Do you notice uncontrollable cracks or chipping surfaces on your driveways? A concrete driveway Seattle resurfacing and repair would be your best solution. And you might be planning to begin your driveway redo right now.
You are probably considering installing a concrete driveway and would like to know more about the application. If that is the case, welcome to this blog, as you will learn concrete’s good, bad, and ugly sides for building your driveways. Or you might want to change from previously having this application before, and you are looking at some factors if replacing it might be a good idea or not.
Here is a quick preview of the topics you would encounter as you read:
The Good
- Cost-Effective
- Long-Lasting & Durable
The Bad
- Not DIY Friendly
- Require Annual Maintenance
The Ugly
- May Crack over Time
- Stains Are Inevitable
Concrete Driveway: Brief Definition
A concrete driveway Seattle is not just an ordinary entryway made of grey cement or traditional brinks stone. A decorative concrete driveway is part of the property that holds the curb appeal. The outdoor surface is enhanced with decorative resurfacing that allows the plain and ordinary cement to become extraordinary, polished looking, and luxe.
Now get to know more about the concrete driveways with their best and worst features to avoid misusing the application.
The Good: Advantages of Using Concrete Driveways
Resurfacing Driveways is Cost-Effective
Paver tiles or gravel and sand finish may be your existing driveway floor. However, you may now want to preserve the functions of the driveway floors, and that is where the advantage of concrete driveways comes in.
You may change the present material by way of resurfacing it. You would cut half of your expenses when you resurface instead of replacing.
Long-Lasting and Durable
Concrete has the most stable features. There’d be no other best reason for this than its pure solid components. Having it poured as a single unit of flooring slab also adds to its durability. Since any object is up against a massive block of concrete, the surface of the driveway floor wouldn’t get damaged immediately.
The Bad: Disadvantages to Prevent not Getting Worse
Not DIY Friendly
The most significant disadvantage of concrete, if you are a homeowner, is that you cannot DIY installing. However, it looks simple and easy at first, and the result will be your only proof and basis if you would successfully and seamlessly install it.
This is because of the precision needed when pouring the concrete mix. If you fail to pour the mixture as fast as it should be, the surface may result in unevenness. That is why you need Seattle concrete contractors to help you with your driveway.
Require Annual Maintenance
Concrete driveways would need maintenance at least once a year. However, concrete floors are super durable, having them outdoors where more damaging elements would exist.
Outdoor floors would be more prone to cracks and dented surfaces. Significantly where heavy vehicle traffic would impact the character aside from the weathering and direct effect of climate changes.
The Ugly: The Inevitable Disadvantages of Concrete
Although there would be more good things and benefits that come with using concrete floors for the driveway, those become the worst nightmare of property owners. Here are two of the ugly truths of driveways. No matter how much you maintain the slabs, these signs and features will inevitably occur.
But now the question is should you worry?
Here are the two you should know.
Cracks would appear and increase over time.
Surface cracks normal to concrete would appear thin and light at first. Around its earliest years, you would not worry about those natural creases. However, over time as the outdoor surfaces are exposed to more weathering, these could become huge and need repairs if not taken care of immediately.
The trick is to regularly seal and polish the concrete driveway surface to prevent the creases from growing into your worst nightmare.
Stains are Inevitable
Last stains would be the inevitable issue, especially among outdoor concrete.
For driveways, there would be car tire marks. These would be dark, a black streak that may seem complicated to remove at first.
The trick here is to seal and reseal the concrete driveways as soon as the coating disappears. Letting the surface be exposed to heat and melting chemical compounds would be ugly if you would not clean or fix the stains immediately.
