If you have invested in professional landscaping, you already know how important “curb appeal” is in enhancing the value of your property. Your manicured lawns, perfectly placed shrubbery, and well-trimmed trees all contribute to the value of the property and reflect positively on you as the homeowner. But there is one landscape feature that is difficult to coordinate into the landscaping theme, your driveway.
In the U.S. Asphalt Paving Company are almost exclusively paved with plain white concrete or ebony asphalt. You can define them a bit by adding stone edging but for the most part, a homeowner is stuck with the color of the paving material. To be fair, both materials can be given unique surfaces. Concrete can be given a broom finish or swirl finish during installation. Both asphalt and concrete can be stamped to be given an appearance of brick, cobblestone, even wood planks. However, the time involved and the excessive labor typically makes these treatments undesirable from a cost point of view.
Personalize Your Driveway without Breaking the Bank
There is a way you can give your driveway a distinctive look without taking out a second mortgage. There is a century old paving technique called tar and chip (also known as chipseal) that can give you decorative options.
Tar and chip Is a paving process that involves placing a thin layer of liquid asphalt on a base (typically gravel but it is suitable for resurfacing asphalt) followed by a layer of small chip stone. A commercial roller then compacts the mixture bonding the chip stone to the liquid asphalt and the liquid asphalt to the base.
Here’s the key. The color of the chip stone determines the color of the paving. With chip stone you can have a surface that is sandy tan, dark brown, light green, rustic orange or a host of other exotic colors. The small square shaped stones not only provide the color but the texture as well. Tar and chip paving has a pebbly finish giving it a rustic appearance.
Cost Efficient Alternative to Asphalt
Because tar and chip driveways cut out the costs of an asphalt batch plant, uses fewer pieces of equipment, and requires a smaller crew for installation, it is priced significantly lower than hot mix asphalt. Full disclosure, if you select an exotic color for your chip stone you can drive the price up.
Installation is fast and you wind up with a rock hard surface that is literally maintenance free. The pebbly surface provides excellent traction for vehicles and foot traffic in snowy or rainy weather. Toss in the fact that you now have a new “landscape feature” enhancing the appearance of your property and we think you’ll agree, tar and chip can be a must have addition for your home.
Now here’s the downside. Most asphalt paving contractors don’t do tar and chip paving. Tar and chip is much more of an art than the automated installation of hot mix asphalt. If you search deep enough, you’ll find one that has the experience that’s required for a professional job.
