Concrete Driveways

Concrete is a top choice for driveways because your driveway will have a longer life with less maintenance. Another advantage is that concrete is quite versatile – a simple finish can provide you with the benefits of its durability or you can take advantage of the many decorative options to give your driveway both durability and a unique and distinguished appearance.

However, you do have options so let’s look at some of those…

One option is an asphalt driveway. With the increased maintenance and decreased longevity, an asphalt driveway can actually work out to cost more in the long run than concrete. If it’s not properly maintained, an asphalt driveway may start deteriorating after just a few years. In addition asphalt is soft and that can lead to indentations in the driveway especially in places where car tires often sit. Asphalt or its sealant often sticks to shoes and gets tracked into a home.

Cobblestones, bricks or pavers are another option. They are all more expensive than concrete. In the climate of Northeast Ohio they tend to pop or sink leading to a surface that is not level. During the snowy winter they can make it harder to shovel and are more easily damaged by plowing. During the growing season the space between them becomes a great spot for weeds to grow.

Another option people consider is putting a stone overlay on top of the concrete. This creates height differences that often aren’t taken into consideration before the product is applied. There will be a difference where the new surface meets existing surfaces – like garage floors and sidewalks. If it is extended into the garage, what impact will that additional height have on the garage door or entry door? Some other downfalls are that it is susceptible to chemical damage (not good where you are parking cars), it is porous (more likely to stain), it loosens easily and deteriorates quickly when installed over bad concrete.

You can quickly tell that concrete has many advantages over other options:

• Durable
• Moderately priced
• Low Maintenance
• Solid surface
• Decorative options

Replacing An Existing Or Installing A New Concrete Driveway

Planning comes first whether replacing or installing a new driveway.

If you’re replacing your driveway you may want, or have to, place the driveway in the same location. Or you may have the option of placing the driveway in a better location. You may have some grading issues that could be resolved when the new driveway is installed.

If you’re installing a new concrete driveway you have many options available to you. Depending on your location you may be able to have additional parking space, a curved drive, a one- or two-car width drive, and other options.

The planning stage is also the time to choose the finish for your concrete driveway. You could choose to have a beautiful standard finish like a broom finish or hand finish. Or you may choose to enhance the look of your new driveway by adding a decorative finish like stamped and/or colored concrete. With these your driveway can have the decorative appearance, feel, and color of brick, tile, slate, or stone.

If you already know exactly what you want – great! If not, ALBA Contractors Inc.’s courteous staff can provide you with professional guidance with the planning stage.

No one else does clean-up like we do – We’ll make sure your place is clean and nice looking when the project is finished.

In order to install the forms for the new concrete, the adjacent area must be cut back about 4”. This area is usually your lawn. One of the biggest aggravations for homeowners after getting a new driveway is that installers just leave this gap between the new driveway and the lawn. You will not have to deal with the hassle of filling this in or getting someone else to do it – when you choose ALBA Contractors Inc., we’ll take care of this restoration for you, leaving you with a truly completed project!

What Does Quality Mean?

There are a lot of factors that affect the quality of your concrete. These factors affect not only how your driveway looks when completed but also the lifetime and durability of your concrete driveway.

Unfortunately these factors also provide a way for other contractors to cut corners. That’s why we think you should know a few things…

The right concrete mix is critical to the outcome of your driveway. The concrete mix used for your driveway is a special mix developed from our 20 years of experience to be the best for use in our climate. It’s important to know too that we don’t water down the concrete mix to make it cheaper or easier to install.

Concrete mesh is laid so that it is embedded in the concrete. Unlike other contractors we use #8 mesh included with your project, not as an upsell. In addition the mesh will be elevated to make sure it is within your concrete, not just simply laid on the ground.

The depth of the concrete for your driveway will be 4″. Beware of contractors that use a lower depth of concrete – or even worse, say they will install 4″ but don’t.

Overworking concrete once it’s poured reduces its strength. That’s why the skill and training of your finishers, in addition to the tools they use, is so critical to a quality project. All of the installers at ALBA Contractors Inc. are skilled and trained and we spend the extra money to make sure they have the right tools to prevent overworking of the concrete.

Make sure you’re getting quality when choosing the contractor for your concrete driveway.