On television, we frequently hear home renovation gurus discuss improving “curb appeal,” which refers to how your property appears to approaching visitors or passers-by. You want to make sure that your landscaping is neat and appealing, that your siding isn’t faded, and that you don’t have a lot of children’s toys or old lawn equipment hanging around, among other things.
You may not give much thought to the paved or stone surface that connects your home to the actual curb and beyond, but if it’s in bad shape or built of inferior materials, it’s quietly undoing all of your hard work and damaging the curb appeal of your property. Having a competent asphalt contractor pave or resurface your driveway should be at the top of your home renovation to-do list, especially if you plan to sell your property soon.
DRIVEWAY MATERIALS YOU MAY HAVE NOW
While you may have an asphalt driveway presently, especially if you reside in a suburban development in Lancaster, Berks, Chester, Delaware, or Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania, it is most certainly in need of maintenance or resurfacing. In comparison to many other materials, asphalt driveways are fairly easy to live with, although they do require some maintenance, such as regular sealcoating.
GRAVEL
Gravel driveways or parking pads are frequently installed due to their initial low cost. You can engage a landscaping company or a material supplier to deliver a load of stone to your property, which you can then rake into place. And stone will look good for a long time, particularly if the space you’re covering is exactly flat. Drainage is also aided by gravel/stone material.
When it comes to gravel driveways, however, even supporters confess that clearing snow without disturbing the material is exceedingly tough. It also washes out following heavy rains and does not prevent weeds from sprouting. This means you’ll be weeding, putting more new stone to the driveway, smoothing off existing stone, and, maybe worst of all, adding more new stone to the driveway. Gravel is not considered a permanent driveway surface material for all of these reasons.
Concrete
There are numerous articles on the internet that compare concrete versus asphalt as driveway surface options for residential driveways. Concrete is easy to color and has a more delicate appearance, which some homeowners prefer. It’s also more expensive to lay than asphalt, leading some to feel it’s a more “luxury” option.
Unfortunately, concrete is not ideal as a broad surface covering in our region in Pennsylvania, where winters may be harsh and frigid. Even with excellent professional installation, the material itself isn’t very cold resistant—it cracks and buckles as the temperature changes, and it quickly becomes hazardous as it crumbles and breaks apart. While asphalt can be damaged by exceptionally hot temperatures, we rarely see more than a few of heat waves per summer that could even come close to causing as much damage to your driveway as the freeze/thaw cycle does to concrete.
Brick/Pavers
Bricks or concrete pavers are another “luxury” alternative for your driveway because they are more expensive. While the individual blocks are sturdy and often resistant to harm, the fact that they do not create a solid surface causes complications. As a result, they, like concrete, are susceptible to freeze/thaw cycle damage and do not keep weeds at bay over time.
HOW ASPHALT PAVING IS BETTER
Asphalt pavement checks a number of boxes in the “pros” column for residential driveways and parking areas, as we’ve already mentioned. Asphalt doesn’t wash away like gravel, doesn’t shatter like concrete when water freezes on and around it, and keeps weeds and dirt at bay. After all, most commercial organizations with a lot of daily traffic have asphalt parking lots and access roadways since this material is resilient and resistant to damage in ways that other materials aren’t.
Furthermore, if you properly maintain your professionally installed asphalt surfaces, they will continue to look like new for many years.
NEED A NEW DRIVEWAY?
At Transblue, we offer free estimates for pools designed entirely to your needs and specifications. We’ll help you transform your residence into the residential space of your dreams—call us today!
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