Blacktop or Concrete driveway?

[arrabil]

I agree that chip & seal (tar-n-feathered as I call them) roads totally bite... I'm surrounded by them... but I can see them making better than decent driveways.

 

[mustangsallysdad]

I"m amazed anyone likes chip seal roads. The county uses it to save money, and I hate the stuff. The junk flakes off and oil gets tracked into the garage when its fresh, and it creates a lot of tire noise on the roads. Tire noise isn't an issue with a residential driveway. The cul-de-sac in front of my house is worn down to the original asphalt from the garbage trucks scuffing the chips off as they make their turns.

If installed properly there should be no tracking as each layer of liquid asphalt is covered and compacted thoroughly...don't have a problem with "scuffing the chips off" on a long driveway as it's only 12' wide and I don't have a need to be turning around on it. Also, important to note that I was given a 7 year warranty with "chip & seal" as opposed to only a 2 year warranty on the blacktop option. The chip & seal (for a residential driveway) provides a good, durable, resilient surface and maintains the look and feel of an estate type gravel driveway. Over 4 years now and no damage from frost heave (actually, no damage of any kind.) We have daily UPS and FEDEX service to my shop, as well as the occasional bulk fuel truck. I also drive my heavily laden rollback on it frequently. It would be much easier to repair if needed than any blacktop or concrete drive and with the good foundation base should provide excellent durability (note the 7 year warranty). I would choose this option again even if I could afford the additional cost of concrete or blacktop. It fits the look of our country estate much better as well, as we maintain the adjacent 5-6 acres of pasture as a manicured lawn along the perimeter of the drive. I like it very well and would highly recommend it if done by a company that is proficient in it's installation.

 

[JB4310]

If installed properly there should be no tracking as each layer of liquid asphalt is covered and compacted thoroughly...don't have a problem with "scuffing the chips off" on a long driveway as it's only 12' wide and I don't have a need to be turning around on it. Also, important to note that I was given a 7 year warranty with "chip & seal" as opposed to only a 2 year warranty on the blacktop option. The chip & seal (for a residential driveway) provides a good, durable, resilient surface and maintains the look and feel of an estate type gravel driveway. Over 4 years now and no damage from frost heave (actually, no damage of any kind.) We have daily UPS and FEDEX service to my shop, as well as the occasional bulk fuel truck. I also drive my heavily laden rollback on it frequently. It would be much easier to repair if needed than any blacktop or concrete drive and with the good foundation base should provide excellent durability (note the 7 year warranty). I would choose this option again even if I could afford the additional cost of concrete or blacktop. It fits the look of our country estate much better as well, as we maintain the adjacent 5-6 acres of pasture as a manicured lawn along the perimeter of the drive. I like it very well and would highly recommend it if done by a company that is proficient in it's installation.

Sounds good to me, I don't know much about chip seal other than a local contractor was trying to sell me on the idea to cap over a deteriorated asphalt parking area on a lot I owned.
I did see his own lot that he chip sealed over asphalt, it looked like a very durable sealed layer. We have Basalt trap rock around here so the chips are very hard and grippy, I would think it would be great for a steep graded drive for that reason.

As mentioned it seems like it would be the easiest to make a seamless repair if needed, sounds like a reasonable cost alternative between just gravel and full on, hard surfaced drive, As usual the base is still the most important part.

JB.

 

[radioman]

A note of chip and seal. If chip and seal is done a residential driveway with very little traffic, when winter comes, it can be a bear on snowblowers unless setting the shoes high. using a plow works good and the rocks protruding though the ice providing traction. I grew up on roads with chip and seal and they always seem to last a long time with NO cracking. Granted its noisy to drive on, but after one year of traffic, it always quiet down.

 

[Egon]

http://epdfiles.engr.wisc.edu/pdf_web_files/tic/bulletins/Bltn_010_Seal_Coating.pdf



Some information on seal coats for asphalt.

Note: Asphalt is a Bituminous based volatile hydrocarbon. For surfacing roads etc it is heated and mixed with rock aggregate, laid down and compacted. There are design parameters for different climatic/load conditions and longevity.

The asphalt part of asphalt paving is a bituminous based hydrocarbon that will evaporate. Given time an application of asphalt paving will consist of rock as the asphalt material has evaporated.

Seal coating is a protective coat to replace the degenerated top layer of asphalt paving.

 

[mjncad]

If installed properly...

Those are the key words that applies to any driveway surface.

 

[mustangsallysdad]

Those are the key words that applies to any driveway surface.

A driveway the size of mine is a major investment...anyone looking to make such an investment should do their homework, due dilligence, and go look carefully at some of the contractor's work before signing a contract. I checked my chosen contractor's work closely, checked references and was only required to pay 25% up front in order to be placed on his schedule. His references and quality of work made it an easy decision for me. The 7 year warranty ensured me that he was confident in his abilities as well. I'm sure there are a lot of small, "fly by night" paving contractors out there who wouldn't have done the quality work I expected, but had I hired one of them, it would have been my fault as I see it.

 

[dangerdoc]

Chip & Seal is great...I wish I had done that instead of black top..it is a lost art in most locations..there are roads all over the US that have been down for over 50 yrs. that are chip and seal and are far superior to all other surfaces for the dollars spent and they look great too. I agree !!

When I was a kid, I lived off a chip and seal road. They came by every year and put down a new layer. One year they had to do some construction and dug up a section of the road. There must have been 2 feet of chip and seal laid down over the years.

No point other than I was supprised about the amount of material in that road. I never did see a rut or pot hole in that road.

 

[scoutcub]

Guyz -

A wealth of info here, I sincerely appreciate the input. The house I just bought (that needs a driveway) I will probably use asphalt for reasons I've already mentioned. However, the reason I'm buying the house is to live somewhere while I build the retirement house closeby.....the one on acreage with the 1000'+ driveway.....(that I need to put in) which I'm thinking chip and seal now!!

 

[gwjd]

Sounds good to me, I don't know much about chip seal other than a local contractor was trying to sell me on the idea to cap over a deteriorated asphalt parking area on a lot I owned.
I did see his own lot that he chip sealed over asphalt, it looked like a very durable sealed layer. We have Basalt trap rock around here so the chips are very hard and grippy, I would think it would be great for a steep graded drive for that reason.

As mentioned it seems like it would be the easiest to make a seamless repair if needed, sounds like a reasonable cost alternative between just gravel and full on, hard surfaced drive, As usual the base is still the most important part.

JB.

this process dose nothing to fix base problems, it dose grip a lot better and seals the underlying pavement very well it actually wears tires a little faster, of more interest is it cuts blade life in half on snow plows. and it is not structural unless on top of traditional tar and chip