Concrete, asphalt or pavers

[Creamer]

I keep coming back to concrete but the cost is high mostly due to labor and staining because I would like it darker. My stone driveway - the actual 1/8 mile long drive - has been in place for 50 years and is int very good condition. I am thinking that it would be possible to just grade it flat and not have to form it using a thick consistency of concrete like they do on the roads. Is this possible? Is there something that I am not understanding? Maybe it is just the cost of bringing in apiece of equipment like that for a driveway?

 

[4570Man]

The labor to grade and form a concrete driveway is fairly high. If you could do that yourself and just pay someone to finish if you could save quite a bit of money. Also concrete has almost doubled in price since you started this thread.

 

[71bronco]

Do you need to put holes in the concrete for drainage? Water will go through sand between the pavers and heave when frozen.

As much as I like the look of pavers all I see is lots of maintenance.

Just like a regular driveway you have to grade so the water doesn't sit and puddle and have expansion joints. Pavers are a lot of maintenance and plowing will be hard on them.

Same with stamped concrete and if you have a problem with a section of concrete almost impossible to repair and match.

i poured my drive 25 years ago and while there are some cracks it will last a long time longer. I poured mine in three stages- 33 yards for the turnaround, then 2 more 10 yard pours to get to the road. All looks the same now.

 

[dodge man]

There are slip form pavers. You just dump concrete in front of them and they spit pavement out the back. It’s not quite that easy though and the ones I’ve seen are usually for highways.

 

[ponytug]

With brick and pavers, after installing them properly, maintenance is key. Any low spots need sand swept into the cracks, which will work its way down with traffic. If you aren't walking / driving on it, then yes, you have to pull the bricks/pavers, add sand, compact it, and lay them again. That's why pavers are often installed with six inches of flat concrete under them to minimize shifting. The other item to watch for is that there should be a strong edge to keep them from spreading laterally.

There are some pretty slick bricklaying machines out there;

All the best,

Peter

 

[Creamer]

There are slip form pavers. You just dump concrete in front of them and they spit pavement out the back. It’s not quite that easy though and the ones I’ve seen are usually for highways.

That is what I was thinking for the 1/8 mile long driveway that would be a lot quicker and easier than forming all that up. I have seen them used in large open space manufacturing building concrete floors as well at a 20' wide section at a time. It might just be that the equipment is not available to smaller contractors who do driveways or too expensive to bring in from wherever they have to for this one job.

 

[dodge man]

For a driveway that short my guess is to expensive to haul in and setup. Probably to wide also.

 

[deezler]

Obviously what you need to do is pour 5-6" of insulated concrete, with pex tubing throughout for a hydronic heating system. Then pavers atop that. Thus, no plowing, and no paver shifting from frost heave.

It's only money, after all.

I like to joke with my coworker who's wife inherited big money, and they bought a big ass home in a ritzy subdivision, about his driveway heater system. Instead, he has 2" of busted, pot holed asphalt with tree roots poking through it, and it's the shame of the neighborhood.

 

[deezler]

But personally, I think a well maintained gravel driveway is a thing of beauty. Gotta keep the natural stone nicely graded and evenly distributed. Which is how I justified spending $1500 on a land plane.

 

[Creamer]

But personally, I think a well maintained gravel driveway is a thing of beauty. Gotta keep the natural stone nicely graded and evenly distributed. Which is how I justified spending $1500 on a land plane.

Mine has been in great shape except it needs rock again - it has been 8 years. The problem I have is that plowing takes rock off and then it builds up along the sides and so you have to either keep building or scraping the sides down for drainage but that bring dirt up into the road. There are a lot worse things though!