Asphalt driveways pros & cons

We are thinking about having our driveway paved with asphalt. I would like to get some feedback from those who have/had them. Thanks in advance!

 

Before I went with asphalt I would check with A-Z Concrete. He did a fantastic job on mine and he was sooooooo much cheaper that the other quotes we got.

 

I have concrete also

 

You have to seal asphalt yearly, that can get spendy depending on how long of a driveway. My BIL in VA wishes he'd gotten concrete now. :jester:

 

Google: concrete vs. asphalt driveway

TONS of info and advice out there.

Here's a good basic breakdown:
click me

 

with asphalt in the heat, you can't put your bicycle kickstand down or the bike kickstand melts into the asphalt and falls down, lol.................

 

We've had our blacktop driveway for 16 years and never sealed it. it could use it but thats an expense we can't afford right now. its not crumbling or anything. get estimates and references. dont pay for the whole job up front. ask about how much they compact the pavement to make sure it wont leave marks from tires sitting on your driveway. get everything in writing- beware of the lesser known contractors unless you have a good reference- JAck Stevens of Discount Paving(has filed bankruptcy in 2000) did ours and I would not recommend him.
I'd be curious to know how much concrete is vs. blacktop.

 

Thanks for the information. I'm going to call A-Z but i'm sure it's going to cost an arm and a leg. Our driveway is 160 ft.

 

We had gotten an estimate a couple years ago to have a concrete driveway put in,ours is somewhere between 75-100' and it would have been over $3000,my husband actually could have done the work himself,he's put in driveways for other people but even the price for the delivered concrete has gone up so much during the last few years.
Here is a calculator for figuring the cubic yards needed for driveways,this way you can call the concrete company to get an idea how much it would be just for the concrete alone.
http://www.westrocinc.com/Tips/Figure_Concrete/figure_concrete.html
Going by this you would need around 24 yards(but only if it was 12' wide )
At the moment the price for 1 yard of concrete delivered is $215,that should be a little less when ordering a large quantity though.

 

That's an easy one, asphalt up to a concrete pad at the house/garage.

 

$215.00 a yard??? where is it coming from China?? That seems awfully high.

160' x 12' x .33= 4" divide by 27 = 23.4 cy.

 

From St Wooten in Garner.

 

We have had both but prefer concrete.

 

No way is it that high, it never even got close to that several years ago when there was a shortage of concrete. Maybe that is a price that included placing and finishing it.

The price more than likely is in the range of $120.00 yd give or take.

If one was to go asphalt it might be wise to wait, as with everything oil prices affect pricing, more so asphalt due to oil based ingredients to make it.

 

You can call them yourself if you like,STW#: 783-5507,I also called Ready Mix and they were $247.83 per cy,their #: 850-2025.

 

That's why we haven't done it yet-cost. 24 yards of concrete would run you approx.$4800 and that's of course without the labor cost.

 

Ok, I called Wooten- 779-9989. why don't you call them and get back with us with an update.

 

So-what did they tell you?
When I called they asked me what area it would be going to and than they told me the price per yard.

 

It was 120 and and some odd change, give or take a couple bucks. Now if you don't get I think 3 or more yards there is a 75.00 service fee, a yd of concrete will cover roughly a 15' x 5' sidewalk 4" deep, so a majority of jobs or pours are in excess of a few yards and no service fee.

If you know of anyone that works for a construction comp who uses concrete you can even get a better price by letting them know that and get it at their pricing but you"ll be paying the concrete comp yourself.

 

I just called them-it's $121.75 per yard PLUS a $75 'low' charge for a total of $215.23 for 1 cy. For 24 cy it would be $3151.69-no low charge.If you call their salesman you might get a slightly better price,his number is: 427-5541.