As a homeowner or business owner, one of your concerns when it comes to maintaining your home or business is your driveway. It is one of the first things visitors see when they come visit your home or business and it gives an impression of what to expect out of a business. So, as an owner, it is important to decide what you should use to pave your driveway or parking lot. You’ve got two choices, either you use asphalt or concrete. Both have their uses when it comes to protecting your driveway and making it look good. Let’s take a look at how both match up against each other to help you decide.
Cost and Lifespan
The first thing in any homeowner’s mind is how cost efficient their purchases are going to be. Driveway material is no exception and they both can vary in how expensive they can be.
Normally an asphalt driveway will cost from $2 to $4 per square foot of asphalt material, while concrete can cost from $3 to $6 per square foot of material. With these prices you’d probably think that asphalt is the better choice, cost wise. However, asphalt lasts only 20 to 30 years before needing to be replaced while concrete can last anywhere from 40 to 50 years.
Repairs and Maintenance
This is where the two material varies drastically from each other. You know that asphalt doesn’t last as long as concrete however, asphalt has the advantage of being far easier to repair and maintain than concrete.
Asphalt also has the advantage when it comes to how easy it is to maintain the driveway material as sealing and maintaining it doesn’t require the assistance of a professional to do. You can even resurface it on your own so long as you have the right materials and tools to do so. Concrete on the other hand is much more difficult to repair and far more expensive if it is ever damaged. Any repairs done will also never be as aesthetically pleasing as repairs done on asphalt.
One advantage that concrete has, however, is the fact that it doesn’t need as much maintaining as an asphalt driveway. Concrete sealer lasts 5 to 10 years which is double or even triple the lifespan of asphalt sealer which only lasts around 2 to 3 years. Concrete is also stronger than asphalt which makes it last as long as it does.
Stains
Stains and debris can be a detriment to both kinds of material. Oil and grease stains on asphalt are a lot less noticeable than those on concrete. However, gasoline will severely damage an asphalt driveway as it messes with its chemical composition. This degrades asphalt faster in that one particular spot. Concrete does not have this issue and these stains can be easily removed with commercial degreasers. Stains are a lot more visible on concrete however.
Weather
Owners should be aware of the weather that they normally get in their area to decide whether they’d want to use asphalt or concrete. The general idea is that hot weather is perfect for concrete, while cold weather is better for asphalt
Hot weather is incredibly detrimental to the longevity of asphalt driveways as the sealant begins to degrade and makes the asphalt melt under the heat of the sun. If it gets hot enough, the asphalt will even stick to anything on it. You could even end up having things sink into the asphalt and make depressions that not only damage the look of the asphalt but also its integrity.
Concrete on the other hand does not handle cold weather too well. The thawing and melting of the water in the concrete will make it crack over time. It will break off into chunks when the cold weather is too much for it to handle.