Pave Your Own Driveway?

[Jstpssng]

Concrete is 135$/yard here.

 

[Creamer]

Thanks for all the comments! Much appreciated. They made me think about watching an industrial floor getting poured where the machines spanned the area they were pouring. A paving machine has wheels under the middle which would make it very difficult to rod or wire held up off the ground - kind of a stopper and the "What am I forgetting" factor that stops this whole idea. I sure do not want heavy trucks on non-reinforced concrete.

Eddie - I understand the concrete expansion and contraction. Don't you just saw cut it afterwards for that? Then what do you fill the cuts with to keep water from getting underneath?

I am hearing the amount of work over and over - and agree my manning was very light.

I have not had a concrete drive quoted but I would not think it would be much more than what the asphalt was and I know I would much rather have a concrete drive than asphalt for durability. I have normally figured it is a little over double the price of the concrete assuming it is a sizable job which this certainly is.

 

[MossRoad]

I only have to do half of the 1/4 mile long driveway which is where I got my numbers from. Sorry about the confusion.

1/8 mile then your price is more in-line. Thanks for straightening me out.

 

[4570Man]

Thanks for all the comments! Much appreciated. They made me think about watching an industrial floor getting poured where the machines spanned the area they were pouring. A paving machine has wheels under the middle which would make it very difficult to rod or wire held up off the ground - kind of a stopper and the "What am I forgetting" factor that stops this whole idea. I sure do not want heavy trucks on non-reinforced concrete.

Eddie - I understand the concrete expansion and contraction. Don't you just saw cut it afterwards for that? Then what do you fill the cuts with to keep water from getting underneath?

I am hearing the amount of work over and over - and agree my manning was very light.

I have not had a concrete drive quoted but I would not think it would be much more than what the asphalt was and I know I would much rather have a concrete drive than asphalt for durability. I have normally figured it is a little over double the price of the concrete assuming it is a sizable job which this certainly is.

Concrete isn’t a considerable difference in asphalt IF you have the grade work done, the steel laid, forms built and you’re just paying a crew to finish it. Doing all of that is a lot of work. Expect considerable difference if you’re getting a crew to do the whole job.

 

[bdhsfz6]

25 years ago I had washouts on my hilly drive and brought in 3 truckloads of recycled asphalt that we compacted with the dump trucks wheels.
I did say 25 years.
Only this year did I need to do repairs* and nowadays they shred it so it is much easier to spread and compact.
Best of all, recycled is a tad cheaper than crushed stone and IMHO, easier to do a nice job than concrete certainly with a CUT and minimal and raking.
The hot sun does the rest.

*mostly due to frost heaving buried rocks that we neglected to remove.

With recycled asphalt a good truck driver can lay it down to whatever thickness you desire.

Around here, the material is called "millings". It does indeed make a good driveway if it's put down on a stable base and compacted properly.

Another thing some people do here is to "oil" their packed gravel drives. The oil is a thin tar which acts as a binder. It's similar to the tar they use with the tar & chip road resurfacing process. It's messy, needs to be put down correctly with a spreader and takes time to set properly. If done right, the surface lasts for many years.

 

[Torvy]

One advantage to asphalt I learned when we lived in Wisconsin...snow melts considerably faster on asphalt than concrete. Even at 20 degrees or less I could often partially clear the asphalt driveway and let the sun do the rest...even on a cloudy day. The concrete sidewalk...not so much. Maybe color the concrete black?

 

[tradosaurus]

I got a quote to pave my 1,000 ft. driveway. I quickly learned to love my gravel driveway.

 

[MossRoad]

One advantage to asphalt I learned when we lived in Wisconsin...snow melts considerably faster on asphalt than concrete. Even at 20 degrees or less I could often partially clear the asphalt driveway and let the sun do the rest...even on a cloudy day. The concrete sidewalk...not so much. Maybe color the concrete black?

Yes. We have an asphalt driveway that runs east-west on the north side of our house. After I plow it, the font part and back parts, which are not shaded by the house, melt right down to the asphalt on any days above 20ish, while the part in the shade does not. And our concrete sidewalk in the sun will remain ice-covered right next to the melted off asphalt. It's the color of the asphalt that absorbs the sun's energy while the white concrete reflects it.

 

[RickB]

I only have to do half of the 1/4 mile long driveway which is where I got my numbers from. Sorry about the confusion.

Just post lots of videos.

 

[AGreenFarmer]

I got a quote to pave my 1,000 ft. driveway. I quickly learned to love my gravel driveway.

I am with you on that brother!