Your asphalt or concrete driveway in Central Oregon is an important part of your home that you often don’t think about until you have to. You walk and drive on it nearly every day without much consideration of its durability and how it will hold up as the weather changes in the coming months. However, once it starts to get cracks or wear down, you’ll finally start to think about maintenance, repair, and sealing it. At 3C’s Concrete, we understand this so we want to help you get the best driveway for your home.

For those building new homes or who have a driveway that might need to be repaired or repaved, we can help you weigh the options between an asphalt or concrete driveway by considering things like the cost of paving, longevity, how it reacts to the Central Oregon climate, and more. Read our short guide to learn more.

Cost

When you’re considering the costs of concrete or asphalt for your driveway, think about your short-term costs against the long-term costs. Initially, it’s going to be about half the cost to have an asphalt driveway installed compared to concrete. Although, you need to account for the maintenance costs going forward. Asphalt isn’t as durable of material as concrete so you’ll need to make sure that you’re regularly filling in holes as it chips or wears away, then resurface it every three to five years. You can essentially install concrete then forget about it needs to be cleaned, degreased, and even resealed if you choose.

Longevity

Concrete is designed to last a long time. Your concrete driveway will be strong and should last at least 50 years with proper care and maintenance. Asphalt, on the other hand, is a soft material that is worn away easily. While your asphalt driveway can last for up to 30 years with regular maintenance, it will take much more work to get it there than it will with concrete.

Maintenance

As mentioned previously, your maintenance costs associated with an asphalt driveway are going to be much higher over the years than those of concrete. About six months after you have your asphalt installed, you’re going to need to seal it to ensure that it holds up. In the next three to five years you’ll need to resurface and seal the driveway again. This is a process you’ll do continually as long as you have the asphalt driveway.

In contrast, your concrete driveway requires much less maintenance as you can essentially set it and forget after it’s fully cured. You can choose to seal your driveway to improve the look, but it’s not required. You’ll also need to clean from time to time to ensure that it continues to look good and the concrete doesn’t degrade.

Curb appeal

Your home’s curb appeal largely depends on what your neighbors are doing. If the rest of your neighborhood has concrete driveways, it’s probably best to stay consistent with a concrete driveway. The same applies to asphalt.

Climate

Asphalt and concrete driveways don’t take to the weather with the same performance. You’ll find that because it’s a lighter color, concrete won’t get as hot and does much better in hot temperatures than asphalt, which does quite well in low temperatures. That being said, a concrete pour can be customized to account for cold temperatures during the winter. A concrete driveway in Central Oregon that’s poured up five inches thick will respond well to the winter weather of the area.

Contact us for more

If you’d like to learn more about whether an asphalt or concrete driveway is best for you, get in touch with us at 3C’s Concrete. You can get a quote by calling 541-699-4478 or sending a message using our online contact form. A member of our team will be in touch with you shortly.