Learn About Paving Your Driveway
A driveway serves both practical and aesthetic purposes. Anyone who needs to access a garage that sits back from the road and has no alley understands the necessity of an even, clear path to park their car. Imagine the nightmare of a muddy patch of grass after a heavy rain or the pain of shoveling a drive made of lumpy dirt. Driveways must consist of a solid surface and there are a few types of paving for driveways.
Concrete is one of the most utilized types of paving materials for a driveway. Its classification is that of solid-surface, which means that it presents a façade without large bumps and uneven seams. To form concrete, one must mix water and cement together with aggregate materials like ground limestone or granite. Some finer aggregates like sand and chemical admixtures also go into the mix. The location of the future driveway is leveled and cleared away so that concrete can be poured inside the boundaries. If the concrete is not mixed thoroughly, lumps will form and create an uneven pavement. Rebar is placed in the mixture for strengthening purposes and a trowel is used to flatten the surface. Seams that allow expansion and contraction are added to the concrete and it is left to dry.
Another solid-surface compound used to compose many driveways is asphalt. What you see is actually asphalt concrete, but the latter half of the phrase is often omitted. Asphalt itself is a sticky petroleum-based binding agent that is combined with some type of mineral aggregate to create asphalt concrete. The compound is then layered and compacted until a solid bed is laid down. Often, in North America, asphalt is referred to as blacktop. It is an effectively recycled material and breathes better than other substances. A great many parking lots and roadways are also paved with asphalt concrete.
Gravel is yet another material used to create driveways. Angular stones are preferable to smooth, round ones because they do not shift about as easily. Gravel driveways are formed by placing larger stones on the bottom layer and depositing gradually smaller stones as the layers rise. Landscaping companies often crush stones by machine into various sizes and shapes, so it is usually easy enough to find stones that are of a satisfactory size.
Driveways make life simpler by providing easy access to the garage. They also add style to the home. Depending on how you want it to look and on the consistency of the material you are looking for, there is sure to be a type of paving that will suit your taste.
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Learn About Paving Your Driveway By house | March 24, 2011
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