Top 3 Pros and Cons of Building a Concrete Driveway

Have you ever wondered why a concrete driveway is so popular amongst people? Well, the answer lies in the durability and strength of the concrete slab that makes it an obvious choice. It outlasts other materials such as concrete pavers, bricks and cobblestone which are cheaper than concrete. In this article we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the usage of concrete to build driveways of your home or other property.

#1. Let’s Understand from the Start

Sometimes, concrete is perceived as cement, while it’s just one material in many components that make concrete.

Advantages: Strength is one of the many advantages of concrete that can catch your attention while selecting it as your building material. The component is built with diverse aggregated stones which are bound by a lime-based binder, probably Portland cement and water. Flexibility is another quality of concrete that makes it an excellent building material. The aggregated stones vary in sizes for the various uses of concrete. For instance, sidewalks or driveways need gravel-sized aggregated stones in the concrete while for smoother surfaces and finer finishing, you’ll need fine sand-sized aggregated stones in the component.

Disadvantages: At first concrete is slurry that is poured in various forms and cured to shape it differently. Now, the hardening process takes time when the concrete cures. Though the curing process makes the hardening little faster, sometimes it takes months or even years. Sometimes, extra material is needed to strengthen the concrete or fastening drying. Extra steel reinforcement sidebar or wire is planted within the concrete slab to strengthen it, which increases the cost significantly.

#2. Installing the Concrete

Advantages: With a professional crew of constructors, the job of excavating, preparing the forms, pouring the concrete and finishing up the surfaces can only take a few days. The dugout driveway needs a 4-inch base to lay the criss-cross metal bar or wire to prepare the form. After pouring the concrete, the construction crew works quickly as it takes very little to harden then. After ensuring the grooves in directed intervals on the wet surface, the real craftwork is floating that ensures the concrete to be a smoother and attractive surface.

Disadvantages: To build a concrete driveway, trees, vegetation and woodlands around the area have to be cut down to give the concrete a solid ground. In pouring the concrete, if there aren’t the prescribed expansion joints that it will crack under the natural shifting and settling. An excessive amount of floating can cause the surface to flake instead of being smoother, and a little number of floating means rough-looking commercial driveway. Next, the concrete undergoes a chemical transformation that makes it hard. In cold weather, the curing process takes more time than it does in other seasons. Here, time literally means money.

#3. Maintenance of the Concrete Driveway

It’s commonly perceived that concrete driveway is practically maintenance-free. It’s easy to take good care of your driveway as to scrub it with a hose and clean it. However, even concrete driveways need ensured sealers for longevity. Especially in the colder parts of the world, you need to apply the sealer once a year in the fall to assure that the slab will protect against the harsh snow and road salt.

Conclusion:

Finally, all we can say is that the advantage of a concrete driveway wins out the disadvantages. It’s not a work of just the homeowner but contractors, the time and money put into building the driveway ensures longevity and strength while cheaper materials cannot claim the same.

The above basic guidelines will indeed help you choose the best concrete driveways to build your home.