Driveway Stone
Chip Seal, Gravel or Stone
The look of stone it’s all about the arrival experience
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Chip seal and Driveway Materials
Driveway Stone
A chipseal driveway sets up a distinctive tone for a house. A driveway visually is a big part critical part of arriving at any home. It is one of the first major elements of the home that your guests will see. The transition from the road and directs the guest to the most natural entrance onto your property. There are several options you have when it comes to driveway materials, and each has different qualities. Chip seal driveways produce the visual effects of a stone or gravel driveways without losing material that needs to be kept in place the way you have to with a stone driveway. This “look” is the premise of our business since this is the type of driveway we do.
Driveways are For Vehicle Access – Driveway Options
Each different type of driveway has its features and benefits. None of them are as prevalent as the standard black asphalt driveway here in New England. In other parts of the country concrete driveways are more frequently used. One contributing factor to the use of asphalt in this area is its flexibility to deal with some movement from frost. With concrete, it will crack more easily. If you’re thinking about building a new driveway or rebuilding what you have here are some things to consider regarding these three driveway options. Spring thaws and heavy rains create the need for a driving surface that will support the weight of a car and not take too much care. So the need for a driveway is clear but what kind?
A peek into the back of our truck
‘Washed chip stone at the back of our Flow Boy truck. The conveyor allows us to empty the truck without raising the body. So it is safer. No worries about tipping over or hitting over head power lines. The rear gate is open so you can see what the stone looks like prior to unloading into our custom built jitney. Our washed stone comes in a number of different colors and we would be happy to show you in person. We have a number of specific durable stone sources
Chip Seal driveways can set the tone of the house. Or in other words, the driveway is a critical part of any home. It is one of the first major elements of the home that your guests will see. The transition from the road and directs the guest to the most natural entrance onto your property. There are several options you have when it comes to driveway materials, and each has different qualities. Chip seal driveways produce the visual effects of a stone or gravel driveways without losing material that needs to be kept in place the way you have to with a stone driveway. That is our bias since this is the type of driveway we do. But anyway here we go with the differences.
Each style of different driveways has its features and benefits. None of them are as prelevent today as the standard black asphalt driveway here in New England. Other parts of the country concrete driveways are often used. If you’re thinking about building a new driveway or rebuilding what you have here are some things to note about these three driveway options. Spring thaws and heavy rains create the need for a driving surface that will support the weight of a car and not take too much care. So the need for a driveway is clear but what kind?
Chip Seal Looks Like Stone Acts Like Pavement
As with anything else, there are tradeoffs in what you select. Chip seal surfaces have the “look” of a stone driveway. With chip seal, the chips of stone are cemented in place on top of an asphalt pavement base. The base pavement provides a smooth surface and structural strength to hold up to vehicle traffic. Less stone is lost in plowing, but the snow removal contractor does have to lift the plow a little by adjusting the plow shoes and avoid down pressure. The chipseal provides a high traction surface due to the embed stone.
Part of the durability of in a chipseal driveway project is the selection of the proper stone for the situation. The relatively small pieces of stone are held in place by the asphalt cement. But the hardness of the stone so that it does not break down under use. This stone can not fracture or break down easily, and other than color is a big factor in the inclusion in the stone options available. Consideration of stone type does not take a geologist. We have the types and sources that will hold up well in a chipseal application. We can show you the options we offer in our selection of a hard-durable rock that also fits the desired esthetics the homeowner or architect is looking to achieve.
A loose gravel driveway
You see some of the tracks the cars leave when they pull in and exit the driveway. So after the winter, the stone needs to be racked back in place. Then during the year periodically to keep the driveway looking good a light raking will help. With our chipseal driveways, the stone is locked in place and lower maintenance.
Gravel Driveways
Gravel driveways tend to be a casual country kind of driveway or cottage drive. Gravel or crushed stone driveways can be constructed with little base preparation there often is less total material used. The result is they are the least expensive driveway surface. Oil based products (Tar) are not used so; for this reason, the material cost is less as well as the labor the cost. When hot asphalt cools, it is set and cannot be re-graded as a gravel drive can be. Gravel driveways are most commonly found in lower population rural areas. In these areas often the homeowners who have extremely long driveways there may be stream crossings and a strict home improvement budget that makes you think twice to pave it all. Another benefit of gravel driveways is with time and traffic it gets more compaction or a denser base and still can be paved with the surface treatment you want later.
Other than their low installation cost, they are also the easiest to maintain. With a gravel driveway, you do not have to worry about any driveway cracks. So, in one sense the maintenance is easier. After the winter there may be a need for pulling back stone that has been plowed off into the grass. Gravel driveways are crowned and designed to shed water. The adjoining contours need to be set and appropriate drainage so water does not puddle in the drive creating soft spots and potholes.
Stone Driveways
Stone driveways can be constructed from several different materials. Meaning a larger particle size and also the selection of the stone sources to produce different textures, colors and cost factor. A Stone driveway could refer to concrete stones, crushed brick stones, and natural stones or sometimes recycled asphalt. The most common “stone driveway” is, of course, local natural stone. Selection by source and even selections within a gravel pit can have different stones types, sizes, colors, and texture variations. Of the different kinds of stones you can choose, a natural stone driveway can create a very distinctive look. With no binder to hold the stone in place more work may be needed periodically to smooth out the driving surface. With a steep slope, this can be expensive and need to be frequently maintained. Some natural stones are rare and expensive to get since the source can be far away or selection is hard to keep it uniform.
Driveway Edging
The driveway material you choose can be accented with a complimentary driveway edging. It can contain the stone paving material to the driving service and off the lawn. Edging also creates a delineation to help guide drives from wondering off the travel area. It protects the adjoining landscaping. Stone, metal, or wood is usually what The edging is made from. Sometimes edging is made from the same material as the driveway or from contrasting colors and textures to create a separate decorative accent to the driveway.
Distinctive Driveways
With the options listed above in mind; if you decide to explore in more depth a chip seal driveway, we would like to discuss it with you. If you are implementing the plan or your landscape architect is involved contact us, and we can go into more detail regarding our services and what look to expect and what performance to expect from installing a chip seal driveway.
Interested?
If you are in Massachusetts, Southern New Hampshire or Southern Main give us a call. Contact us we would like to talk with you about chip sealing your driveway or private road.
Call us at 1-781-254-2773 or fill in a brief amount of information on our contact form.