DRIVEWAYS - WHY DO THEY COST SO MUCH?
You probably should know!
The cost of the Materials, Trucking, Insurance & Labor have sky-rocketed in the past few years.
Cobble stone, pavers & brick applications
These are the Rolls Royce's of the driveway entrepreneur!
Real driveway art where the look and designs make a statement!
There beauty, elegance and grace also comes with a hefty price tag.
The reason they cost so much is each piece has to be hand set one at a time, and each piece has a purchase price. Much time is spent hand laying these products not to mention color and design patterns and cutting hundreds of them to fit. Think of is as putting together a large 10,000 piece puzzle, on your hands and knees, where each piece weighs 10 lbs. and you have to make the pieces fit as you go!! This is a time consuming task there-fore making it very expensive. Imagine having to purchase 10,000 pieces for example: and each one cost $3.00 this product would cost the contractor $30,000. Before he can even begin to bid on the driveway installation and labor cost, he would need to know exactly what product, colors and design pattern that you desire!
Cobble stone may cost as much as $5.00 each
Bricks or Paver can cost anywhere from .50 cents to as much as $3.00 each with a great variety of shapes and colors.
Durability: last a lifetime & some pavers come with a warranty
Price range: $10 sq/ft - $50. sq/ft
Maintenance: semi-annual washing & sealing, weed control yearly
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Stamped & colored concrete
The durability of concrete with a more distinguished look. These driveways come in a variety of styles and colors. Not as time consuming to install as a paver or brick driveway. They add a touch of character & beauty far beyond the standard concrete installations. Your concrete professionals can show you the many patterns & designs as well as color options. These driveways also have a very long life expectancy (as much as 50 years). They need to be installed properly and survive the first few seasons without cracking. All concrete installations need joint expansions which control where the cracking will take place. Re-bar or wire mess is also helpful to increase it's strength and decrease the chances of cracking.
Durability: 30-50 year life expectancy
Prince range: $5. sq/ft. - $20. sq/ft.
Maintenance: semi-annual washing & sealing
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Concrete
Good old fashion concrete! It's hard to beat the durability of this product provided it doesn't crack within the first year. Cracking is more of a problem in the northern climates because frost is always inevitable. Frosts heaves are one of the major causes of surface cracks in all driveway products. All concrete installations need joint expansions which control where the cracking will take place. Re-bar or wire mess is also helpful to increase it's strength and decrease the chances of cracking.
For an additional cost a color additive can be applied to make a more appealing driveway, ask your concrete professional! Concrete also can have a multitude of finishes and dressed with stone (aggregates) or slate toppings. Be careful not to make the finish real smooth or it will become slippery when wet! On the downside concrete can be difficult to keep clean and stains can be difficult to remove.
Durability: 30-50 year life expectancy
Prince range: $3. sq/ft. - $10. sq/ft.
Maintenance: semi-annual washing & sealing
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Stamped & colored asphalt
The method of making asphalt look like brick has been patented by a company know as Street Print. To my knowledge to become a street print installer a contractor needs to become an affiliate of Street Print. This means the cost is going to be high and the number of contractors that can install Street Print will be low. Street Print installations are no doubt beautiful, but be aware that the color tends to fade and there is a on-going maintenance cost associated with this product. The coloring is more expensive than seal coating and needs to be done every couple of years. These types of driveways have all the durability of asphalt and have no weed control problem associated with brick or paver installations. Street Print is basically asphalt that looks like brick and comes in a variety of colors.
Durability: 10-30 year life expectancy
Prince range: $3. sq/ft. - $10. sq/ft.
Maintenance: semi-annual washing & coloring
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Asphalt
The plain old black look that just keeps america rolling! Nearly every road in the world is made of asphalt because it is the most economical. More vulnerable to cracking because it is made of oil which gives it more elasticity than concrete. Easier to keep clean because it is already black. The downside is the heat that it draws on a hot summer day makes it soft and difficult to walk on barefoot (because of it's dark color)! Asphalt can also be applied over concrete or be re-applied over existing asphalt. This method is known as resurfacing, and is only as good as the base you are covering. For example: If you apply new asphalt over badly cracked concrete or asphalt, within a year or so the resurface (the new asphalt placed on top) will crack also. Asphalt with age becomes brittle and dries out from the elements, so the older it is, the more vulnerable to cracking. I believe that seal coating rejuvenates the elasticity in asphalt and should be applied every 2 - 3 years
Durability: 10-30 year life expectancy