Driveways

For as long as there are cars at homes, there will always be driveways. Driveways provide cars good pavement and ample entrance for homes. Essentially as well, modern driveways prevent traffic interruption and ease of passage for car owners.

Lately however, much has been regularized on driveway installation. In addition to traffic consideration, size, material to use, and driveway sensors have been standardized in making driveways. Although, it can be personalized to fit and coordinate with the existing exterior house design, it is better to know these standards, particularly, the use of the right building materials.

There are three common building materials for driveways. These are bricks, concrete and asphalt. Brick is a decorative choice of many, especially exterior designers. Bricks can come in different designs and this material can be easily tailored to design requirements of the owner. Bricks are really good to look at, giving the house owner and the car driver a feel of classiness and elegance. The setback though of bricks is that they easily settle.

Concrete and asphalt are competing when it comes to durability, cost and design. Many home owners go for asphalt driveway but others also insist on the superiority of concrete. A side-by-side comparison of asphalt and concrete driveways is made to see how well these materials really excel.

Concrete material costs significantly less than bricks. This material is also proven to be stronger than brick. While some claimed that concrete needs fewer repairs than asphalt and brick driveways. But even so, concrete will, in the long run, crack. In the case of cracks, concrete fillers are needed to be applied to prevent further fracture. When it comes to design, one can add tint to concrete driveway using a variety of colors that will compliment an existing house exterior design.

Asphalt is found out to be the least expensive of all the materials when it comes to building driveways. This petroleum-based material eventually softens after long use and exposure to the heat of the sun. This softening effect is visible in inclined driveways. Asphalt driveways are more frequently maintained due to this effect.

To weigh in which material is durable is a question of whether the temperature requirements of certain location meet that of a driveway material. Relevantly, homes that are situated in colder climates will have to employ asphalt as a driveway material. Concrete do have its share of disadvantages when used in colder places since frost drags can cause a concrete driveway to crack more. Concrete driveways are also subject to breaking because of high salt concentration. Salt is commonly utilized by road builders in cold-climate areas.

In warm places, the concrete material is the best option for builders and home owners. Since, asphalt is more affected by the heat of the sun, less maintenance will only be applied for concrete driveways. But wherever the setting may be, it is best to always have a good foundation for driveways. Make sure to have strong and stable foundation underneath the driveway pavement, whether asphalt or concrete and even bricks, for it to be less vulnerable to cracks especially in a slope type driveway.

In wet places however, especially in areas where humidity is constantly high, concrete driveways can cost more in maintenance. The concrete material take in water and this absorption will result in the softening of the concrete material and eventually to cracks and faults. In this case driveways sealers are used. The periodic treatment of sealers will depend on the home owner’s prerogative. In the case of asphalt driveways, it is good to have it sealed every 3 to 5 years. Check with driveway contractors to get the best performing driveway sealers.

Color is no longer a debate as modern asphalt driveways can now be tinted to a range of colors. Asphalt cost more maintenance but are less expensive to pave while concrete driveways last to more than 30 years if properly and regularly taken care of. Aside from the elegance that is brought by the choice of building material, it is always best to consider a driveway that provides enough space for the car to get through.