Driveway paving wisdom needed

[DannyBNH]

So my wife and I are considering paving the driveway, or maybe considering using paving stones..

I have very little knowledge on the topic.

My driveway is "L" shaped and I measured it at being 100 x 11 from the street to the turn, and then approximately 40 x 22 from the turn to the double bay garage. about 2000 square feet total and uphill.

I remember getting a quote for about $4500 to pave it about about 10 years ago..

Has the prices changed much?

Also we were thinking about using stone pavers.. I'm old but not dead so I'm not afraid of doing a little backbreaking work unless it's something best left to professionals.

I remember there were always concerns about who you pick also...

Any recommendations, pro or con, pavers vs. asphalt?
And what to be weary of..

Thanks
Dan

[johnsjmc]

I had a driveway paved a couple years ago it was $3.50/ft.
I did a paving stone drive myself about 30 yrs ago and it was 20x100 and backbreaking work . I wouldn,t do it again although it still looks OK today.
Stamped concrete is another option.

[pete3799]

Asphalt prices have dropped this year. Call a few local paving contractors and get a per ton price.
Base coat and top coat. Also they may have to grade your existing driveway so that may add to it.

[LakeCleElum]

Price of paving changes drastically with change of oil prices......Now might be a good time as Pete advises.........I did 300' x 20" + turn around area for $10,500 in 2008 or 2009?

[A930Rocket]

No idea, but why is asphalt used up north and concrete in the south?

[LakeCleElum]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

No idea, but why is asphalt used up north and concrete in the south?

Frost Heaves......My concrete parking pad (36 X 24") is all cracked to hell.....

[john70t]

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

No idea, but why is asphalt used up north and concrete in the south?

Michigan asphalt roads quickly go to H-E-doubleLL in a hand basket...while Minnesota and Wisconsin have good ones.

I-96 (north of Detroit) was recently repaved in concrete using the "european method" of putting down many layers of a solid base to build upon.
SE Michigan is all clay base which shifts and heaves.
It cost extra to install.
We will see if it lasts.

[TimT]

Asphalt is flexible pavement.

Concrete is rigid pavement...

With either, the most important thing you can do, is have a proper base to place the wearing surface on...

Given that this is a driveway that will see at most a few cars a day traffic, make sure the substrate, which is what the base is placed on "walks well" walk with hard heel strikes i.e where you feel soft spots areas with excessive fines, pumping usually means layers of clay that should be removed.... have the contractor dig out the offending areas little more $ and replace with a blend (recycled concrete is great)

Then a a few inches of blend, and either asphalt top, or concrete, you would be looking at a driveway that lasts a really long time...

Now if you want to add some subsurface drainage ;-)

[TimT]

I-96 (north of Detroit) was recently repaved in concrete using the "european method" of putting down many layers of a solid base to build upon.

That is called 50 years pavement in the industry... or at least in this hood

A well prepared base, then 300 mm of sub-base 150mm of "popcorn" which is a
drain-able base the 300mm of reinforced concrete with utility isolations

Basically 2-1/2 feet of well controlled pavement... Thickness does vary, I worked in northern Vermont for a year and the base was considerably thicker

[TimT]

Build your driveway like this... it will outlast many

This

[M.D. Holloway]

Paver Stones are really nice but bring a fat wallet...

If I had a bunch to cash to burn through I would use paver stones instead on concrete. Asphalt No Bueno here in Tejas

[dad911]

I don't know about NH, but around here, pavers are $15+ per sf, concrete $6-7, patterned concrete about same as pavers. Paved/asphalt is about $3 per sf.

The prep is key to paving, need a good base of compacted soil, then 4-6" of compacted roadstone (stone with stone dust mixed in) If they grade and pave using existing stone, you'll be lucky to get 7 years.

And don't believe the guys selling driveway seal coats. My driveway is 30 years old, never sealed on a good shale/stone base. Just getting first cracks now. Neighbors seal every year, and have replaced & cracking driveways. Sealing holds in moisture, cracks in winter. IMHO asphalt needs to breath.

[id10t]

Any potential issues with tree roots breaking it up, etc?

Mom has a looong drive way and lots of trees. When we moved in in the 70s it was all done in dirt and mulch. Since then it has had 3 or 4 applications of stone, works much better, no concern about tree roots, etc.

[billybek]

That is a long driveway.

I really like the look and the texture of pavers but some of the stamped concrete looks good too.

If it were my house, I would go with asphalt from the street and switch to pavers at the front of the house or garage. Pavers are easy to pull up and do a repair where asphalt can look pretty crappy after a period of time and concrete can crack and heave with freeze thaw.

YMMV.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by dad911

I don't know about NH, but around here, pavers are $15+ per sf, concrete $6-7, patterned concrete about same as pavers. Paved/asphalt is about $3 per sf.

The prep is key to paving, need a good base of compacted soil, then 4-6" of compacted roadstone (stone with stone dust mixed in) If they grade and pave using existing stone, you'll be lucky to get 7 years.

And don't believe the guys selling driveway seal coats. My driveway is 30 years old, never sealed on a good shale/stone base. Just getting first cracks now. Neighbors seal every year, and have replaced & cracking driveways. Sealing holds in moisture, cracks in winter. IMHO asphalt needs to breath.

This is good info! What do you do when you get the cracks. I see some folks fill them with a tube, but others have some sort of repaving effort over the old material. Is the repair equivalent to the original job, or less since less material is used (most of the original paving left in place)? I assume that is not "sealing"?

Also, does the patterned concrete hold up reasonably well to the light car traffic a driveway would see? I assume it would.

[peppy]

I want a tar and chip driveway, we couldn't afford the pavers. Cheaper (I was told 1/2 the price of asphalt) and more durable than asphalt and pretty much maintenance free.

[jcommin]

Originally Posted by dad911

I don't know about NH, but around here, pavers are $15+ per sf, concrete $6-7, patterned concrete about same as pavers. Paved/asphalt is about $3 per sf.

The prep is key to paving, need a good base of compacted soil, then 4-6" of compacted roadstone (stone with stone dust mixed in) If they grade and pave using existing stone, you'll be lucky to get 7 years.

And don't believe the guys selling driveway seal coats. My driveway is 30 years old, never sealed on a good shale/stone base. Just getting first cracks now. Neighbors seal every year, and have replaced & cracking driveways. Sealing holds in moisture, cracks in winter. IMHO asphalt needs to breath.

That about the correct order of cost. Like anything else prep is the key. Pavers look nice but it's expensive.

The other question - how long do you plan on living there may have an impact on how much you want to spend.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by fintstone

This is good info! What do you do when you get the cracks. I see some folks fill them with a tube, but others have some sort of repaving effort over the old material. Is the repair equivalent to the original job, or less since less material is used (most of the original paving left in place)? I assume that is not "sealing"?

If the grade will support a 2" top, you can patch, then cover the cracks with a crack-preventing fabric, then put a top layer over the whole driveway. If not, fill cracks and seal it (to give it an even color) will get a few more years out of the driveway.

Originally Posted by fintstone

Also, does the patterned concrete hold up reasonably well to the light car traffic a driveway would see? I assume it would.

I did patterned concrete around my pool, and my brother did his driveway. You will get hairline cracks with patterned concrete, and it needs to be resealed and possibly colored/dyed over time.

Originally Posted by jcommin

That about the correct order of cost. Like anything else prep is the key. Pavers look nice but it's expensive.

The other question - how long do you plan on living there may have an impact on how much you want to spend.

Good point. can also do a base coat now, top coat just before selling.

[J P Stein]

HEH....
About 25 years ago, I had an asphalt driveway laid. I figured the ground was well packed after driving over it for 20 years. The paving crew skimmed the base flat and laid 2 inches of asphalt over it.......it's still there and looks much better than the adjoining concrete.
Go figure.......

[dad911]

Originally Posted by J P Stein

HEH....
About 25 years ago, I had an asphalt driveway laid. I figured the ground was well packed after driving over it for 20 years. The paving crew skimmed the base flat and laid 2 inches of asphalt over it.......it's still there and looks much better than the adjoining concrete.
Go figure.......

Yup, It's all about the base......