Ribbon Driveway With Paver Strips — Two Tracks, Grass Between
Two paver tracks to the garage with lawn between them, the way driveways were built before they became a slab of asphalt, with a base that takes a truck and a plow.
A ribbon driveway with paver strips is two paver tracks under the tires with grass or gravel between them, and the same idea runs as paver ribbons along the edges of an existing drive. JMB Builders builds them across the Twin Cities metro on a class 5 base compacted for vehicle loads, with edge restraint on both sides of each strip. Less impervious surface than a full drive, and it suits an older house. Priced per project.
- Priced per project after a site measure
- Each strip on its own class 5 base built for vehicles
- Edge restraint on both sides of every strip
- Quote from photos, reply within one business day
- Licensed MN contractor BC809005
Send photos and hear back within one business day — or book a free in-home estimate.
A ribbon driveway, sometimes called a Hollywood driveway, is two strips of paving where the tires go and grass, gravel or groundcover down the middle. It costs less to build than a full paver drive because there is a third less paving, it puts less hard surface on the lot, and on an older house or a long drive to a detached garage it looks like it belongs. The same strips run along the edges of an existing asphalt or concrete drive as paver ribbons, which widen the drive by a tire width on each side without tearing anything out.
The strips carry the full weight of the car, so they are built like a driveway, not a path. Each strip is dug below the topsoil, filled with class 5 compacted in thin lifts for vehicle loads, screeded with bedding sand and set with pavers in a pattern that locks under a turning tire. Rigid edge restraint is spiked into the base along both sides of each strip, because a strip that is only two or three feet wide has a lot of edge for its area and nothing but the restraint holding it.
The middle is where people get it wrong. Grass between the strips needs real topsoil and enough room for a mower deck; gravel needs a base under it and a border or it ends up in the lawn. We set the strip spacing to your vehicle's track and leave the middle in whatever you will actually maintain. Snow plowing is done with a blade raised a touch, the same as any paver drive.
What you supply
- The paver style and color, picked at a supply yard or from our samples; we order and deliver them
- What goes between the strips: lawn, gravel, or a groundcover you plant
- The vehicles that will use it, so the strips are spaced to the tire track
- A word with the city if the strips meet the street across the boulevard, which needs the city's right-of-way permit
What JMB supplies
- A site measure, layout staked to your vehicle's track, and the utility locate before we dig
- Excavation of each strip below the topsoil and haul-off
- Class 5 compacted in thin lifts to a depth built for vehicles, geotextile fabric where the soil calls for it
- Screeded bedding sand and pavers set in a locking pattern, with a soldier course on both edges
- Rigid edge restraint spiked into the base along both sides of each strip
- Polymeric sand swept in, compacted and set with water
- Topsoil and seed or sod between the strips, or a gravel middle on its own base with a border
- Photos of the finished drive in your job folder
How it is priced: per project
Quoted in writing from your photos, with a reply within one business day. What moves the number:
- Length of the drive and the width of each strip
- What goes between the strips: seed, sod, or gravel on a base with a border
- Paver ribbons added to an existing drive vs. a new ribbon drive from the garage to the street
- Soil and excavation: clay and old fill cost more to dig and haul than sand
- Pattern: a herringbone field locks better under tires and takes more cuts
- A wider apron at the garage door or at the street where the car turns
- The connection to the street across the boulevard under the city's right-of-way permit
Send a photo from the garage looking to the street and one from the street looking back, and tell us what you park on it. The quote is written after a site measure.
How long it takes
Paver ribbons along an existing drive: two to three days. A new ribbon driveway to a detached garage: three to five working days, plus seeding or sod between the strips.
How your project works
- 1
Send photos, get a written quote
Send three photos of the space and a sentence about what you want. You get a clear, itemized reply within one business day. Prefer a look in person? A free in-home estimate is always an option.
- 2
Pick materials, or bring your own
We help you choose profiles and materials that fit the house and the budget, or match your existing millwork exactly — or you buy the door or trim yourself and we install it. Everything is confirmed before the crew is scheduled.
- 3
Clean, precise installation
The crew shows up on time, protects floors and furniture, and installs with tight joints and consistent reveals. Photos of the finished work go in your job folder.
- 4
Walkthrough and invoice
We walk the finished work with you. If anything is not right, we fix it before we call the job done. Then one invoice, paid by check or direct deposit — no card fees, no payment links.
Situations and options
Ribbon drive to a detached garage
Two paver strips from the street to a garage at the back of the lot, lawn between them. Built to the track of the family car with a wider pad at the garage door where the car turns in.
Paver ribbons along an existing drive
A paver strip on one or both edges of an asphalt or concrete drive, each on its own base and held with edge restraint on the outside and set tight to the old drive on the inside. Widens the drive by a tire width without tearing it out.
Gravel between the strips
For a drive where grass will not survive, a gravel middle on a compacted base with a paver or steel border so the gravel stays between the strips. Easier to plow than lawn.
Second driveway strips for a boat or camper
Two strips off the main drive to a side-yard parking spot, so the trailer has a hard surface under its tires and the lawn stays in between.
Ribbon Driveway With Paver Strips — Two Tracks, Grass Between: questions, answered
Do paver strips hold up to a car and a snow plow?
Yes, when each strip is built on a driveway base. We dig each strip below the topsoil and compact class 5 in thin lifts to the depth a vehicle needs, then set the pavers in a locking pattern with rigid edge restraint spiked in along both sides. A plow runs over it with the blade raised a touch, the same as on any paver drive. A strip set on a few inches of sand, which is how the old ones were done, ruts in the first winter.
How far apart should the strips be?
Spaced to the track of the vehicle that will use the drive most, measured from the outside of one tire to the outside of the other, with the strips wide enough to catch the tires when the car is a little off line. We stake the strips to your car in the driveway before we dig, and make the pad at the garage door wider so the car can turn in without dropping a tire into the grass.
Can you add paver ribbons to my existing asphalt driveway?
Yes. A paver strip along one or both edges of an asphalt or concrete drive widens it by a tire width without tearing out the old drive. Each ribbon gets its own compacted base, edge restraint on the outside, and is set tight to the old edge on the inside. The old asphalt edge is cut straight first so the pavers meet it cleanly.
What should go between the two strips?
Grass if you will mow it; it needs real topsoil and a strip wide enough for a mower deck. Gravel if the spot is shaded or gets driven over, set on a base with a border so it stays put. A low groundcover like creeping thyme works in sun and needs little mowing. Grass looks best and is the most work; gravel plows easiest.
Does a ribbon driveway count as less impervious surface?
The paver strips are counted as hard surface by most cities and the lawn between is not, so a ribbon drive puts roughly a third less impervious surface on the lot than a full-width drive of the same length. That matters on lake lots and in cities with a hard-surface limit. If you are near the limit, the city's zoning office can tell you how they count it.
Do I need a permit for a ribbon driveway?
On your lot, usually not. Where the strips cross the boulevard to the street, the connection is in the city's right of way and needs the city's right-of-way permit, and some cities require that part to be concrete or asphalt. We ask you to check with the city before the site measure so the quote matches what they allow.
Recent JMB work, from our job log
59 installs recorded across 30 Twin Cities communities since Dec 2025. Window and door installs for homeowners, builders and dealers. Counts come straight from our job log; no customer names.
Get a written quote for this job
Three photos and a sentence is enough: a reply within one business day, or ask for a free in-home estimate. Or text the photos to 763-204-2099.
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Read morePage reviewed October 1, 2026 · JMB Builders LLC, MN license BC809005 · All pavers pages
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