When it comes to the selection of materials available for your road in front of the house, you can choose between many options that have a different quality, durability, and price. Also, the style of the driveway can have a great effect on the appearance of your real estate. Among various types of materials, one of the best and most popular is concrete. When we compare it to similar methods, the main benefits are improved stability and cheap maintenance. However, it comes with a slightly higher price. If you are interested in modern options for making a concrete driveway, visit brisbanedecorativeconcrete.com.au.
Concrete is offering the best combination of important features related to a road in front of your home, which can have both great design and stability. Therefore, it is not a surprise that most people would choose this material over any other alternative. Here are the main reasons to choose concrete for your driveway.
1. Design
With this element, you can choose between various styles and design the path to fit perfectly to your house or a backyard. There is a variety of colors available, and shaping the concrete is a simple process. Therefore, this option is perfect for any style, especially for modern structures. Besides the modern houses, you can choose retro design as well, or any other style, because this element can be easily modified in any frame.
2. Capacity
While road made of bricks, which can be quite appealing, it not capable of withstanding heavier objects like trucks or some other vehicles, you don’t have to worry when there is some delivery in front of you home since a 4-inch thick concrete could easily handle a weight over 5 tons. In that matter, concrete is an even better solution than asphalt.
3. It is Good for the Environment
Among many materials, concrete represents one with the lowest carbon footprint. The process of making it doesn’t hurt the environment in any way, and you can easily recycle and use it over and over. For example, you can use concrete from some other structure for your track, without any issues. Also, asphalt releases chemicals that are bad for the ecosystem.
4. Low Maintenance
One of the main advantages over other alternatives is the low cost of maintenance. While it might be more expensive to build a road made of this element, you won’t need to invest almost anything into the preservation of that track. The only thing that you should buy is a sealer that will prevent mold and chemicals from reaching the inside of the structure and make it less resistant. Also, you can wash it with water and a regular cleaner.
5. Durability
The essential feature of this material is its durability and power to whistled big pressure. With that characteristic, the conclusion is that concrete is way cheaper than other solutions because other options will require higher expenses for maintenance. For example, asphalt is much weaker when it comes to heavy loads, and you have to constantly upgrade and fix holes that were caused by vehicles passing over it.
The most interesting characteristic of cement is that it becomes more powerful and resistant over time. If you own some heavier vehicles like trucks, SUVs, or some industrial vehicles, making a driveway from cement should be your first choice. It depends on various conditions, but an average path made with cement should serve for around 50 years, which is impressive when compared to other options.
6. It Will Increase the Value of Your Home
Knowing all of these benefits, most people would rather choose a house with a concrete road in front of it than one made out of bricks or asphalt. Because of that, investing in the road made of cement can bring even more advantages besides stability and design. That means that the price of your asset could become significantly higher with the solid driveway in front.
7. Reaction to Heat and Light
It could be a painful experience if you stand with bare feet on the driveway made of asphalt during the hot summertime, while concrete will remain its cooler temperature even during the peak of summer temperatures. The main reason for that is much lighter color and natural ingredients like sand and cement, while asphalt is using petrol byproducts that are less resistant to heat.
Conclusion
While there are mostly advantages related to this material, there are some downsides as well. For example, it is less resistant to cold weather, with its ability to expand during summer, it could also crack under cold temperatures. In that matter, using building a driveway from asphalt might be a better option if you like in a country where winters are heavy.
Also, the process of installation is much longer than with asphalt, which is the main reason why all countries are using petrol derivatives as the main material for building roads. Moreover, it is much more expensive, but its existence can raise the price of a house with such a driveway, while it is not advisable to build some longer roads with it.
When it comes to the process of building a driveway in front of your home, you can learn to do it by yourself without much effort. You will need to create a stable and accurate base, and pour cement over that base. We have to mention then you can avoid the process of making concrete since there are many companies that you can hire to get the material ready for use.
Moreover, after the base is full, you will need a wooden tool to fix the unevenness of the surface. After that, you can add additional cover or cement to repair some irregularities. In the end, you should cover the surface with burlap and keep it wet for a couple of days. You can use it freely after 3 or 4 days, but we recommend you pass over it with a vehicle for at least ten days until the structure is completely solid and resistible.
