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We are researching doing our driveway. I was talking about it on the house forum but it seems that the option of people living here is much more realistic.
The driveway is currently broken asphalt which is going to be removed and either replaced with new asphalt or there is a very real possibility of doing pavers. Concrete is not an interest of ours.
The square footage of the area we are looking at is 2850. . its 53 feet long, straight and using 2 apps last night, I measured the grade of steepness to vary from 11 to 14 degrees.
We were all ready to do asphalt and got two quotes plus the opinion of someone who used to install them. But now we are looking at pavers for the same job.
My question is this: I'm reading about the installation of pavers and first you have crushed stoned followed by something called RCA, followed by the pavers on top. Then another installer told us to do them on concrete….which didn't make sense.
I am willing of doing asphalt (not loving the idea of sealcoating every 2-5 yrs) vs pavers. I am not as concerned about looks. my biggest concern is longevity and doing whats maintenance free.
We've been driving thought Dix Hills and Roslyn looking at steep driveways and it seems that virtually EVERYone does asphalt. No one with a driveway of 14 degrees seems to do pavers. I can't imagine that with these million+ dollar homes that they decided to go cheap on pavers vs asphalt.
Please, can I get the opinion of some of you more knowledgeable guys here.
Oh and here's a PS. I was talking with a client of mine who has pavers on a sloped driveway of her home and she sells masonry supplies. She has UNILOCK bricks and I was picking her brain. Bt the end of the conversation, she told me she'd had her unilock driveway 8 years and she wishes she just went with asphalt.
Pavers if not installed correctly can sink and loosen, which is why that contractor recommended placing them on top of concrete. Asphalt cracks, gets soft in hot weather and requires sealing periodically.
If you are looking for longevity and low maintenance, re think concrete.
The slope/hill will give you trouble somewhere at some time with small pavers. Do asphalt or concrete. Concrete is better. The can dye to color other than regular cement color or cut grooves for traction if your hill is steep.
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Asphalt is my first preference and snow melts better in the winter. Concrete is fine and they can run finish lines that improve traction/water run off. If you like the look of pavers use them as an accent edging to another material or as the transition section from road to driveway.
My driveway and a lot of homes in my area are also steep. We all have concrete or asphalt. Our steps and walkways are brick and pavers and our masonary guy told us never use rock salt/pellets on them. Only use sand for traction when it's icy. Plowing and shoveling can also damage the pavers. I'd go asphalt or concrete and agree with the suggestions above--use pavers for accents or have the concrete dyed.
I would check the specs from the type of paver (Brick, concrete,) you have in mind, and inquire what the maximum grade is allowed for placement of the pavers.
In addition,keep in mind that stormwater runoff more than likely undermine the pavers on a steep grade driveway.
If your looking for color, stamped concrete is recommened and properly sealed.
Using asphalt, beef up your base course and add extra thickness to the pavement
My friend has a driveway that was so steep that everytime I backed out of the driveway my rear hitch on the SUV would scrape the bottom portion of the driveway as it met the street. Incidentally, their driveway is asphalt with a paver apron and it looks beautiful. I would imagine its technically more difficult to install a paver driveway on a steep slope as there is less room for error in leveling the pavers and making sure they interlock properly at grade.
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