Ins and Outs, Ups and Downs, and Over Driveways

Unless any of us lives on a city street, we all have driveways to consider and to maintain and, because it covers such a significant percentage of our property surface, it can be an onerous task. Snow removal is high on the list of chores, but selecting and maintaining the surface of driveways is equally as important.

    Among the surfaces most frequently chosen by homeowners is asphalt or blacktop, the most economical and easiest to care for. But, it does require sealing every three to five years, a considerable chore that I wouldn’t suggest trying on your own.  However, blacktop has never been my choice because it is non-pervious and, all the blacktop in our communities has created significant runoff problems in our communities.

    Surfaces which allow better drainage are brick and pavers, but the price for installation is higher. At one point, I considered cobblestone, but at about $5.00 each, I found it prohibitively expensive.

    There are green surfaces like gravel, which is beautiful but difficult to maintain in snowy regions like ours when the snow plow barrels through.  Other pervious surfaces include shells an, a product I just learned about:  pervious concrete which has little to no sand in the mix, allowing water to run through its surface.

    I’d like to see a movement where grass is used for driveways. Yes, I said grass. It can be accommodated by “geo-grid” blocks that provide the necessary support structure for cars while protecting the soil’s root zone and allowing the grass to grow.  In my next life, that is probably the system I’d choose.

    While most driveways are designed straight in from the road directly to the garage with, hopefully, a turn-around area, the design I like best is a circular drive where space allows. I had always thought that most towns frowned on them because it requires two cuts in the curb, but found that is not the case. 

    One thing is for certain. No matter how lovely a home is, a driveway that is not well maintained, or if it’s crumbling, can detract greatly from the curb appeal – and value -- of the property.

    Whether receiving guests or prospective buyers, it is a home’s way of laying out the red carpet.    

    Bill Primavera is a residential and commercial Realtor® associated with Coldwell Banker, as well as a publicist and journalist writing regularly as The Home Guru. For questions about home maintenance or to buy or sell a home, he can be emailed at Bill@PrimaveraRealEstate.com or called directly at 914-522-2076.