Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

My husband and I want to redo our driveway and had three estimates. The last guy mentioned concrete which we never even considered..anyone have preferences, pictures, or stories about durability? We are so confused now!

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

We were going to do asphalt but I heard and remembered that you basically have to keep re doing it every few years...We had some estimates for concrete, I personally didn't love the look of it, and concrete has the possibility of cracking...we ended up doing pavers..(pics in my album). I adore the guy we used...we actually got an estimate from Fernando and ended up using Mike instead...his eye for detail is unbelievable, he's meticulous and honest and will tell you which way to go...
If you do use him tell him Jen recommended you...

Not sure where you're located but he does most of Nassau and some Western Suffolk.

516-867-1830

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

All three will have maintenance of there own sort. In LI I noticed so many houses had concrete, at least where we lived. It cracks and settles, but if it is done correctly it should be minimal.
Here in NJ, in my area everyone has asphalt. Once you put it down, you have it sealed 3 years later and then ever 3 years after that.
I love the look of pavers, but your not supposed to use regular salt on them because it will ruin the pavers. You also need to make sure they use the sand that when wet it almost turns to cement other wise you will have weeds in-between. Even then, you still might be weeding. It also will settle a lot. The pavers can chip, they stain very easily. Friends of ours did it last spring and it looks beautiful but you can already tell the were it took. They park on it every day too, in the same spot so you start to see tire indents.

I personally like the asphalt. I feel like it looks nice and clean. We added a paver boarder (not belgium block) at our old house. Once the spring comes we plan to cut out a portion of the asphalt and add semicircle pattern at the bottom of the driveway in pavers.

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

Asphalt is almost 25% the price of pavers. So even if you have to seal it every three years your break even point is close to 10-15 years, so it's not bad.

I did asphalt with a paver border. Looks good.

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

We did asphalt with a belgium block border and a paver path to the door next to the other side.
Our mason told us that with the stuff he used, it would require no maintenance or sealing. Its a few years old and looks like new still. And I love the way the black looks, especially with the paver path contrasting along it.

I personally don't like concrete cause it shows all the oil stains and cracks easier and the cracks are more noticeable on the light color.

I also don't really like the look of pavers on a driveway when the car is not in it and think it is a waste of money to get oil stains and have a car sitting on it most of the time. But that is just my personal preference!

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

We have a concrete driveway. We didn't choose it, but are very happy with it. It's divided in sections by wood panels in the ground - I guess this is how they put it together when pouring it.

The driveway was new (within a year) of us buying the house in 2007.

I will admit it has started to crack a little after this winter with the cold and ice, but overall it has remained in great shape through the years.

I have no idea who installed it, but we know that when it comes time to redo the driveway, we plan to do concrete again.

Our DC and their friends play on it during the summer and it's not too hot to stand on, and it has never stained with all the yard work DH does or the car maintenance he does. A good rain makes it all disappear.

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

I dont care for the look of an all paver driveway. Just a personal preference. Plus for us we just didnt want to spend that kind of money as we expanded our driveway to hold more cars and a boat.

I wouldnt consider concrete. My parents have it and it cracks. Like the PP alot of people in my parents neighborhood have/had concrete and all were cracked.

We have pavers outlining ours but then did asphalt. We did it in April 2007 and have not had to do anything to it at this point. My DH works with a contractor who does asphalt mainly for commercial clients and he told DH not to do anything until you have to bc once you start sealing it, you have to keep doing it. Our color has dulled its not a bright black anymore, but we can probably get another year maybe even 2 before we have to seal it.
Not bad for spending $2500.

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

I'd like to know as well. Right now we have a concrete driveway that is badly cracked... I called for estimates last year and didn't realize how expensive it was. Not sure if its worth it to spend the money to do concrete again.

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

Thank you for the responses. I prefer asphalt, I had never considered concrete. However, when I started looking at pics, there were some nice options. The mason my mother in law used gave a good price on the stoop, but he doesn't use asphalt. The other two companies were night and day in terms of ideas and price?! I will post when we decide, we have 3 more names...

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

My driveway is long and we opted to do a section next to the garage in concrete so the kids would have an area to play basketball and ride their scooters. It is lined in belgian block. We chose concrete because the rest of the driveway is light colored stones and it blends together nicely. Another reason I like it is that it doesn't get blazing hot in the summer.

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers

we have asphalt with paver details ... love it!

it does need to be sealed every 3-5 years!

Re: Concrete vs asphalt vs pavers