August 4, 2017 By Landscaping

Driveway Paving: Does Yours Need Redoing?

Driveway paving Redoing is susceptible to the ravages of time like everything else. While sealing cracks and fixing minor problems may work for a while there will come a point in every driveway’s life when it’s time to rip things up and start over. It can be hard to tell sometimes when your driveway has crossed the line from ‘maintenance required’ to ‘replacement required’ but there are a few things to look for that can help you make that determination.

Signs That it’s Time to Driveway Paving Redoing

After years of enduring, ignoring, patching and just dealing with your old asphalt or concrete slab driveway the time has finally come to replace it with beautiful, durable interlocking pavers from M.E. Landscaping. Here are five things that indicate it’s time to repave your driveway.

Subsidence – If areas of the driveway have begun to resemble sinkholes it’s because the driveway is being undercut by water. Perhaps the last paving job did not provide adequate drainage or maybe all the water that has been seeping for years through the cracked surface of the concrete or asphalt has finally taken its toll. Once parts of the underlying base have been compromised you have little choice but to tear things up and start over.
Excessive cracking – If the cracks in your driveway have become so big or numerous that they require regular attention it’s time for driveway paving. If you ignore the situation you’ll inevitably be dealing with the subsidence issue mentioned above and repairs will be that much more involved and expensive. Replacing asphalt or concrete with interlocking pavers will eliminate the cracking problem once and for all.
Age – If your concrete drive hasn’t been repaved in the past 20 years it should be done just on principle. If you don’t you’ll soon begin to experience serious problems. That’s just the way it is. Not recognizing the need to repave is like ignoring the fact that you’re running out of gas. Sure you might get a little more out of what you have but when you hit ‘empty’ then what? Replace your old driveway before it hits empty and save yourself some real headaches.
Curb appeal – You may have gotten used to the slow inevitable decline of your driveway but you should try to take a good, long objective look at it. Is this the way you want your home to be perceived by the rest of the world? Even if you put substantial effort into keeping the exterior of your Toronto home looking great a dilapidated driveway will drag everything down with it. You may not notice because you’re used to it, but others do. Guaranteed.
Marketing – Some of the first people to notice driveway paving is in order will be prospective buyers. Fair or not when they see a faded old driveway with numerous cracks and sunken areas your home immediately goes into the ‘fixer-upper’ category in their brain. You may look at your old driveway and see character. Potential buyers see an expense.

Replacing your old, cracked, uneven asphalt or concrete driveway with interlocking pavers from M.E. Landscaping provides an immediate and substantial bump in your home’s curb appeal. It will also free your driveway from the ravages of the Toronto freeze/thaw cycle and free you from having to engage in driveway paving every decade or so since interlocking pavers can easily last 40 to 50 years. Interlocking is also a major draw to potential buyers who, instead of seeing ‘expense’ see ‘long term savings’. Call M.E. Landscaping today for more information about driveway paving or any other questions you may have about landscaping or hardscaping around your home.

Improve Your Home’s Appearance with a Driveway Paving Redoing

December 10, 2015 By Landscaping

Driveway Paving: What’s Going to Be Hot in 2016?

Residential driveways set the tone for the entire property. While entry doors may get the curb appeal love the driveway is a powerful component of both the exterior design and landscaping schemes and can make or break a home’s overall look. Today there’s such a head-spinning variety of paving materials and designs available that it can be difficult to know what’s hot and what’s not. Here we’ll take the pulse of driveway paving and see if we can’t determine what is trending for 2016.

Hot Trends in Driveway Paving

If the time has come to give your driveway a current look it can be difficult to determine what’s popular today and why. Here’s what we believe will be trending for 2016.

Tar and Chipped – Tar and chipped is hot asphalt poured over a gravel base with loose, crushed stones sprinkled over the top and rolled into the asphalt to make the final surface. Its rough texture makes it an excellent surface for gaining traction in winter and on the whole it’s affordable, easy to install and easy to maintain. If you’re driven by practical considerations it doesn’t get much more practical than tar and chipped.
Stamped concrete – This design option has been trending upward for several years. Customers who might have gone for a plain concrete driveway just a few years back are now opting for stamped concrete and it’s easy to see why. Stamped concrete is a relatively inexpensive way to add an interesting visual element to your driveway. Color is often added to the concrete as well to give it a ‘stone’ look and feel.
Pavers – Pavers aren’t new but there doesn’t seem to be anything holding back their popularity. With interlocking concrete pavers the only limit is your imagination. Any type of pattern can be created and enhanced by using various color stones. Pavers have the additional advantage of being reusable. Should you decide on a different driveway paving option in a few years you can repurpose the pavers to make a walkway in the yard.
Cobblestones – Granite cobblestones are the original pavers. Many Toronto homeowners who like the idea of pavers and want to go the extra mile authenticity-wise are opting for granite cobblestones over concrete pavers. Cobblestones won’t make shoveling the driveway any easier but they’re incredibly tough, won’t succumb to the freeze/thaw cycle, are scratch resistant and just plain beautiful.
Accessories – Lighted piers at the street end of a lengthy driveway are a good way to mark its start on a dark suburban street. Deer grates at the beginning of the driveway are becoming increasingly popular as the North American deer population continues to its relentless growth and running lights along the edge of the driveway from the street to the garage door have gained quite a few fans recently.

Driveway paving has taken on an unexpected life of its own. A hundred years ago your options were dirt or cobblestone while today those options run from plain blacktop to elaborately designed stamped concrete to beautiful interlocking pavers. With oil prices near 20 year lows paving solutions that include asphalt have shown remarkable life in the past year and that trend will likely continue for the near future.

M.E. Landscaping is one of the Toronto area’s leading landscape design companies specializing in a variety of driveway paving solutions, with interlocking pavers being a point of special focus. We can execute any type of traditional or leading-edge paving solution for you that will significantly enhance the curb appeal of your home without breaking your bank. Call us today on 416-455-9296 to find out more about our entire range of landscaping services.