There are various materials to choose from when in the planning and design stages of a new driveway installation, everything from resin and brick to stone, tarmac and gravel, but one enduringly popular option is concrete, famed for its strength and durability, as well as how low maintenance it is.
The biggest benefit by far of opting for concrete is just how long it lasts. It represents an excellent return on investment because, when it’s installed properly and professionally, your driveway can last up to 50 years without you having to do much in the way of maintenance work at all.
It’s also particularly effective at withstanding whatever the weather has to throw at it and is less prone to expansion and shrinkage than other materials, which is why so many property owners put it at the top of their list.
For those of you keen to be as eco-friendly with renovations as possible, however, you may decide that it’s not the best material for you, as cement production is one of the biggest producers of carbon dioxide in the world, as well as being particularly water intensive.
But, of course, you can weigh this up against the fact that concrete structures do have a long life cycle and that they are incredibly resilient, so you don’t have to worry about issues like rot or rust, which means that repair work may not become an issue.
You can also make use of sustainable concrete, which features eco-friendly materials and processes to help drive down the overall environmental footprint of the material.
This means that raw materials like limestone no longer have to be extracted for concrete production, while recycled aggregates from construction waste can also be thrown into the mix to reduce the amount of actual cement required.
As with anything, it’s a matter of doing some research into your various options to find out what’s right for you and your project. If you’d like any further help or advice, get in touch with the LW Landscapes team today.