Concrete is ideal if you want a solid and reliable driveway. Plus, it offers a range of customisation options. Here are several considerations to think about.
Design Alternatives
To blend the driveway with the kerb view, look at the colours elsewhere on the walls, roof and garden. Concrete can be coloured and textured to complement any setting, which is one of its strengths. If your home is red brick, you could lay dark charcoal concrete that is stencilled in a diamond paver pattern. Or else, seamless moulded stamps can be pressed on the cement, giving it stone-like grooves and fissures. Concrete can also be coloured in a dusky red and given a rock salt finish to emulate red earth. Ask your contractors about their ideas to make the paving look stunning.
Managing Rain
A concrete driveway will be created with some subtle features that you may not notice but that will make it more practical. For example, the driveway won't typically be perfectly flat but rather will incline slightly so the rainwater rolls off and you're not left with slippery puddles. The particular contours will depend on the installation. On a flat property, the driveway may slope very slightly towards the road. However, the land underneath a driveway can be variable. It may angle downwards towards the garage, or the ground could slope horizontally, and the contractors will work out the best way to let the rain drain away according to the situation.
Cracking
Another issue that the contractors will manage is the possibility of the driveway cracking. This can happen due to weather changes and the earth's movements. To handle this possibility, they'll create control joints in the paving at set intervals. These are deep grooves that encourage any tension and cracks to happen along the same line. The cracks will then be less noticeable. Control joints are different from the decorative faux grout lines in stamped concrete, which are shallower and less pronounced.
Sealing
Depending on the design of the concrete, it may require a sealant. This is not always necessary, but it can prolong the life of decorative concrete by protecting its colours and textures. A topical sealant adds a gloss and enriches the colours. A penetrating sealant soaks into the surface and doesn't affect the appearance while offering protection from stains. The contractors can also add gritty additives during the driveway installation that increase the grip on the pavement, thus making it safer.
For more information, contact a company like PMC Concrete.
Share6 April 2023
Concrete may seem like a bit of a boring subject. However, the aim of this blog is to make you go crazy about concrete. We aren't concrete contractors but we are super interested in just about everything you could want to know about (and maybe some things you don't!) about this wonderful substance. Click on some of the links here to find out more about creating concrete walls, building concrete buildings, and using concrete as part of your landscaping project. Thank you for checking out this blog, we hope you visit us again soon to read more of our posts.
