Driveway paving is an important outdoor installation procedure, and if done right, will boost the attractiveness of your exterior home space. With the right guidelines and installation materials, you can have your driveway paved with a minimum of labor and time. The following are some of the common mistakes made when paving a driveway. Read on to find out how to avoid these pitfalls, and how to succeed in paving your driveway.
Allowing Too Much Space
While it is a good idea to make some allowance for extra space in parking, leaving too much space will only serve to inconvenience you in the future. Consult a professional so that you can be certain to avoid allocating too much space for the driveway.
When too much of the front open space is taken up by the driveway, it has the effect of creating an unbalanced setting. It leaves the impression of something not being quite right. Even if you do have the space to spare, don’t let it all be consumed by the driveway. You’re sure to achieve a more balanced setting if you devote some of the extra space to landscaping. A good pointer in figuring out just how much space you need is to construct a driveway that will comfortably accommodate your personal vehicles.
Allowing Too Little Space
The particular design of your driveway will dictate how much space you should allocate for construction. It’s important to allow enough space to enable comfortable maneuvering and parking. Again, it pays to seek professional advice to ensure that you make the most resourceful utilization of your space while achieving the driveway of your preference.
Lack of Long-Term Considerations
A driveway is the sort of installation you don’t want to have to redo in the near future. Give careful consideration when installing, so that the outcome can serve you several years before you have to renovate it. Don’t be driven simply by the costs involved when you want to pave a driveway. What may come across as a cheaper option might not hold long-term value and appeal for you. The cheapest is not always the best. Don’t be focused on installing a driveway that will take only the shortest amount of time to install. A hastily installed driveway can make it impossible for you to incorporate certain aesthetic and functional aspects, which you may only come to appreciate much later.
Improper Application of Sealer
A sealer protects the driveway from the damaging effects of weather and other destabilizing agents. Not sealing properly is a common mistake, especially with an asphalt driveway. Applying a sealer too soon, or waiting too long before applying, will have a negative impact on the strength and durability of the driveway. It’s best to apply a sealer 6 months after installation. After that, you need to apply the sealer every 1 to 3 years.
These are some great tips, and I appreciate your advice to consider the long-term when installing a driveway. My husband and I just moved into a new house, and we want to have a driveway paved. We plan on being here for a very long time, so we’ll definitely keep that in consideration when choosing a paving company. Thanks for the great post!
I’ll be having my driveway paved as an upcoming project so I’m glad to have found your advice. I’ll be making sure that the pavement wont be taking up any unnecessary space and making sure the sealer is applied properly. Thanks for the tips.
Thank you for the reminder to look at value instead of cost. You mention the dangers of driveways that are installed too quickly; how long does it typically take to put one in? I know that time has to be allowed for curing and that depends on the weather, but if the weather cooperated the whole time, what would your general rule of thumb be?
The hosntey of your posting shines through
I’ve been getting ready to have a driveway installed on my new home. I didn’t even think about the possible error of allowing too much space! I’ll be sure to consult a professional so I don’t make my driveway too big. Thanks for sharing!
My brothers and I are going to be helping my dad pave his drive way this upcoming weekend. We all have the plans, but after looking at them, I think that he allowing to much space. I’ll have to show this to my dad and see if he wants to consider revising it so that it is just the right size.
I can see how sealant problems could be a big problem for homeowners. I know that I have definitely struggled being consistent with installation. It is just hard to remember if I don’t make it part of my yearly routine. I also didn’t know that concrete driveways also needed to be sealed.
I think one way to make sure that you avoid these problems is to hire a paving contractor. They would know what is best for the driveway. I think it would be nice to get a second opinion at least because their knowledge would really help in this situation.
I like your tip on avoiding allowing too little space in your driveway paving. I would imagine that calculating the right amount of space for the job would be important in getting a quality job done. My wife and I want to pave our driveway with asphalt so maybe we should find a company that will calculate the space accurately.
My wife and I are designing a custom home together right now. I actually really appreciated this post, especially because we’ve been trying to sketch out the driveway. I can see how you would need to find the middle ground between allowing too little space and allowing too much space. This was a helpful post, so thanks for sharing it!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on efficient personal.
Regards
Thanks for the insight of not taking into account long term considerations. As yous say, a driveway isn’t something that you want to redo in a couple of months or even a couple of years! So, making sure that you’re getting the right materials, allocating the right amount of time, and hiring the right man power for the job will help you to keep this long term perspective. Thanks for sharing!
Not having enough space is a really good thing to consider with a driveway, I know that I drive a bigger car and I don’t want it all to be taken up by one vehicle. I’ll have to make sure I do all the correct measurements before we start any actual work with my contractor. Thanks for the advice!
I like that you brought up the importance of sealing your driveway. We get snow where we live and if water gets in the cracks and freezes it will crack your driveway. Be sure to have it sealed correctly.
We are getting a new driveway soon, so I really appreciate these tips! I am concerned about finding the right size, so I will talk to our contractor like you suggested to determine how much space we will need. Is it hard to add more concrete if it ends up being too small? Thanks for all this helpful information!
Wow, I had no idea that allowing too much space in the driveway could lead to some problems. My husband and I have always wanted to get a wide driveway so that we can fit more cars, but it sounds like that may not be the best option. Either way, it sounds like we would have to run our plans by a contractor before we make anything final. After all, I don’t want to be that person who has to redo their driveway in the near future!
After years of rough winters and cars constantly driving over it, my driveway has finally cracked. I’m actually a little worried about it. There’s a bunch of chips in it that I have already cut my foot on twice. I’d love to get it repaved. This time, I’ll pay more attention to the long-term effect like you mentioned.
What a great advice that was given about leaving too much space and how it will serve to inconvenience those who do asphalt paving. Reading about this information had me thinking about taking notes of it.Mainly because of my plans to build a new driveway for my home.
I agree that not considering the long-term can cause some problems down the road. Like you said, cost of the driveway should not determine the kind of driveway. I think it is better to install a quality more expensive driveway, and in return you will have a driveway that will last much much longer.
Having a good driveway can make all the difference in the curb appeal of a home. WE use our driveway all the time and I am glad that it has stood up for so long. I did not know that you could have too much of a driveway and that you should better balance it out with more landscaping because I thought the bigger the driveway the better.
I like that you bring up the lack of long term considerations as a mistake that people make when paving their driveway. I imagine that it would help if you talked to your paving contractor about the future uses for your driveway before you begin a driveway paving project. I imagine that you will want some more space if you plan on buying an RV or camper in the future. I’ll have to remember to avoid this mistake when it comes time to start my own driveway paving project. Thanks for the advice!
My friend is building a home and he is deciding on what materials to install for the driveway. You stated that people should give careful consideration when installing, so the outcome can serve you several years before you have to renovate it. I didn’t realize that some paving materials are more durable than others. It seems that he should keep that in mind when considering what to install. I wonder what materials the local contractors have available.
Thank you for this article. I really agree with the importance of the sealer. A question I have is what material do you prefer for a driveway. Is it better to use concrete or brick? Are there benefits by choosing one or the other? Thank you in advance!