thisplace.com.au - Driveways

Your driveway is a very important feature to your home which is often neglected when it comes to building your home or even when you do some renovation work to your home.

There are several different types and styles that you can choose for your home. You can spend a lot or you can spend a little - what style you choose depends upon a few things such as

your budget - this is the biggest consideration - from your budget you can see which way you will go
your style or theme to your home and or garden - you may want to continue a certain theme that you have already established or you may want to go with another style
size of your driveway - if it is a big driveway, costs may get out of hand - if you live on acreage you will probably have a different type of driveway compared to a normal suburban block
you may be subjected to a building covenant that requires you to have a certain style of driveway
the topography of your land - meaning the shape of your property - will your driveway be built or is it built on a steep slope etc - this may limit you to certain types of construction methods and materials

As already mentioned there are several types of styles that you can choose for your driveway - some of the most common are below

concrete - stoned, stand, exposed aggregate, stencilled
asphalt / bitumen
pebbles, stone, gravel
grassed
dirt

Each of these has their own advantages and disadvantages - prices will be different, how each style will wear with time will vary.

Concrete

can have pigments or acid staining - can be coloured or stamped so that it will resemble stone
can be exposed aggregate that allows the top layer of textured gravel to show through
is extremely hard wearing and long lasting - should last between well over 15 years - depending on weather conditions it endures as well as how well was it layed - was there good preparation
should seal it every year or so
try to give it good drainage - don't want the soil beneath to be unstable
if drainage is not so good and or the soil below is unstable or even if the foundation preparation was a bit slack expect problems sooner than normal

Bitumen / Asphalt

there are different choices to be made - plain hot mix, chip seal with gravel pressed in for texture, pattern stamped and acrylic polymer colours
easy to maintain
doesn't crack as much as concrete as it is more flexible
topcoats can be applied
can last over 15 years
in summer - bitumen can hold the heat - remember to consider this when thinking about where you are going to use bitumen near the house

Crushed Stone and Gravel

many varieties - such as shale, granite, limestone etc
is relatively inexpensive
not a bad option if you don't care about surface smoothness
no bass is required
you will have to top it up every now and again
another problem is that it scatters easily - can be annoying when mowing etc

Paved Stone

wide variety of shapes and colours
durable and distinctive as well as being attractive
cobblestone is a classic look - but weeds can sneak through in summer
should have it installed by a professional

Bricks

can offer a touch of class
tough and long wearing
don't heat up as much as asphalt or crack as easily as concrete

Grass / Dirt

cheap options - not a real good long term proposition
okay when it is dry - bad when it is wet

Remember that even if you already have a driveway, you can always give it a freshen up. When you do you have several options as to how you will do it.Consider the following

remove the concrete and lay some pavers
hone the concrete and add bands of pavers
colour the concrete
waterblast the concrete to bring it back to original