Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Concrete vs. Asphalt Driveway

I'm hoping someone on CEG has some input to share on this. Here's the situation...we had our driveway paved with concrete about 1-1/2 years ago. It is completly falling apart now. Literally... Anyways, we have determined that it was the original contractor's fault for a variety of reasons. We are heading to small claims court soon to deal with him. We were initially planning on having a different concrete contractor rip it out and replace it correctly with concrete, but I'm also curious now about asphalt. We live in a very snowy area in Michigan and on a major road with lots of deicer. Does anyone have an opinion one way or another? Thanks!

Just a couple points:

1. Although concrete looks nicer, it has to be pressure washed every few years because it stains easily.
2. I think weeds have an easier time growing through asphalt than concrete.
3. Asphalt gets really hot in the sunlight, so barefeet need not tread.

Take them for what it's worth.

Thanks. Good points. I also only have a single lane driveway, so the cars are always in the same spots, which I understand isn't good with asphalt.

You have to retar asphalt every other year I believe. Hope you don't have a bike. Kickstand tends to sink into the blacktop if you forget to put a board down.

I live in Florida, so my opinion on what is best may not be applicable to Michigan, & may require modification.

I work for the engineering division of a municipality & see much paving in both. I have also spent 10 years working for engineering firms in the private sector. My experience here indicates concrete is better for the Florida climate - 4" of 3000 psi standard mix and 6x6x10 welded wire mesh. Some municipalities require 6" of concrete within the right-of-way (from property line to edge of travel lane), & that works really well too.

Many batch plants are pushing high fly ash content mix so they make a better profit. Although that mix will produce acceptable compression test results, it will shear, crack, & wear prematurely. I have seen roadway curbing turn to dust in less than a year, & have had one developer replace over 12,000 linear feet of type "F" curb because of a non-standard mix.

The retarring doesn't bother me too much. No bike, either, but I do have an old truck that gets parked in one place for long periods of time. The tire ruts does a little, but I'm a little scared of concrete now so I'm thinking of trying something else.

Go with concrete all the way. Your crumbling driveway is almost certainly the result of the original contractor either using a faulty formula, pouring under the wrong outdoor conditions, or a combination of this and possibly other factors I haven't thought of. Driveways do not normally crumble shortly after they are installed due to the winters experienced in Michigan. I grew up in Detroit and as long as the driveway was built with a good concrete formula, the only things that rapidly promote breakdown are large tree roots running underneath, exposure to highly corrosive acids, and excessively heavy vehicles (i.e., large construction equipment).

Never go with an asphalt driveway if you intend to put cars on jackstands for repair work. The jackstands will dig-in unevenly in warmer weather such that the car can fall off while you are underneath the car. It is possible to circumvent the jackstands sinking-in at uneven rates by placing fairly thick sheet steel between the asphalt and the base of the jackstand.

A driveway can be further reinforced with rebar but that gets very expensive.

Dave Keller
1995 Contour SE
1999 Contour SVT

Rebar. That's what I was going to say.

Rebar = always good. Coming from and engineering background myself and living up north (farther north than michigan) a little bit of rebar will do much for frost heave.