9 Most Popular Types of Driveways For Your Home

1. Concrete Driveway. Concrete is considered to be the most popular type for a number of reasons.
2. Brick Driveway.
3. Asphalt Driveway.
4. Gravel Driveway.
5. Crushed Stone Driveway.
6. Paver Driveway.
7. Basalt Driveway.
8. Cobblestone Driveway.

Asphalt is another popular choice when it comes to installing a new driveway. Cost: Asphalt driveways are cheaper to install than concrete driveways. Therefore those looking for the properties of a concrete driveway but at a cheaper cost, use asphalt as an alternative.

Asphalt. A composite made up of sand, rock, and asphalt cement, asphalt is a very common material for driveways around the country. Generally black in appearance, asphalt looks, at minimum, unobtrusive on virtually any property. In spite of the benefits, asphalt isn’t perfect.

What is a driveway apron? It’s the area where your residential driveway meets the street pavement.

For a poured concrete apron, expect to pay $3 to $10 per square foot, which includes fill sand, steel reinforcement, and concrete delivered by truck (sack-type concrete is not suitable for this project). Professional installation will add another $8 to $12 per square foot.

A concrete apron can cost $3-$10 or more a square foot, or $550-$1,800 for 12’x15′. With decorative elements (stamped patterns, a pigmented color, a textured finish) the cost can be $6-$25 or more a square foot, or $1,100-$4,500 or more. Some municipalities will replace a deteriorating apron for a fee.

Alternatives to Concrete and Asphalt Installing stabilized gravel with permeable pavers, however, is the single cheapest and most effective solution to extending a driveway while providing long-term durability and functionality. TRUEGRID offers every type of paver you need to match your driveway situation.

Cost. The cost of an asphalt driveway is typically cheaper than concrete, costing $2.00 – $4.00 per square foot. In contrast, a concrete driveway costs between $4.00 – $6.00 per square foot for a standard installation. Finishes, details and stains can increase the price tag to as much as $15.00 per square foot.

Low-Maintenance Driveway Options

1. Paving Stones. Paving stones are known to last up to a full century if properly laid.
2. Concrete Grass Pavers. An interlocking concrete grass paver driveway made may be an option for your driveway.
3. Plastic Permeable Pavers.

How Long Should an Asphalt Driveway Last? Asphalt driveways typically last up to 20 years, depending on the quality of the installation, the climate, the usage they get, and how well they are maintained. Like most everything else, the better care you take of your asphalt driveway, the longer it will remain in service.

The materials that are used to make blacktop and asphalt are the same. Both are made from two ingredients: bitumen and crushed stone. The difference lies in how those ingredients are combined to make the final product.

Two inches is the industry standard for asphalt overlays and surface courses because it properly bonds the surface course to the binder course. If a surface course is too thin it won’t have the surface area and other properties to properly bond which will result in raveling, cracking, and other asphalt issues.

6-12 months

A paving surface can be deteriorated but still maintain structural integrity in which an asphalt overlay is the proper solution. An existing asphalt surface is the best base for new asphalt. A tack coat is normally applied on the existing asphalt surface to help the new asphalt adhere to the existing surface.

A #404 surface course of asphalt can be installed on top of existing asphalt. Since the product used for both layers is the same, the layers should heave together in the winter. However, before choosing this option, you should consider why your present drive is failing.

Cost to resurface an asphalt driveway Asphalt driveway resurfacing costs $1 to $3 per square foot. Stamping, patterns, or colored asphalt resurfacing costs $3 to $8 per square foot. The average cost to resurface an asphalt driveway is $400 to $1,800, depending on the blacktop size and condition.

An asphalt overlay is generally recommended when the existing asphalt is in decent shape. The existing surface needs to be: Structurally sound. Clean and free of large debris and dirt.

When it comes to asphalt, you have many choices as homeowners. There are three different grades available in asphalt. The grades available are I-2, also known as base; I-5, known as top ;and the I-4 or commercial top grades.

How to Make an Old Asphalt Driveway Look Good

1. Clearing Weeds. Pull or use weed killer on sprouting weeds and invasive grass to remove them from the edges or inside of cracks.
2. Fill in Cracks. Cracks form in the asphalt from settling or from hot and cold expansion.
3. Fill in Holes and Chips.
4. Seal the Driveway.

“My asphalt driveway is sinking, along with the yard next to it. When driveways sink, it’s most often because the underlying dirt was not properly compacted, or because the fill dirt contains debris (such as tree stumps) that are decomposing and collapsing underground.

3 Options to Repair Your Sunken Concrete

1. Replacing or Repairing Concrete. If your concrete has cracked dramatically, or deteriorated, it might make sense to replace your sunken slab.
2. Mud Jacking. Mud Jacking is a common term for lifting sunken or settled concrete.
3. Polyurethane Foam.

Open the asphalt repair mix and shovel a 2-inch layer inside the sunken area. Tamp it down with the end of a piece of scrap 4-by-4-inch lumber. Continue adding 2-inch layers and tamping them until you get to the top of the sunken asphalt, instructs Family Handyman. Mound the final layer so it is higher in the middle.

Cut a piece of plywood slightly wider than the trench. Lay it over the patch material and cover it with 2x4s. Then drive over it several times with your vehicle until the patch is level with the garage floor. Cold patch works only when it’s compacted and “keyed” into at least two vertical surfaces.

How To Prevent Your Car From Scraping The Driveway

1. Use A Curb Ramp. For most driveways, a curb ramp (like BRIDJIT’s ramp set) does the trick.
2. Lift The Front Of Your Car. There are kits that you can buy to lift the front of your car with the push of a button.
3. Repave Your Driveway.

Because of the way they are formed, sinkholes cannot be repaired with surface patching the same way potholes are; sinkholes require reinforcement from below. This can be achieved by digging up the whole area, filling the void with soil, and laying new asphalt.

Uneven Concrete Driveway Causes Oftentimes we’ll find downspouts that are pouring water onto, or beside the driveway. Another common issue is poorly filled and compacted soil next to the garage foundation. Some builders will even use this area to bury some of the debris from building the house.

Expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $1500 for mudjacking your foundations. Some concreters charge around $150 per drilled hole and add their time to that. Your price will depend on whether your foundations are easily reachable, how much they have sunken and how much damage there is to them.

Repair Raised and Uneven Concrete Slabs Sakrete Multi-Purpose Sand or backer rod can also be used to fill deep voids. Using a garden hose, remove any dirt or debris from the crack. For more severely damaged concrete, a pressure washer may be needed.

How to Level a Gravel Driveway

1. Step 1: Level the Base & Prepare the Ground:
2. Step 2: Repeatedly Tamper The Gravel:
3. Step 3: Add A Crown & Create A Good Gradiant:
4. Step 1: Identify the Issues & Drill Holes In the Surface:
5. Step 2: Inject An Aggregate Mixture Into The Voids.
6. Step 3: Level the Concrete & Leave to Cure.