Do you need to have a new driveway installed outside of your home? If so, you’re probably going to have to pay a pretty penny for it.
On average, new driveways can cost anywhere from a few thousand dollars to well over $20,000 in some cases. It all depends on where your home is located, how large of a driveway you need, and, of course, what kind of driveway you choose to install.
For years now, homeowners have been debating asphalt vs. concrete driveways. If you’re going to spend thousands of dollars on your new driveway, you should take the time to learn about these two great options so that you’re able to make the right choice.
You should think about everything from the durability of asphalt vs. concrete to the asphalt vs. concrete cost. It’ll help you make the right decision with regards to your driveway.
Find out what you need to know about asphalt vs. concrete driveways below.
Which Is Easier to Install?
Once you decide which type of driveway you’re going to install outside of your home, you’re going to have to go through the process of actually installing it. It’s why you should think about which driveway is going to be easier to put into place.
Neither type of driveway is particularly difficult to install. You can have a reliable asphalt company or a reliable concrete company install one without any trouble at all.
But you should be aware of the fact that a concrete driveway can take up to one full week to cure. That means that you’re not going to be able to drive and park on it for at least seven days when you first have it installed.
An asphalt driveway, on the other hand, can be driven and parked on almost immediately in most cases. It’ll make it the more convenient option when it comes to installing it and putting it to good use right away.
Which Requires More Maintenance?
After you have a new driveway installed outside of your home, it’s going to be your job to maintain it over time so that it looks and performs its best. If you don’t take the time to do the proper maintenance on your driveway, it’s going to begin to crack, fade, and wear down on you sooner than it should.
Asphalt driveways are going to require a decent amount of maintenance over the years. You’re going to need to keep a close eye out for cracks at all times and repair them accordingly.
Concrete driveways, on the other hand, don’t usually require much maintenance at all. You will, however, have to do more extensive repairs to them when they do need to have maintenance done. You should keep that in mind from the moment you first have one installed.
Which Is Simpler to Repair?
As we alluded to a few seconds ago, there are going to be cracks that will appear in your asphalt driveway from time to time that will need to be fixed up to keep your driveway strong. You’ll need to plan to patch them up sooner rather than later to stop them from getting to be too big.
That being said, the cracks that form in asphalt driveways aren’t typically all that difficult to fix. You should be able to knock them out yourself in no time at all by filling and sealing them. It’s a relatively easy repair job in the grand scheme of things.
The same can’t always be said for concrete driveways. If a crack ever forms in a concrete driveway, it’s going to be a challenge repairing it on your own. You’ll need to hire professionals to come out and do it in most cases.
You’ll also need to prepare to live with an unsightly patch job since it’s tough to hide the areas that have been patched up in a concrete driveway. They tend to stand out a lot more than the areas that have been patched up in asphalt driveways.
Which Is Better Under Extreme Weather Conditions?
Do you happen to live in a place where the temperature fluctuates quite a bit throughout the course of the year? If so, the weather is no doubt going to put your driveway through the wringer when the temps go up and down.
Asphalt driveways usually handle extreme weather conditions better than concrete driveways do. Asphalt will expand and contract as the temperature goes up and down in your area so that your driveway won’t crack easily.
Concrete driveways, meanwhile, aren’t as quick to expand and contract along with changes in the weather. This can result in them cracking on you when it gets very hot and/or very cold, especially if the temperature goes from one end of the spectrum to the other without much warning.
You’re going to have to be concerned about extreme temperature changes regardless of whether you have an asphalt driveway or a concrete driveway. But you might be able to get away with being a little bit less concerned when you have asphalt vs. concrete.
Which Is More Stain-Resistant?
If you don’t plan on parking cars on your asphalt or concrete driveway all that often, you might not have to worry about it getting stained. But the vast majority of people who take the time to install driveways do it because they want to have a better place to park their cars when they’re not using them.
If you have a concrete driveway, this is going to prove to be problematic if you ever park a car on it that is leaking either gasoline or oil. Gas and oil can both stain concrete in a major way and affect the overall appearance of it.
Gas can also do irreparable damage to an asphalt driveway. But asphalt driveways do tend to handle oil stains better than concrete driveways do. They’ll often hide oil stains so that they can’t be seen by the naked eye.
Which Lasts Longer?
At the end of the day, you don’t want to have to worry about installing another new driveway for a long, long time after installing the one that you’re putting into place now. It’s why you need to think long and hard about which type of driveway is going to be the most durable option for you.
This is one category in which a concrete driveway will definitely win out over an asphalt one. Generally speaking, you should be able to get upwards of 30 years, if not more, out of a concrete driveway.
That’s not usually going to be the case for an asphalt driveway. Most asphalt driveways only last for around 20 years before they’ll need to be replaced.
Whether you go with an asphalt driveway or a concrete driveway, you can make it last longer than it might otherwise by maintaining it properly and making the right repairs to it. But on average, you’re going to find that a concrete driveway will stick around for a longer period of time than an asphalt driveway will in almost all cases.
Which Is More Cost-Effective?
Cost is obviously something that is a big concern for anyone who is thinking about installing a new driveway. You don’t want to have to pay anymore than you should have to in order to have your new driveway installed.
If cost is something that’s a deciding factor for you, you’re likely going to discover that an asphalt driveway will help you stick to your budget better than a concrete driveway will.
The average asphalt driveway will run you somewhere between $2 and $5 per square foot. For the average concrete driveway, you’ll be looking at somewhere between $3 and $10 per square foot.
As you can see, there is a little bit of an overlap there. You could get a low-end concrete driveway for the same price as you would pay for a high-end asphalt driveway.
But the clear winner in the asphalt driveway cost vs. concrete driveway cost is almost always going to be an asphalt driveway. You could install an asphalt driveway for just a fraction of what you would pay for a concrete driveway that is the same size.
This is going to be useful information for anyone who can’t afford to pay an arm and a leg for a new driveway for their home.
Asphalt vs. Concrete Driveway: Which One Should You Get?
It’s pretty easy to see why the asphalt vs. concrete driveway debate gets so heated. There are pros and cons that come along with both sides.
Only you can decide which side of the fence you’re going to fall on. Investing in a new driveway for your home is a big decision, which is why you should weigh the pros and cons of each option carefully before deciding on which type of driveway you want.
Would you like to learn more about asphalt and concrete driveways and see how they’ll benefit your home? Check out the other articles on our blog to get the information you’re looking for.
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