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Mike Parker

Mike Parker is a full-time writer, publisher and independent businessman. His background includes a career as an investments broker with such NYSE member firms as Edward Jones & Company, AG Edwards & Sons and Dean Witter. He helped launch DiscoverCard as one of the company's first merchant sales reps.

All roads may lead to Rome, but only your driveway leads to your home. In simpler days before the advent of the automobile, packed dirt driveways were common. Today, some type of paving material is not only desirable but, in accordance with the building codes of most communities, required. Fortunately, there are many different types of paving materials available that will enhance both the beauty and value of your property, and they are available in and equally wide range of prices.

A paved driveway offers many benefits over an unpaved, or packed dirt, driveway. In addition to the obvious bonus of being aesthetically pleasing, paved driveways offer a better surface for parking. Vehicles parked on a paved driveway, even one paved with gravel or crushed stone, are unlikely to get stuck in the mud after a rainy day. Paved driveways add to the curb appeal and value of your home when you get ready to sell. They are easier to keep clean, and they help keep dirt from the outside from being tracking inside the home.

Driveway paving materials are divided into three primary classes: solid, aggregate and pavers. The most popular types of solid paved driveways include poured concrete and asphalt. Aggregate driveways are represented by compressed gravel and crushed rock or stone. Driveways composed of pavers may use cobblestone, formed concrete or brick. These are not hard and fast categories as some homeowners choose to use hybrids of each of these materials. A popular example would be the chip-and-tar driveway in which crushed stone or aggregate is pressed into an asphalt surface.

Crushed stone or gravel is the least expensive type paving material to use on a driveway. Although it requires a considerable amount of physical labor to install, handy homeowners can install this type of driveway without much professional help. Asphalt is normally the next least expensive type of paving material to install on a driveway, although few homeowners have the expertise to install one from scratch. Concrete is one of the most popular types of driveway paving material and requires little maintenance once it is properly installed. The most expensive driveway paving material is pavers, but they have the advantage of being virtually maintenance free and, if repairs are needed, can be replaced individually.

Some maintenance will be needed on almost all paved driveways to keep them in tiptop shape. Crushed rock and gravel drives will need to be refreshed with additional rock as the original layer gets pressed down in to the underlying ground. Asphalt will need to be sealed within nine months of being laid and resealed every few years. Concrete driveways will require an occasional degreasing. Cobblestone driveways may need to have the binding material between the pavers refreshed and broken pieces replaced as needed.

Regardless of what type of paving material a homeowner chooses for his or her driveway, it is important to always lay a proper foundation prior to installing the surface. Asphalt, concrete and even crushed stone driveways will benefit from having a 3-to-6-inch base of packed gravel in place prior to laying the finishing material on top. Cobblestone and other paver-type materials should have a level sand base to provide an even, level surface.

A properly constructed driveway prevents damage to your vehicle's tires and keeps the rest of your lawn free for plants to grow....

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