What You Should Know About This Year
When homeowners think of ways to update and improve their homes’ exterior, a brand new driveway is one of the first things that pop into their minds. Aside from providing a path to your house, a new driveway can also provide vehicles with a smooth surface. Therefore, it’s important to know that the driveway will commonly receive a lot more wear and tear as well as a constant load compared to the other parts of your house that are subject to foot traffic. This is mainly due to the friction and weights provided by various vehicles.
Concrete driveways are a common thing these days due to concrete’s high durability and strength, a property a lot of people wish to have on a driveway. Here are a few reasons why a concrete driveway is the best option for you.
Design Versatility
Concrete driveways are never bound to the common flat slab finish and the old slate grey color. You can dye your concrete driveway in any color you like to give a unique and eye-catching look to your home’s exterior. More so, concrete has a variety of finishes, they can be polished and textured – further adding to their design versatility. This allows concrete to be a lot more versatile as opposed to other driveway materials. You can also have concrete pattern stamped to mimic the look of cobblestone, brick, tile, and many other patterns. Since you can dye concrete in a variety of different colors, a concrete driveway is able to spark appeal by giving warmth and character to the exterior of your home.
Functionality
Whether you have a subcompact car or a big SUV, your car can have a weight of over a hundred or a thousand pounds. Concrete is very functional, most especially for long term structural strength and integrity applications. A concrete driveway will last you for up to 30 years or even more with just little maintenance. It needs a lot less refinishing, repair, and replacement as opposed to asphalt and gravel driveways. On a side note, concrete does not require resurfacing or resealing, and cleaning snow and dirt off the drive has never been easier.
Concrete is an economic option
Although the upfront cost of installing a concrete driveway might not be the cheapest, you can save a lot of money in the long run due to low maintenance costs as over the course of its lifetime, it requires little to no maintenance and in the end, will be much cheaper than the other options in the end.
Concrete can reflect lights
An extra benefit to homeowners is the concrete’s ability to reflect light. This means less electrical lighting for illumination, this is especially helpful at night. This can also help deter any intruders. In addition to that, concrete is great during the summer as its light color allows it to stay cool.
Low Maintenance
Maintaining concrete driveways can’t get much easier, you can simply get rid of any stains with just soap and water. For tougher stains, it can be cleaned by scrubbing the affected area with a dry granular cleaner. But, if you wish to install a polished concrete driveway, then you will have to regularly coat it with a tropical sealant to protect the finish. A quick buff can help restore any lost luster and shine.