Have a question about what to use for my driveway.

We are building on a lot in my town and it looks like I can put down whatever I like. But my two options seem to be asphalt and concrete.

Grew up with asphalt, but then that was in the hood. 1/2 the drives on our street were dirt. Still are.

All my houses have had concrete, probably because all the other houses had it. But the lot we are getting is in kind of large property area and I see concrete, ashphalt and crushed white rock. I don't want crushed white rock.

The drive will probably be about 60 ft long. It will run down the east side of the house, so it will be in the afternoon shade. And the area outside the garage will be under a large pecan tree.

I've googled and read a little but wanted the OB's take. The OB knows all.

Oh, and the road is asphalt.

Asphalt millings (ground-up pavement) makes a smooth, dust and mud free driveway, if you're trying to avoid concrete or hot mix asphalt.

Chip seal may be an affordable option

An old road sup told me once, "asphalt is temporary, concrete is forever".
I've had to seal my asphalt drive way and it's a pain.
Another old concrete man told me if you do it for yourself, pour it 6" instead of 4".
Concrete's cheap and will last without the maintenance. Pour it wide enough also.

Crushed limestone with river rock on top is pretty inexpensive and minimal dust. If you don't like it you can asphalt over it.

Go with concrete and make it wider and larger around your garage than you think, with extra space for parking other cars or visitors.

In the afternoon shade you'll spend lots of time on the driveway teaching kids how to ride bikes, drive scooters, shoot hoops - a big wide concrete driveway is perfect for it, and essentially no maintenance other than the occasional pressure wash. We spend a ton of time out around our driveway. Glad our builder suggested going wider and larger so we would have plenty of room.

Top it so that the aggregate is exposed. Looks great - way better than gray concrete - and it will hide small cracks a little better.

To properly maintain asphalt, it has to be sealed annually. I agree with concrete.

Asphalt requires a greater grade. You can have a concrete driveway at as little as a .5% slope and it will last. Asphalt is different. You have to get water away from asphalt quickly. If not you end up with potholes. Generally speaking 1.5% is the bare minimum. 2% is the norm. You also have to do a good job on the road base. Find someone who will do good asphalt work and you will likely spend almost as much as concrete

Concrete. I was in the concrete industry for over a decade. I've never heard anyone regret a concrete driveway.

Make certain the base is properly compacted and use rebar, not welded wire fabric. As others have suggested, go 6" thick and wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass so someone can always get out for when you are entertaining.

Make sure they install the proper expansion joints and make sure all of the joints are properly sealed with a good joint sealant.

If you are looking for something a little more pleasing to the eye, look at decorative concrete. Have it stamped and stained or use integral color.

Appreciate the input.

I'm going to go with concrete. Hadn't even thought about asphalt til I saw a house on the street with it.

Texas 1836 said:

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Appreciate the input.

I'm going to go with concrete. Hadn't even thought about asphalt til I saw a house on the street with it.

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Good call.

My two cents worth:

1. Go a true 5" thick
2. Use a minimum #4 rebar, tell any contractor that wants to use remesh to pound sand and run them off
3. Do your subgrade right, or you'll have a cracked up concrete drive in a few years. I cannot stress this enough - concrete requires good subgrade. It requires good compaction, treatment of the subgrade (lime) if it is made of highly expansive soils, removal of all organics, etc. It's not hard nor expensive to do - and if you are going to spend good money on a nice drive, spend the money right.
4. Use a 4000psi mix and have somebody on hand that knows about concrete to test it before its placed
5. Make sure the contractor places it correctly, has expansion joints every 40 feet and vibrates it in so you get a great finish and product.

schmellba99 said:

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Texas 1836 said:

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Appreciate the input.

I'm going to go with concrete. Hadn't even thought about asphalt til I saw a house on the street with it.

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Good call.

My two cents worth:

1. Go a true 5" thick
2. Use a minimum #4 rebar, tell any contractor that wants to use remesh to pound sand and run them off
3. Do your subgrade right, or you'll have a cracked up concrete drive in a few years. I cannot stress this enough - concrete requires good subgrade. It requires good compaction, treatment of the subgrade (lime) if it is made of highly expansive soils, removal of all organics, etc. It's not hard nor expensive to do - and if you are going to spend good money on a nice drive, spend the money right.
4. Use a 4000psi mix and have somebody on hand that knows about concrete to test it before its placed
5. Make sure the contractor places it correctly, has expansion joints every 40 feet and vibrates it in so you get a great finish and product.

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gracias

Concrete... and I'll add one more suggestion.

Go thicker with larger steel up against the road. Extend this area 10-15 feet up the drive. I'd also suggest adding a 12" wide and 18" deep (or so) grade beam right at the road. You never know when an oversized truck is going to choose your driveway to turn around in. This is especially true if you're nearer the end of the block.

For the size driveway you're talking I'd do concrete. If you were farther off the road I'd look into something else like one of the options below

Limestone base, fines and rock make a really good road after its properly hydrated and compacted

Crushed concrete, very similar to limestone base, but usually a little cheaper.

Slag, leftover metal slag from foundries that makes a really good road, but is expensive and can be hard to find

You guys are building an autobahn!

My driveway is pretty long, so materials would have been a much bigger impact, so I did #4 rebar with 4" slab. 18" center on the bar. I also did 8" deep 'footings' mostly just to prevent washout, no extra steel in them. I'm in NE Texas, which is sand and red clay, so a very good natural base.....we don't have the swelling/shrinking issues you can have with black gumbo clay....full disclosure.

I've had fully loaded concrete trucks on my drive which is the ultimate load test, with no issues. I did buy 4000lb mix, as suggested above. The truck drivers even made me sign a waiver before driving in when we did our house slab.

For a small driveway, your not talking a huge amount of extra $$$$, so I don't disagree with the extra material, but if your budget is tight, you'll be fine with a 4" slab and properly compacted base. Properly placed expansion joints, as mentioned above, are critical, especially if cracking bothers you.....I have a few minor hairline cracks, but nothing separating and I have a fairly constant tractor and heavy truck flow (hay field access).

If you pour on a really hot day, have your contractor cover the slab with plastic sheeting and water sprinkler to control set time and prevent cracks that way also.

magnumtmp said:

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You guys are building an autobahn!

My driveway is pretty long, so materials would have been a much bigger impact, so I did #4 rebar with 4" slab. 18" center on the bar. I also did 8" deep 'footings' mostly just to prevent washout, no extra steel in them. I'm in NE Texas, which is sand and red clay, so a very good natural base.....we don't have the swelling/shrinking issues you can have with black gumbo clay....full disclosure.

I've had fully loaded concrete trucks on my drive which is the ultimate load test, with no issues. I did buy 4000lb mix, as suggested above. The truck drivers even made me sign a waiver before driving in when we did our house slab.

For a small driveway, your not talking a huge amount of extra $$$$, so I don't disagree with the extra material, but if your budget is tight, you'll be fine with a 4" slab and properly compacted base. Properly placed expansion joints, as mentioned above, are critical, especially if cracking bothers you.....I have a few minor hairline cracks, but nothing separating and I have a fairly constant tractor and heavy truck flow (hay field access).

If you pour on a really hot day, have your contractor cover the slab with plastic sheeting and water sprinkler to control set time and prevent cracks that way also.

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Good point. Water cure your slab, minimum of 7 days. Basically that means keep it saturated on top with water - it can be a PITA, but it makes for the best finish and cure by far.