As it is typically the first thing people see from the street the driveway sets the visual tone for the entire property. Should the driveway be in disrepair it will drag down the impression of everything else, including the house itself, no matter how dazzling it might be. Should your driveway have fallen on hard times you should not hesitate to arrange for it to be repaved. But beware, the new driveway will only be as good as the driveway paving company that does the work.
The Importance of Selecting the Right Driveway Paving Company
The driveway plays an important role in determining ‘curb appeal’ and by extension the market value of your home. It does so in a variety of ways and in this post we’ll go over the how’s and whys of driveway dynamics.
- Driveway vs. no driveway – The very existence of a driveway will enhance the value of your home because it allows you to remove your car from the public road where it may be susceptible to accidental damage, vandalism or theft. Even if the driveway is in generally poor repair or doesn’t lead to a garage your house will still be more valuable for having it than if it did not have it.
- Increased market value – So your house is more valuable with a driveway than without one. But how much more valuable? The answer depends on the type of paving, the quality of the paving job and the state of the pavement. If you have a gravel driveway in need of resurfacing any increase in value will be small. But if your driveway is newly finished with interlocking pavers done by real professionals the bump in home value can be significant.
- Types of paving – When you decide to pave your Toronto driveway you’re faced with an array of choices. Which one you choose will be a matter of budget and taste.
- Concrete slab – Functional but prone to cracking.
- Brick – Durable but must be matched to the right style of house.
- Stamped concrete – Beautiful and functional but prone to cracking.
- Asphalt – Easy to install and relatively affordable but prone to cracking.
- Gravel – Cheap and quick to install, drains well but don’t try to shovel snow from it.
- Interlocking pavers – Beautiful, durable, low maintenance, easy to shovel, high ROI.
- Intangibles – If you install interlocking pavers with an eye toward selling and use a highly experienced driveway paving company like M.E. Landscaping the boost in curb appeal alone may be enough to elicit offers you otherwise wouldn’t have received. So if the newly paved driveway is responsible for selling the home then what is the real ROI? Even if you don’t have plans to sell your home the new driveway will make it more attractive and easier to maintain.
- The right paving company – It’s in your interest to avoid fly-by-night operations to repave your driveway. If you choose an unproven company offering you a substantial discount to install interlocking pavers, for instance, they’ll likely cut corners on the underlying layers that are essential to the long term stability of the interlocking system. Problems may not become noticeable until after the check has cleared and then it will be too late.
M.E. Landscaping is one of the Toronto area’s most experienced driveway paving companies. We’re able to handle any type of driveway surface you have in mind and specialize in the design and installation of interlocking pavers. If you are unsure which type of driveway paving system is right for your home give us a call on 416 455 9296 and speak to one of our paving pros.