To pave or not to pave, that is the question. At least that is the question that will be answered in this article. For many homeowners, asphalt paving is an afterthought. It may not be up there on the list with replacing inefficient windows or upgrading a furnace. However, whether or not you pave your driveway is still an important decision to think about. Here are a few reasons why.
Who Will Benefit From Asphalt Paving?
Most interact with asphalt as soon as they put rubber to the road. While driving, whether you are on four wheels or two, the roads you travel on are probably asphalt. Except for some rural roads, it is the most widely used material for paving.
You will also notice it is used for commercial applications as well. Most notably, for parking lots. When visiting strip malls, it is hard not to notice the parallel lines painted on the black surface. Another common place you will notice asphalt is in residential driveways. This material is very versatile.
What Are Some Benefits of Asphalt?
For homeowners, when working with a residential asphalt paving contractor, they will likely have a list of reasons to pave your driveway. If you currently have a dirt or crushed stone driveway, then you know it doesn’t stay pretty for long. A lot of maintenance is involved.
Dirt Driveways
Dirt driveways can erode over time, especially after heavy rainfall. If the driveway is sloped, this problem can worsen rapidly. Also with dirt, if it gets wet, then it turns to mud. Then the mud gets tracked onto the front steps and into the house. It is a real pain to clean that up. Lastly, dirt driveways can get divots and holes while shoveling during and after a snowstorm. Even though dirt is solid, it is not the most effective driveway material.
Crushed Stone Driveways
You may decide to put crushed stone on top of the dirt. Crushed stone definitely looks better than dirt, however, it has its own set of issues. For example, when vehicles constantly drive on crushed stone, the rocks can sink into the dirt and literally disappear. Over time the driveway will lose the initial clean look and the stones will become brown and muddy. Also, with crushed stone, you have the same shoveling problem. The stones get swept up with the snow.
Asphalt Driveways
Asphalt driveways have a lot of advantages over dirt and crushed stone driveways. When asphalt gets wet, no mud is produced. There are no muddy tracks to clean up. When you have asphalt paving, snow removal is much easier. Since asphalt is one big sheet, there are no individual rocks to shovel up accidentally. Your shovel hits the pavement and can’t go any further. There is very little maintenance involved when it comes to an asphalt driveway.
How Do I find a Residential Asphalt Paving Contractor?
Now that it is clear to see the advantages of having a driveway made of asphalt, there are some steps to take to find driveway paving services you can trust.
Locate A Trustworthy Remodeling Contractor
It may seem like a difficult challenge to do find a good residential asphalt paving contractor. There are a lot of options out there to choose from. Sifting through them to find the best is a job in itself. Even though it takes effort, it really is in your best interests to find a remodeling contractor that you can trust to get the job done right. Typically, as customers who need asphalt paving services look for a company, they want to find the best they can find for the best possible price.
Check out their Work
Check online and ask friends for recommendations. Once you have a few viable options, reach out to the contractors for a few customer references. You can call their previous customers and see what kind of service the residential asphalt paving contractor provided. If possible, try to go and see up close and personal the kind of work they perform. When you see examples of their work, it will help you make a decision. The contractor should be happy to provide references if they are professional and know what they are doing. If they are reluctant to provide references that it’s big sign that you should move on.
