Paving 101

Asphalt and Concrete Paving Blog

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What You Need to Know Before Starting a Paving Project

Paving – Wikipedia describes paving as ‘a stone or tile structure, the pavіng, whісh саn funсtіоn аs а grоund оr оutsіdе fеаturе… саn bе mаdе оf flаgstоnеs whісh аrе usеd fоr thіngs lіkе раvіng gаrdеns.

Ніstоrу

Раvіng hаs bееn usеd fоr thоusаnds оf уеаrs. In actuality, some paths and roads constructed by the Romans with fitting pavers over a base aggregate, two thousand years ago form the foundation for roads in parts of Europe. This tells us that they’re durable if nothing else!

Today

If we neglect the exterior while we spend a lot of time and money on being creative on the inside of our houses, it won’t have the same impact.

The outside of the house is what people see. The idea that ‘first impressions count’ is a legitimate one. If your property has not been preserved and improved on the outside via considered landscaping will detract from the interior. Individuals will have that first impression which will be tough to overcome.

Likewise, people spend a lot of time in their lawns; children are invited to get outside and do something rather than sitting in front of the PC. You’re more likely to enjoy spending time entertaining or outside if the backyard looks good.

Paved Areas

A big part of any landscaping or improvement is paving, be it a paved driveway, a paved edging into an existing driveway, a path that is paved, edging garden beds, or a paved patio along.

We’ve found that a lot of individuals are finding that maintaining a lawn area is, not only time to consume but more difficult with water restrictions. One way of cutting down on their yard area is to get a feature which reducing effort and the time involved in upkeep as well as adds a little character.

You can create by utilizing one of a range of styles that are paving. Your landscape adviser should be able to show you a range of styles from which to choose and suggest what would work best for what you’re hoping to achieve.

Questions to Ask

Before starting any paving project you will need to answer a few questions, whether it be a route, a boundary, a paved driveway, garden edging, a paved patio or bbq area. How big is the area? What scheme are you after? What is the surface that is existing and how will you need to prepare it for the paving? Will you need to allow for water runoff? What about weed control? These are. Your paving professional will be able to help you answer these and other questions that are more technical.

Paving vеrsus Соnсrеtе

Іf соmраrіng раvеrs tо соnсrеtе, соnsіdеr thаt сoncrete blot and can crack, break up, getting and diminishing the value of your dwelling. Pavers, on the other hand, have a larger weight distribution and are so much easier to replace, with minimum cost to you.

Learn more on paving your driveway.

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Why Pave Your Driveway?

If you want to impress your guests or attract customers, it should be done from the first step, and whoever comes to your house, the first encounter happens with the driveway. So, you can say it is a status symbol and utility simultaneously. The job of driveway making comprises hard labor, complex engineering, experience, skill and these are needed for fruitful implementation. It involves a considerable amount of money and one should take suggestion and guidance from experienced professionals. There are thousands of reasons for having a driveway and here are some of them.

  INCREASE OF PROPERTY VALUE

The process of paving goes through three rigorous steps: base preparation, intermediate layering, and final coating. After completion, your entire house will look completely different and its market value will increase considerably. Even one thousand pounds of investment can increase the property value by 4/5 times of it. Indirectly your investment will return 300 to 400 percent of profit when reselling it.

DURABILITY

A rightly installed driveway can last as long as three decades! The reason behind such high longevity lies in the procedure.

First, the technicians inspect the soil and moisture retention capacity, then weather conditions such as temperature, humidity are taken into account.  Then it’s pressurized using a compactor and sometimes sand is used if the soil is sticky. In some cases, stone dust or fly ash is added. The middle layer thickness varies from 3 to 6 inches. Its job is nothing but retaining the pressure of the vehicles to prevent cracking. Grovels, stone dust, crushed stones mixture are used to prepare this. Generally, grovel pavings last for 5-10 years.  Asphalt driveway has a maximum longevity of 20 years. Whereas paved brick or concrete driveway calls last up to 30 years.

 EASY MAINTAINANCE

A driveway without paving will develop patches and hole in a few days resulting in a high maintenance cost. Not only this, it also makes your premises dirty when a car enters your parking slot. A paved driveway can help you keep your building neat and clean by its dust resistance.

  ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLINESS

In the snowy region, most of the driveways are made of asphalt. The black asphalt has a characteristic of high heat absorption rate and radiation. Thus, it can melt the snow deposits very fast making it usable in extreme weather conditions. In hot and humid areas concrete driveway benefits you. Hydration is a never-ending process in case of concrete, in fact, exposure to moisture make it stronger. Whereas, rainy or humid climate can affect a common driveway badly, but exactly opposite happens to the concrete one. In a dry region, it helps your front garden by retaining moisture. It obstructs the growth of weeds and what you get is a smooth and elegant path.

Hope these reasons are enough to sight the importance of a paved driveway and how it can make people rediscover the hidden beauty of their house. It is always advisable to hire a veteran pavings professional to do the job as it requires extreme expertise. So don’t waste time —- get your driveway paved and unleash that hidden beauty.

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How to Clean Paving Effectively

As ownership of cars has increased for each household, needs to improve and expand the driveways for parking within the owners’ possessions. The most attractive method of laying a surface to get a driveway is with block brick paving. It is a sight which blends the construction of the house and better than concrete or bitumen. Read more on paving blends.

There are two primary types of clay brick paving or concrete block. It is a matter of taste as to which would be the most appealing. Clay brick is more expensive but is associated with the paving found at many fine historic homes.

It appears fresh and immaculate when the paving is first laid down. Fоr thе fіrst соuрlе оf mоnths, аftеr іt has been laid, the openings between the paving bricks need to be filled as part of the down process. The appearance gradually fades under a film of dirt and moss as the seasons pass notably the fall and winter. Lichen and weeds look from between the bricks. The driveway will seem from a field if this build-up of humus isn’t eliminated.

To start cleaning the paving, any weeds, plants, and lawn which have overgrown the paving are eliminated. Applying a fungicide best removes the film of greasy moss and dirt. Because weed killers and fungicide contain elements inside them, goggles and gloves need to be used. This is especially important if using a sprayer to use the chemicals. Verify the program done on a day with little or no wind. When moss and the weeds have expired, the paving are swept with a broom to remove the debris.

There are two ways of cleaning paving. Manufactures recommend paving are cleaned thoroughly with warm water containing a solution that is paving. After the paving has dried, it’s brushed with a broom that was strong and rinsed with water. Brushing sharp sand replaces any sand removed during the cleaning process. This method of cleaning to do every three months to maintain the surface in good shape.

For larger areas, this isn’t practical if you just have a weekend of weather. Most homeowners use power washers to wash sidewalks and their driveways. Paving manufacturers are not keen on their usage as damage can be caused by the models that are more powerful. This would invalidate any warranty they give on the paving materials.

Before washing the paving using a pressure washer, you should begin at the maximum point of the region you intend to clean. This will avoid any water flowing over the areas that are cleaned. No sharp things are remaining as they can scratch the surface or harm anything that is worse in the area where you are currently working.

When using a wand with a pressure washer, work away from buildings and your neighbor’s boundary. Splashing is unavoidable when using the areas such as windows and doors should be washed down. A broad area surface cleaner will avoid this excessive mess. Head is a rotary washing device which reduces splashing and is safer to use. The head gives a completely clean and glides over the surface as a result of water that is pressurized.

After clearing up any residue and washing, permit the paving to dry before applying the fine sand that is sharp to refill the joints. There are various opinions as to whether a using sealant is useful. The program builds up of mold or should prevent any staining. Whichever method the paving is cleaned it is worth the effort to maintain clean and improve your property.

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Choosing the Right Paving Materials

One of the core components of  most surface materials is paving. There is a vast array of paving to pick from out there and the article below is a guide that will help you decide on what to use.

Sandstone paving: Usually a low priced paving with a wide variety of colors and sizes and patterns. It mostly requires laying it on a concrete slab with a mortar base, which is a more time consuming and expensive. Cutting with a diamond blade is easy. The negative side is that it will pick up dirt and dirt rather easy and is quite porous. Though the application of an Excellent paving sealer is a good solution to this problem

Bluestone is paving: A medium to high priced paving with normally three grades: Natural, semi honed and honed. These are the degree of gloss on the surface of the paper. The natural being polished face the semi honed on with a minor amount of polishing with the being the most polished and a dark grey color and being black, with a grey/bluish color. Like sandstone, bluestone requires laying on a concrete slab with a mortar base. But unlike sandstone is a material that is harder but manageable with a diamond blade. Bluestone comes in a wide variety of sizes and some interesting patterns (Ashlar is a favorite one!) Though sandstone a quality sealer is a fantastic idea. I often recommend a penetrating sealer.

Concrete pavers: Of all paving, this kind had the range concerning color, sizes and patterns. This type of paving can be a low priced and quality paving (such as C&M pavers) or a high priced/ high end paving (Anston paving is a fantastic example). The massive range of concrete paving could be overpowering, and I often recommend the medium to high-end pavers (unless you’ve got a tight budget of course). Think about budget and design and color and that should help narrow down your search. Concrete pavers are quite easy to cut and can be placed on a crushed rock base with sand or a concrete slab on a bed of mortar. I would recommend the application for a good quality sealer.

Granite: A Medium to high priced paving in a wide variety of colors that are lots of and sizes to pick from. Granite such as Bluestone is a material in comparison to sandstone and concrete but will cut OK with a diamond cutting blade. Granite has two surface textures and flamed. Granite requires laying on a concrete slab with a mortar base. I must admit granite is one of my paving materials as it’s quite robust, and will age.

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Parking Lot Asphalt Maintenance

Every valuable and important renovation of your house needs a regular maintenance and an asphalt driveway is not an exception. The maintenance cost remains low if it is done with regularly with the frequent inspection. But if the small discrepancies are left untreated the life of the driveway which was supposed to last for at least 20 years will turn into scattered black granules in a few years. Though maintenance of it requires a bit technical knowledge, hereby we will discuss the steps following which you will be able to do the job yourself.

DEEP INSPECTION

During the summer, exposure to direct sunlight evaporates all the moisture of the asphalt. It causes the development of thin hairline cracks which gradually turn into big potholes. It should be also inspected during the winters too. Water entering into tiny cracks expands after freezing causing widening of the cracks. So, special care needs to be taken in these two extreme weather conditions.

WEATHER

Firstly the weather conditions need to be taken into consideration. To get a firm bonding of blacktop material the surrounding temperature should be above 55 degrees. There should not be any forecast of rain too. It is just impossible to continue the sealing job even under the lightest precipitation as it will cool down and wash away the aggregates.

CLOTHING

Asphalt mixture is a hot and sticky substance. You can not avoid getting it stuck and ruin your clothes when working with it. Always try to wear old clothes which you can trash or consider buying disposable clothes specially designed for this job.  You can also use a disposable shoe or get your shoe wrapped in a plastic bag.

SURFACE PREPARATION

It is an important part of the job as all the hard work will go in vain if the surface is dirty. If there is any weed or grass pull those off along with the roots to stop them grow again. In the large cracks, you will definitely find chunks of mud and oily dirt. If it is a bit hard a knife or ice scraper can be used. At last wash, all the dirt away using harsh and concentrated detergent solution and a wire brush.

COLD MIX APPLICATION

If the driveway has small holes it is customary to fill them up with cold mix. Undercutting the inner side of the holes with a chisel will make the firm edges come out. The patching compound must be applied with at least 1-inch layering and in 2 inches by 4-inch blocks. The top layer should be 1/2″ above the driveway surface. To get a tight bonding put a cardboard on it when the mixture is raw and drive your car upon it.

SEALANT APPLICATION

Larger cracks and depression cannot be treated with cold mix, and here sealants come handy. First rem, ve the loose debris and clean the dust by an air blower at least 1/2 inch deep inside the crack. Then Pour the liquid sealant up to the driveway level. Setting up depends upon the product specification and so product manual should be followed.

FUTURE CARE

When the sealing job is over and mark all the repaired areas so that cars can avoid driving over it at least for a few weeks. Always clean the accumulated grease and dirt at least once a week. This will lessen your maintenance cost considerably. If you follow these tips you will surely be able to keep the look and feel of your driveway same as it was decades ago!

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For a Smooth Driveway, Use a Paving Contractor!

Installation of a smooth driveway is not that easy as it seems. Instead, a lot of hard work, complex engineering, experience, and skill are all needed for best results. It involves a considerable amount of money, and one should take suggestion and guidance from experienced professionals. Firstly we will elaborate the complexities and why we need experts from this job.

COMPLEXITY OF THE PROCESS: You need to hire a professional as the installation of a driveway involves three different processes —— base preparation, intermediate layering and final coating.

First, they inspect the soil and moisture retention capacity, then weather conditions such as temperature, humidity are taken into account.  Then it’s pressurized using a compactor, and sometimes sand is used if the soil is sticky. In some cases, stone dust or fly ash is used to harden the base. It is impossible for an amateur to carry out these process as not only workforce but heavy machinery are too required to get the desired result.

The middle layer is prepared according to the frequency and load of the vehicles. The thickness of this layer varies from 3 to 6 inches. Its job is nothing but retain the pressure of the cars to prevent cracking. Grovels, stone dust, crushed stones mixture are used to prepare this, and sometimes epoxy compounds are used to get proper bonding.

Final layer preparation in the most laborious job as this requires civil, chemical and mechanical engineering ideas. Most popular paving materials for driveways are asphalt, concrete and segmented blocks. The first two are most popular in the world right now, and 90 percent of the driveways are made of these. Weather pattern plays a vital role in selecting them for example in snowy region asphalt is mostly used but in rainy regions concrete is preferred.

ASPHALT DRIVEWAY: This is most popular paving material in the world right now also known as bitumen. Elasticity, durability, smooth finish, stain resistance are the USPS of asphalt. If the atmosphere is cold and snowy, then it must be used. Experts prepare these second layers to be 1 foot wider than the final coating to prevent breaking from the edges. If the customer wants a durable driveway and sleek black colors in a budget price and won’t mind occasional repairing (it requires so), this is recommended.

CONCRETE DRIVEWAYS: If the weather is hot and humid or rainy, concrete is preferred by the experts. According to the conditions, materials such as the Portland cement, sand, grovels, crushed stones are mixed in an appropriate ratio. Water carry out the chemical process of hydration and several weeks of watering is required which must be done by machines with specific angle and force. If the price is not your concern but durability and strength, you must install a concrete driveway. Grovel a driveway is an elementary form of the driveway, but it neither has longevity nor finishes.

So in conclusion, we can say whether it is concrete or asphalt based, we must seek expert supervision. From the above discussion, it is clear that installation of a driveway involves huge human resources and heavy machinery which are inaccessible to familiar people. Hiring an expert will not only save your money to waste but your valuable time too. Most of the contractors come up with attractive packages of installation and maintenance, and these will be beneficial in the long run. On the web, you will found many veteran companies provide free estimates for your need. So what else are you waiting for? Describe your needs, consult and build your dream driveways with ease.

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Use a Paving Sealer to Increase Lifetime of Pavement

Paving a driveway or poolside involves a lot of effort and money. To ensure the longevity and preserve the enchanting look for the years to come, one must apply appropriate sealant on the surface. There are different types of sealants available on the market, and it is tough to determine which one will suit your pavement best. At this moment we will be familiar with paving sealants and their application.

PROPERTIES: General properties of the sealing materials are adhesion, fast hardening, oil repellency and water repellency. As stains start to accumulate on any surface mainly using oil or water as the base, if the sealants are water and oil repellent the finishing of the surface will sustain for years. Where buying sealant makes sure, it is a ‘repellent’ not ‘resistant.’

FACTORS: When selecting sealant for commercial or domestic projects the thing needs to be taken into consideration are durability, slip resistance, stain resistance and cost.

CLASSIFICATIONS: All the sealer available in the market can be classified broadly into two categories coatings and impregnators. Coatings or surface sealers work just like paint. Their effects fade away very fast, so these are not recommendable for decorative and costly pavings. Impregnators can go deep into the tiny granules of the surface and fill up microscopic interstices, capillaries of the surface. So regarding quality and duration, these are far better than coatings. You can also use a color enhancer for a glossy finish of your pavement. To achieve optimal performance one can apply two coats of color enhancer and apply a wet-look sealant. You will surely be surprised by the dramatic improvement of the color depth and contrast.

COMPARISONS: The sealants of coating types are inexpensive, and they have a bit slip resistance. Moreover, they are easy to apply and sets very fast. But they need frequent maintenance and development patches quite easily. They tend to trap moisture within the pavement causing damage. Also, most coating sealants lose its color and shine under exposure to direct sunlight.

The impregnator ones are more stable than the former. They have a long durability and ray resistant which ensures color retention qualities. These sealants are a bit expensive and need the expertise to apply. Impregnators sometime use harmful chemicals as the base, so they are not that much eco-friendly.

APPLICATION: Before applying any sealant makes sure the surface is dry enough. If a bit of moisture is present, being unable to evaporate, it will make the surface sweat. So sealants will lose its adhesion causing damage. Pavement sealing needs at least three consecutive dry and sunny days. The temperature of the atmosphere should be above 10 degree Celsius. May to October is the perfect time for getting your sealing job done.

After completion of the paving, it proves to wait at least 4-6 weeks to season it. Also, if there are any discrepancies they will be noticeable, and you can easily repair. Because, after applying the sealant if cracks appear on the pavement, you will not be able to do any curing. Moreover, the surface should be free of sorts, oils or any other contaminants before applying. Just keep all the facts of the above discussion and you will able to select perfect sealant for your pavement yourself and supervise the entire project of your home like a seasoned expert!

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Asphalt vs Concrete Paving

To increase the longevity and beauty of your outdoors, paving is the best choice. There are a variety of materials are available in the market to get your job done. But the problem arises to decide the right equipment for the specific area. Especially in case of paving the driveway we get stuck between the two materials asphalt and concrete. Here we will first gather some information of these materials and try to solve the dilemma.

ASPHALT: It is also known as bitumen or bituminous black. It is a black colored, adhesive and highly viscous compound derived from petroleum. The Canadian province of Alberta has the most massive storage of natural asphalt. It is being used as sticky or water roofing since thousands of years all over the world. Today almost 85 percent of asphalt is used in making roads. Sand and gravel are mixed with it to form a quality compound that can use in paving the driveway and airport runway as well.

CONCRETE: The term concrete denotes a chemical mixture of cement and aggregates like sand, natural gravel or crushed stones. Portland cement, derived from limestone has a property to react with water and produce some heat. Then the hydration process continues in the semi-liquid mixture, and it is left to get set and shape of the molds. This chemical process can continue for years through 90 percent of it gets completed within four weeks.  Thus, it gains high compression strength and extended durability.

COST: Paving your driveway with asphalt may cost you around £4 per square foot. In case of concrete it will be £7 per square foot, and if you want to be colored and super finished one it may go above £10. So undoubtedly asphalt win this segment.

HARDENING TIME: The Asphalt compounds can get set in few hours. And one can walk on it after 24 hours, but it takes 3 to 5 days more to get strong enough to bear the weight of a car. The chemical process of hardening goes on until the next 6-12 months. Concrete surfaces take up to 48 hours to be walkable. 1-4 weeks is needed to complete 90 percent of hardening process, but it remains in an unusable state as it must be kept moist during this period. So again asphalt wins.

MAINTAINANCE: Asphalt needs frequent maintenance as it becomes soft under direct sunlight. But the cost of maintenance is low because of the low price of ingredients and labor. Concrete is more durable resulting very rare issues of repairing. But ingredients, especially Portland cement is a costly one, so the cost goes up. So here it is a tie.

CRACK: Asphalt being highly elastic in nature is generally crack resistant.  If a hole or crack appears accidentally, it can be repaired very quickly. Whereas concrete has low tensile strength making it highly susceptible to breaks even under small surface movements or pressure. So here concrete wins.

APPEARANCE: Color of asphalt is black or dark gray, so it can easily mix up with oily marks and stains. So, overall appearance remains the same for the longer period. Moreover, it doesn’t react with most of the chemicals ensuring minimal chances of creating patches and marks. But concrete is more corrosive and fundamental in nature. Consequently, stains and marks are obvious; so color should be chosen wisely to reduce these adverse effects. So concrete is beaten by asphalt.

DURABILITY: Average life of asphalt is 20 years, and that of concrete is 30 years. So the performance of concrete is better.

Combining, all the above-mentioned aspects, concrete fall short of a thin margin. Although if your preference in durability and low-frequency of maintenance you should go for concrete. But if you want a nice paving within budget along with low maintenance, asphalt is what you need. So analyze your need and priorities and chose your paving material wisely.

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A Concrete Way to Raise Your Home’s Profile

Increasingly, property owners searching for a low-cost method to make their house more habitable and boost curb appeal with an eye towards resale are accepting the across the country pattern of developing outdoor living spaces.

These areas usually feature spaces for entertaining friends and family while barbecuing, dining, consuming and relaxing. That often indicates room for an outdoor patio, a fireplace, a grill or a sink. Some think about it as including a living room without the roof.

For numerous, the structure technique of choice when creating these areas requires using segmental concrete paving. This strategy employs interlocking units-called concrete pavers-that are strong, resilient and are growing in appeal worldwide. In Germany, for instance, there are 15 square feet of pavers installed per person yearly. In the Netherlands, most of the streets and sidewalks are made of pavers.

Frequently used in pathways, patios, plazas and historical remediation tasks, pavers are made in a range of colors, shapes and textures and can be quickly removed and re-installed.

One type of home-improvement job where pavers are significantly being utilized is a raised patio area. These outdoor patios are understood for their resilience and can produce a new sense of space in a yard, particularly when reached fulfill an existing deck. Such areas can be utilized as an outdoor entertainment area, total with hot tub or bbq pit.

• Paver joints allow for a small amount of movement without cracking. • And they can be installed by either a professional or a proficient do-it-yourselfer.

One of the latest designs provides the high-end look of stone for a more modest rate. Called “toppled” or “antiqued” pavers, they can be utilized to add a stately aim to a sidewalk, patio area or driveway .

For many, the structure technique of option when creating these areas calls for utilizing segmental concrete paving. In Germany, for instance, there are 15 square feet of pavers set up per person each year. One kind of home-improvement task where pavers are progressively being utilized is a raised patio area.  Paver joints permit for a little quantity of motion without cracking.

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