Driveway suggestions?

[GaryS]

We're building a new home and are trying to decide which material to use for the driveway. Our current home has asphalt and we're not exactly happy with it. Here in North Texas, the heaving soil is pretty rough on it, so maintenance is a pain.

We'd like to use concrete, but since redi-mix recently hit $100 a yard, our 4,000 sq ft driveway is just too big to justify the expense. We've been thinking about some type of paver, but really don't know enough about the installation cost or longevity. Has anyone recently compared the various products, or can you direct me to a website where I can learn more?

[HayZee518]

For the money and durability you can't beat concrete. With a screen type 4 inch by 4 inch rebar you can easily support 3000 lbs. With a deeper bed - 6 inch and 1/2 inch rebar and a 2 inch slump this wieght figure increases to 6000 lbs per sq ft. My uncle in Corpus Christi has concrete since 1954 and its still resilient.

[LazyPup]

4000sq.ft with a 4" pour is 4,000sq.ft x .33 = 1320cu.ft

1cu.yd = 27cu.ft

1320cu.ft

1320cu.ft divided by 27cu.ft per yd = 48.8cu.yds

At $100 per cu.yd that is approximately $4,900 for concrete.

i dont beleive you could buy enough pavers to cover that driveway for that price and even if you did, laying pavers requires much more bed preparation than does concrete.

[mjdonovan]

Concrete is Probably your Best Bet

Pavers are more expensive than concrete, both from a unit cost and installation standpoint. The installation of pavers requires more up front site prep work, and even at that there will be maintenance of them over time. Concrete on the other hand will require virtually no maintenance.

There are also techniques now employed with concrete that enable you to get a paver look (including the color) without paying the price of pavers.

Mark

[GaryS]

If it was only the price of concrete, I'd do it, but add the cost of rebar and 80 cents a square foot labor, and it's getting far beyond our budget, unless we can find another place to cut.

I didn't realize the pavers were that expensive, and had planned on doing the job myself, but it looks like that's out. As much as I hate it, I'll probably go with asphalt again. Last time I checked, it's about half the price of concrete to install. Maintenance over the years will soon make it about the same, but maybe I can afford concrete by the time the blacktop is beyond repair.

Thanks for the responses.

[balakrishnan3]

We're building a new home and are trying to decide which material to use for the driveway. Our current home has asphalt and we're not exactly happy with it. Here in North Texas, the heaving soil is pretty rough on it, so maintenance is a pain.

We'd like to use concrete, but since redi-mix recently hit $100 a yard, our 4,000 sq ft driveway is just too big to justify the expense. We've been thinking about some type of paver, but really don't know enough about the installation cost or longevity. Has anyone recently compared the various products, or can you direct me to a website where I can learn more?

Just joined this forum and trying to learn the tools. Did you receive any responses to your note. We are in a similar situation but live in Chicago, We have the option of concrete, brick paver and asphalt. Want to know the pros and cons about these 3 materials, particularly, as it relates to our harsh winters.

[balakrishnan3]

Driveway for Chicago

Just joined this forum and trying to learn the tools.
We are in a similar situation but live in Chicago, We have the option of concrete, brick paver and asphalt. Assuming cost is not an issue, Want to know the pros and cons about these 3 materials, particularly, as it relates to our harsh winters. Very interested in ease of maintenance and durability. Also any links to websites for further information is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for any responses. Anna

[MrStitch]

Hey guys, sorry to jump in on an older thread, but here's my two cents.....

I've got a very similar situation as well. My garage is 45' wide, and is back from the street by about 90 feet. From the garage, the drive go's straight for about 30', and then tapers down to a single car width connecting to the street.

We considered all your options too, and here's what we came up with -

Concrete will always be the best way to go, and make sure you do it at about 6" thick. Unfortunately, this becomes very expensive in cases like ours. So depending on your financial situation, I would consider this option ONLY because it is quite literally the best possible thing to do. Long lasting, looks good, very durable.

Next option would be to do either asphalt or black top. What you're doing here is saving some money, but then upkeeping it later. Eventually, the cost will be more than concrete, over time. Not only that, but it's just a drive way. If you have a nice house, yard, etc.... It just doesn't seem like a viable option to consistently worry about a lousy driveway. After all.... you drive up, and park. No one will care what it looks like (unless it's mud). Personally, I can think of many other areas to spend my time and money.

Last option would be to use crushed rock. But be sure that it's CRUSHED rock... not the little round stuff. Small round-like pebbles will sink into the dirt faster and more often. The crushed rock isn't quite as nice as concrete, but it's extremely cheap when you consider the amount of ground you need to cover. It's obviously durable, and there is no upkeep required.

So, in the end, we decided that the rock will be the way to go for us. Since we have a 100 year old house that needs some major work, we want a driveway that we have to spend extremely little money on, and yet have no up keep, and is durable. It's a very good option for those of us that have huge driveways.

Hope that helps some, and I'm looking forward to some pictures!!