Why Asphalt Driveway Paving is the Best Option for Residential Properties
You probably hear home improvement experts on TV talking about boosting “curb appeal” or how your house looks to approaching visitors or people passing by on the street. Some easy boosts to make an excellent first impression include tidy and attractive landscaping, vibrant siding that hasn’t been sun-bleached, and a lawn free of the debris of daily life, like kids’ toys and old lawn equipment. These aesthetic issues are common, and most are relatively easy to fix. However, fresh asphalt driveway paving is the best way to boost the look of your home and make it a standout addition to your street!
You may not think much about that paved or stone surface that connects your home to the actual curb and beyond, but if it’s in poor condition or made of subpar material, it’s quietly undermining all your other hard work and ruining your home’s appeal. Especially if you’re planning to sell your home anytime soon, having a professional asphalt contractor pave or resurface your driveway should be at the top of your improvement to-do list.
Today’s post highlights a few of the materials your home’s driveway and parking areas may be surfaced with now and shows you why asphalt is undeniably the best driveway material for residential applications.
DRIVEWAY MATERIALS YOU MAY HAVE NOW
While you likely have an asphalt driveway now, especially if you live in a suburban development in our home service area around Lancaster, Berks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery counties in PA, it’s probably in need of maintenance or resurfacing. Asphalt driveways are very easy to live with compared to many other materials, but they require some care, such as sealcoating on a regular schedule.
Other driveway surfaces you may currently have include:
Stone/Gravel
Some people install gravel driveways or parking pads because they are initially very affordable. You can hire landscaping businesses or material retailers to drop a load of stone on your property that you can rake into place yourself. Additionally, the stone will offer a decent look for a while, especially if the area you plan to cover is perfectly flat. Gravel/stone material is also suitable for drainage.
With gravel, however, you’ll be in trouble come winter—even fans of gravel driveways admit that it’s challenging to clear snow without disturbing the material and thus isn’t the best driveway material for our area. It is also prone to washing out during heavy storms and doesn’t keep weeds from growing up. If you choose this type of driveway, you’ll often either add more new stone to the driveway or smooth out existing stone—or perhaps worst of all—spend much of your free time weeding where you park your vehicle. Because of all this maintenance, gravel soon becomes a much less cost-effective choice. For all these reasons, gravel is not a good option for a permanent driveway surface material.
Concrete
The internet is full of articles comparing concrete and asphalt driveway paving for residential driveway surface options. Concrete can be easily colored and offers a more delicate look that some homeowners prefer. It’s also more expensive than asphalt to install, which leads many to believe it’s a more “premium” choice.
Unfortunately, in our climate here in Pennsylvania, where winters can sometimes be harsh and cold, concrete is not ideal as a large surface covering. Even with excellent professional installation, the material itself simply isn’t very cold hardy—it cracks and buckles due to temperature changes and quickly becomes hazardous as it breaks apart and crumbles. While asphalt can be susceptible to sweltering temperatures, we typically don’t have more than a heat wave or two per summer that could even damage your driveway as severely as the freeze/thaw cycle damages concrete.
Brick/Pavers
Another option for your driveway is bricks or concrete pavers. Many consider these materials as “premium” or the best driveway material because they costs more. While these individual blocks are strong and typically quite resistant to damage individually, problems arise because they do not form a solid surface. For this reason, they are prone to freeze and thaw cycles that damage concrete and do not keep weeds at bay over time.
While you may have a brick or paver patio that has performed well and not experienced issues with sinking or low spots creating loose blocks, remember that your driveway will be driven and parked on daily. Your family’s cars, trucks, and SUVs weigh multiple tons and can easily cause a brick or paver surface to become uneven, necessitating expensive repairs.
Grass/Mud
If you live on a farm or rural property, you may just allow your family members and guests to park anywhere near your house, whether the areas are paved or not. Doing so is fine from time to time. Still, suppose you regularly have workers coming and going, or you own many vehicles. In that case, parking in field areas or your yard quickly becomes a muddy mess that likely annoys everyone involved (whether they express it or not)! Parking in the dirt simply is not an enjoyable experience.
HOW ASPHALT PAVING IS BETTER
As we’ve touched on already, asphalt paving checks many boxes in the “pros” column for residential driveways and parking areas. Asphalt won’t wash away like gravel, won’t crack apart if water freezes on and around it like concrete, and keeps weeds and dirt away. After all, there’s a reason why most commercial businesses that experience a lot of daily traffic have asphalt parking lots and access drives. This material is durable and resistant to damage in ways most others are not, making it the best driveway material for most applications.
Additionally, if you properly care for your professionally installed asphalt surfaces, they will look as good as new for years to come.
NEED A NEW DRIVEWAY? LYONS & HOHL CAN PAVE IT!
Indeed, many professional paving contractors like us here at Lyons & Hohl spend much of our time working on large commercial and industrial paving projects. Still, we also love to help homeowners improve their properties! Whether your home need asphalt driveway paving maintenance or your farm needs upgraded parking areas, we’re here to help with professional and affordable paving solutions.
Contact us today to learn more about our residential paving services!