concrete. Maybe I've been lucky, but aside from occasional sweeping and dealing with weeds now and then, it's been pretty low-key. Rain gardens though...that's another story.
Interesting to hear your experience—I've been hesitant about permeable paving myself, mostly because I've heard horror stories about weeds and clogging. Sounds like you've had a smoother ride, though. Rain gardens can definitely be tricky...my neighbor tried one, and it turned into a mosquito paradise. Have you considered a dry creek bed instead? Cheaper, pretty low maintenance, and from what I've seen, they handle runoff surprisingly well. Just throwing another option out there.
Dry creek beds are solid. Did one on a flip last year after a rain garden turned into a swampy mess—mosquitoes everywhere, neighbors weren't thrilled. Tore it out, put in a dry creek bed with some river rock and native grasses along the edges. Looked good, handled runoff great, and zero mosquito issues.
Permeable paving can work, but yeah, weeds and clogging are real headaches if you don't stay on top of maintenance. Had one driveway that looked awesome at first, but after a year or two it was constant upkeep. Ended up sealing it off and going traditional paving instead.
If you're dealing with flooding regularly, I'd lean toward simpler solutions like the dry creek bed or even just grading the yard properly. Less hassle long-term.
Dry creek beds definitely have their advantages, especially in terms of low maintenance and aesthetics. That said, I've also seen good results with French drains if installed properly—though admittedly, they're not always as visually appealing. Proper grading is essential either way; you'd be surprised how many flooding issues come down to basic slope corrections. Sometimes the simplest solutions really do save you the biggest headaches down the road...
Good points all around. A couple years back, I worked on a remodel in an area notorious for flooding, and we initially went with a French drain. It did the job, but honestly, the homeowners weren't thrilled with how it looked. We ended up blending in a dry creek bed later on—added some native plants and river rocks—and it completely transformed the space visually. Sometimes combining methods creatively can give you both function and aesthetics...just takes a bit of experimenting.
