When laying down a driveway, homeowners have the choice between using asphalt, gravel, or concrete paving. While it is important to weigh the decision carefully on which material to use, most individuals end up choosing asphalt for its durability, flexibility, and overall design. The use of asphalt provides fast, efficient, and economical construction of driveways and brings with it many advantages over other options.
1. Asphalt is Skid Resistant & Provides Safety Features
For those who live in cold climates, asphalt is skid-resistant, making it easier to use your driveway during inclement weather.
If you use an open-graded asphalt on your driveway, the splash/spray of water will be minimized.
The dark color of the asphalt also offers other safety features including glare reduction and the ability to melt snow and ice faster.
2. Asphalt is Environmentally-Friendly
Not only is asphalt environmentally friendly but it is also sustainable. Asphalt can be 100% recycled, requires less energy to install, and there is no post-consumer waste that comes from it. The life cycle costs for asphalt pavement are low because it can last upwards of 20 years with proper maintenance.
When it does come time to replace the asphalt, it can be recycled into other products that use asphalt like shingles or conventional asphalt pavement with minimal modification.
3. Asphalt is Cost-Effective
The materials used to create asphalt are more cost-effective both in their initial expense and in user cost down the line. Asphalt has no joints to repair and because it is not impacted by the freeze-thaw cycle, the maintenance costs are low.
4. Asphalt is Quick to Install
A major advantage over concrete is that using asphalt for your driveway guarantees a quick installation period. It typically takes 1-2 days for an asphalt driveway to be installed and it can be ready to use in as early as 5 days from project start time.
5. Asphalt is Durable & Low Maintenance
Asphalt’s flexibility allows it to withstand occasional overloads without incurring serious damage. An example for this would be, if a homeowner wants to bring their boat out of storage and needs a place to hook it up to the back of their truck, doing so on their driveway once a season isn’t going to cause serious damage to the driveway.
Beyond this, asphalt is resistant to the freeze-thaw cycle and de-icing salts, giving homeowners superior performance during inclement weather. Its durability also means that it will crack less from seasonal changes in temperature and weather, making maintenance repairs inexpensive and easy to complete.
6. You Have Choice in What Asphalt is Used
Another advantage of using asphalt for your driveway is that you can choose which type is used.
For instance, porous asphalt is cost-effective, perpetual pavement is durable and long-lasting due to its multi-layer paving process, and hot-mix asphalt provides a fast result that can withstand freezing temperatures and the freeze-thaw cycle.
7. Asphalt Driveways Are Quiet
The use of asphalt pavement on your driveway will make it extremely quiet to use. Family members or friends that often come home late at night will no longer wake you, as the asphalt surface will absorb any engine and transmission noise from their vehicles.
Whether you are re-paving over an existing driveway or laying down a new one, the benefits of using asphalt are numerous. If you are interested in obtaining an estimate, contact us now to get started! You can give us a call today at (407) 618-9646 or fill out a contact form.
