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I am a recent, first time home owner and I would like to enlarge my one car driveway into a two car driveway. Most of my neighbors have Asphalt, which I think is ugly, but they all say it is easier to maintain and less expensive to install than pavers. I would love to hear others thoughts on the pros/cons of each and also any costs related to the install of either.
Aspahalt is definitely cheaper to install.
It will require resealing every few years which is not too expensive.
Pavers can be very pricey and if installed correctly would probably require little to no maintenance and outlast you and your children and grandchildren.
Make some calls and get multiple estimates for both.
An asphalt driveway done right can look great and last a long time, so don't feel compelled to keep up with HGTV because the stupid tv shows say you need to do pavers otherwise you will be black sheep of the neighborhood and all of your friends and family.
My neighbor who has pavers, told me that you cannot use snow blower on them, and considering that we had quite a few instances of it over the past few years, this is something to think about.
My neighbor who has pavers, told me that you cannot use snow blower on them, and considering that we had quite a few instances of it over the past few years, this is something to think about.
This isn't true.
I have pavers, not on the driveway, but on paths to the door. I used the snow blower the other day without a problem.
Regarding driveway, I'm also planning on doing mine. I've been doing a lot of research, and the conclusion I got to is that the most important thing is to have someone that does the grading correctly.
If the grade is not done correctly, whatever you put on top won't last too long.
Both a 2 stage (which doesn't clear totally to the pavement) and a single stage (its paddles clear to the bare pavement) can be used on pavers.
Asphalt is definitely easier, until at some point it needs redoing. I had it resurfaced a number of years ago which essentially just puts a fresh covering on, but after a few years cracked again despite yearly sealing.
My neighbor who has pavers, told me that you cannot use snow blower on them, and considering that we had quite a few instances of it over the past few years, this is something to think about.
As others have mentioned, you can use a snowblower on pavers. What your neighbor might be thinking of is a snow plow. A plow can mess up pavers, especially if they don't use some care when plowing.
As also pointed out by others, pavers are more expensive (usually much more) than asphalt. Another option for the OP to consider is a combination of both.
Several homes by me have pavers with an asphalt inset. Basically half of each. May sound odd, but it can look very nice. A few homes did full pavers. While is may have been the color/texture/shape choice, it doesn't look as good - way too busy.
The combination method can offer some interesting design options and save a few dollars over a full stone driveway.
I think asphalt with a Belgian block border looks quite nice. I've seen some hideous pavers, but I've seen some nice ones, too. It's just not an area I'd be looking to throw more cash than is needed though.
I'm going to need to redo my five car, single width driveway soon and I'm interested in these posts as well. I've only considered asphalt or concrete so fR. my neighbor has concrete with brick borders, looks great but pricey
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