Construction & Contractors Blog
An ideal residential driveway should perform well under relatively heavy foot and vehicular traffic and in diverse weather conditions. Moreover, the surface should provide durable service without demanding a lot of maintenance. There are numerous building materials that you can choose when setting up a new driveway. However, concrete provides the most benefits in terms of costs and general performance. In simple terms, this material is relatively inexpensive, and it will provide long-lasting, resilient and low maintenance driveway structures. If you are considering constructing a concrete driveway in your residential space, here are your primary options for the surfaces.
Plain Concrete
Plain concrete is an ideal choice for your property if you are working with a restricted and relatively small budget. This type of structure is constructed using the standard cement mixture, so the surface will be grey. Usually, the finish is textured to give the driveway more traction; a polished surface will be hazardous and slippery, leading to skidding and slipping. The plainness of the concrete can be aesthetically undesirable. However, you can request for special finishes to improve the visual impact. For example, wood float and cove finishes add attractive swirls to the concrete surface, making the driveway more appealing.
Coloured Concrete
Coloured concrete driveways are more attractive and are suitable for improving the residential landscape. There are different types of techniques that can be utilised to provide the colour, and your choice will depend on the budget and desired durability. If you have limited monetary resources, you can choose to add a colour oxide to the top layer of plain concrete as the surface dries after installation. Unfortunately, this method is prone to damage from scratches and general wear. The most durable choice is the use of colour oxide when preparing the mixture. This will ensure that the dye is evenly mixed into the entire structure, and you can stamp the surface to produce unique aesthetics.
Exposed Aggregate
Exposed aggregate driveways are highly decorative and perform exceptionally well after installation. This type of concrete driveway is constructed using grey or even off-white cement mixture. Aggregate materials such as small custom stones or pebbles are added to the mixture. When the concrete is poured and cured, a high pressure blast is used to expose the pebbles. In some cases, colouring is used to make the appearance of the pebbles more prominent and attractive. This driveway provides good traction for vehicles, and it is still relatively smooth which limit the risk of accelerated tyre tread wearing.
For more options, contact a driveway company like Aclass Concrete & Landscape.
Share21 January 2016
Welcome to my blog! My name is Richard and my big passion in life is looking for old buildings to restore. My love of old buildings started when I was seven years old and I visited my grandparent's house in Alice Springs. It was a large Victorian building which looked magnificent even though it was in a bad state of repair. Once I grew up and made some money, I decided I would like to invest in old buildings to bring them back to life. I hire a range of different contractors to complete the work on my behalf but I take a keen interest and I have learnt a lot of things.