<p>Our asphalt driveway is beyond repair and needs to be replaced - this is a first for us. Our home is an old Victorian in a small town and the lot is heavily shaded. I like the way the asphalt blends into the background, but my H loves the clean look of concrete and thinks it will require less maintenance. Any advice?</p>
<p>Concrete can be colored, though I don’t know if black is an option. Concrete does (in my experience) require less maintenance than asphalt. </p>
<p>How about driveway pavers? These are interlocking bricks in a palette of colors. Probably more mediterranian than victorian, but take a look/search anyway. There are also driveway pavers with holes for grass; you can really make your driveway disappear into the front lawn.</p>
<p>We started down a similar path a couple of years ago (pavers vs concrete vs asphalt)- and came to a screeching halt when the county informed me that asphalt only for the first 20 feet (the part that was in the right of way) Since the driveway is only 70 feet long, doing it part in pavers/concrete and part in asphalt did not make much sense. I’d check with the city/county before you go too far…</p>
<p>SlitheyTove: I forgot about the paver option that’s my H’s other preference but I worry about snow plow damage…?</p>
<p>scualum: Good point. I should check with the village zoning commission - they just stopped our neighbors’ reroofing b/c they hadn’t gotten the required approval to use asphalt (vs. slate) roof tiles on an old house.</p>
<p>I just did a driveway with this stuff: [StabiliGrid</a> Home](<a href=“http://www.stabiligrid.com/]StabiliGrid”>http://www.stabiligrid.com/)</p>
<p>But if it’s between concrete and asphalt, I like the look of asphalt better, especially if you put some Belgian block at the street to make a prettier beginning - that’s probably the most popular driveway around here, if you can’t afford/don’t want all stone. (Allowed in our town, but definitely check with your town’s building department or public works department - regulations can be different depending on where you are.)</p>
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<p>A properly installed paver path should easily outlast either asphalt or concrete and you shouldn’t have any trouble with plow damage either. The exception might be if for some reason you get a big shift of the ground under the paver (e.g. a big tree that pushes up the ground under the driveway). </p>
<p>A poorly installed paver setup will quickly fall apart and look awful, but a properly installed one provides for a truly beautiful path.</p>
<p>I prefer the look of concrete and it is easier to clean and maintain and lasts an extremely long time, much longer than asphalt, but concrete is much more expensive than asphalt.</p>
<p>mathmom, that is a brilliant product! How expensive is it relative to ashphalt?</p>
<p>If you an afford the price tage concrete is the way to go…</p>
<p>Agree with the comments about concrete being superior but way more expensive. But be on your guard with estimates for concrete. Some contractors will charge a lower price because the will lay fewer inches than are really required. If you live in a cold climate and the job is not done correctly you will have a mess on your hands in just a few years time. Also, you might want to investigate dyed and stamped concrete, it looks great and there are lots of options.</p>
<p>Pavers are big around here in the high end neighborhoods. Last long, look beautiful and absolutely no problems with snow plows!! I also like the stained concrete…beautiful techniques are now available! We even have some heated driveways to elminate shoveling and snowblowing in our neighborhood.</p>
<p>In price, asphalt is your least-expensive option (except for gravel). Poured concrete is more. Poured-and-stamped decorative concrete is more. Pavers are a lot more. Around here, we have trouble with moss in the asphalt and poured concrete is very popular. WashMom loves pavers, but she also loves the idea of not having to live in a trailer when we retire. I don’t know from snow plows. (We just researched this…)</p>
<p>We replaced asphalt with concrete in our old house. We went with pavers in our current house and like them much more. No problem at all with damage from snowplows, although a neighbor who has a beautiful patterned concrete driveway did have plow-related damage. I’m not sure if this is typical with patterned concrete or just a problem with the company that does their plowing.</p>
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You know I don’t know. This was a client of mine, not my own driveway. You do have to prepare with sand and gravel like a regular driveway, but my impression was that it might cost less than asphalt in the end. I’ll try to remember to ask the contractor, I need to call him soon about another project.</p>
<p>Thank you all! It sounds like it is not just an asphalt vs. concrete decision. I obviously have more research to do. Meanwhile, I emailed the village planner to find out what kind of restrictions there are, if any. mathmom, I love the StabiliGrid idea! Thanks!</p>
<p>What about cracks in concrete over time? Or should the contractor be reputable enough to guarantee no cracks? We have lived in our home ten years (approx) and already have some large cracks in our concrete driveway. Other homes in our neighborhood have the same problem, except for those that seem to have been poured in small sections. These driveways do not seem to have the huge visible cracks. Is this something to consider (having the driveway of concrete poured in small sections)?</p>
<p>At least in our town, there are inspections required after they’ve constructed the footings, and after they’ve laid the sand, and before they pour the concrete. That should minimize any chances of a concrete contractor trying to get away with a sub-par job by pouring the driveway thinner than it should be. I think the absolute key to a solid concrete drive is the preparation base they lay before pouring the concrete. Concrete is enormously heavy, and if the base hasn’t been prepared correctly, it is easy to shift over time.</p>
<p>Personally, I like the look of concrete over asphalt and wish we’d done concrete when we built our house. I remember after they laid the asphalt I said something about wishing we could have afforded concrete, and our builder said, “It’s not that much more expensive than asphalt than most people think.” Oh, well.</p>
<p>My favorite thing about concrete… I love to be barefoot outside, and stepping on hot asphalt during hot sunny days can be painful. When it’s real hot out, I have to put shoes on my feet to just go get the mail.</p>
<p>One thng to keep in mind (and the stabiligrid ad mentions this) is the perviousness of the driveway. You have to make sure that you don’t interrupt the flow of drainage on your property. Sometimes if you fill in w/ asphalt - and especially w/ concrete - the rainwater can’t flow and backs up & also carries pollutants to the groundwater.</p>
<p>We live in an environmentally sensitive area and in many communities concrete isn’t even allowed.</p>
<p>[Permeable</a> Paving Systems Reduces Environmental Damage by allowing water to be absorbed by the soil](<a href=“greendesignbuild.net”>greendesignbuild.net)</p>
<p>I am redoing my driveway- that is I ripped out the dandelions that were in the middle- put down seeding soil and planted fescue and some low growing herbs.</p>
<p>On either side is aggregate- the house is 108 years old but I don’t think the driveway is quite that old. I am glad no one ever paved it over though.</p>