Would you like to improve your home and make it look attractive and stylish? Why not consider renovating your driveway or constructing a new, nice-looking and durable walkway?
A lot of us want to improve our home and make it look more attractive, durable and also stylish. Apart from the kitchen and garage that we usually renovate, our driveway is among the areas of our home or property that we want to modernize or improve. We want to have the best driveway for our homes. But then, do you know what the best driveway for your home is?
There are many types of driveways that we can choose from. They usually depend on the building materials used and the common materials for installing driveways or even garage are asphalt, cement, cobblestone, brick, natural stones, etc.
The popular type of driveways you can find in most homes in the US and in other parts of the world are the following:
1.) Asphalt or blacktop driveways
Asphalt is the cheapest building material used for driveways. The initial cost of asphalt driveways is lesser compared to other types of driveways but then the asphalt driveway requires frequent maintenance. This is because the asphalt should be resealed every year or two. A typical asphalt driveway is gray in color and looks plain.
2.) Brick or cobblestone driveways
Brick or cobblestone driveways are considered as “high-end” driveways and are quite expensive. A brick driveway can withstand for years but then it tends to appear uneven as time passes by thus regular or yearly maintenance is also required.
3.) Concrete or Cement driveway
A cement driveway is the most popular type of driveway that you can find in modern homes today. A concrete driveway can already be considered as part of the landscape outside the home because the concrete can make the house look attractive and elegant looking.
Cement driveways are less expensive than brick driveways and do not require regular upkeep because no yearly resealing is needed unlike that of asphalt or blacktop driveways.
The types of concrete driveways are as follows:
a.) Plain concrete – is the basic and cheapest type of concrete driveway. It is plain in color and best suits those with limited budget but are longing for a durable driveway.
b.) Exposed aggregate concrete – uses materials that can be likened to granite which needs polishing in order for the beauty to come out. In the case of exposed aggregate concrete, pigment or other building materials still needs to be added to provide new color, texture or design to the concrete.
For exposed aggregate concrete, the concrete is poured the regular way into the area of the driveway but the top layer is washed gently thus exposing some of the aggregate.
c.) Decorative or stamped concrete – can cost double or triple the price of plain concrete but it it’s definitely worth your money. Decorative or stamped concrete is today’s home remodeling. Homeowners can choose a color or texture for their stamped concrete driveway based on the color and style they prefer.
In a decorative or stamped concrete, the cement is poured in the area which is already framed with boards, then patterns are applied to the concrete before it dries up. Sometimes, pigment is added to the stamped concrete so that the pattern or style will really show.
4.) Paving driveways
Some driveways are built using different materials or a combination of two or three. Pacing stones, brick pavers and natural stones are the common pavers used. They can make driveways look more attractive. But unfortunately, this type of driveway requires more time and is somewhat difficult to install. Paving driveways are also expensive and requires high maintenance.
It is important to choose a driveway that will last for a long time and at the same time will really make your home more attractive and trendy.