Asphalt Driveways: Make Sure That You Always Have The Best!

A driveway in front of your home is extremely important and necessary, especially if you own automobiles. It extends from the front of your garage till the main road ahead. Driveways give you a smooth passage which helps to quickly take out your cars, two-wheeler bikes, cycles, etc., and also to put them back in your garage. A driveway can be made with different materials. The most recent and widely used type of driveway is the asphalt driveway. Lets us know more about the asphalt driveway and learn in detail about the advantages and disadvantages of using it.

What Is An Asphalt Driveway?

Before we talk about how asphalt driveways are good or bad, let us first know what they are. Asphalt driveways are driveways whose main component is a mixture of asphalt cement and rock. Asphalt cement is a product of petroleum which is similar to tar, which gives the driveway the blacktop. You must be thinking how are these different from concrete, and the answer to that is straightforward- asphalt is highly pliable, that is it extremely easy to freeze and thaw it.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Asphalt Driveways

Asphalt driveways are becoming exceedingly common in countries all around the world, especially in the countries where there is heavy snowfall like the countries near Artic Circle. The more we move towards the Arctic circle, we will see these type of driveways thanks to the increased number of cycles of freezing and thawing.

Pros of Asphalt Driveways:

Let us look at a few benefits of installing Asphalt Driveways:

1. As mentioned earlier, asphalt driveways are extremely helpful in the colder regions where the freeze and thaw cycles are high in number. This is so because the blacktop of these driveways absorbs more amount of heat, causing the snow falling on the path to melt faster and quicker when compared to other types of driveways. Hence, your efforts and time is saved which goes in cleaning the snow.
2. Installing asphalt driveways is very easy since the process is not as time-consuming as installing different kinds of driveways.
3. You can easily use these driveways after 24 hours of installation as the setting time is not huge unlike other types of driveways like concrete.

When it comes to the cons, it is best to mention that although asphalt driveways can be driven on after 24 hours of installation, new asphalt takes a good couple of years to cure completely. Until the asphalt heals fully, small scratches and patches may occur when you take sharp turns via your automobile, tractor tires, especially on hot days.

Know The Cost Of Installing Asphalt Driveways

If you take a look at the different types of driveways that people use around the world, you will notice that asphalt driveways fall third in line in regards to costing and when comparing the maintenance, it comes second. On comparing the cost of installation, an asphalt driveway is the least expensive option among the other hard surface driveways. Although it is also the option which is chosen widely around the world, the ongoing maintenance of asphalt driveways is persistent since it takes a couple of years for complete curing.

How Long Does The Asphalt Driveway Last For?

An asphalt driveway that is appropriately maintained will have a life expectancy of 20 years, which may even extend to 30 years if the maintenance is scheduled regularly. This variation is life expectancy is upon various factors such as the stability of the sub-grade, frequency of maintenance, quality of installation, the climate of the region, etc.

Conclusion

If you are living in cold regions where there is frequent snowfall and the temperature falls to below freezing temperature, installing asphalt driveways is one of the best options for you. With proper care and maintenance, you can have a path that lasts for a long time without any complaints!