Various Common Types of Driveways Used in Residential Buildings
The car owners need to keep their vehicles safely in the garages of their houses, and these cars should be driven over the concrete driveways leading from the public road to the garage of the house, which are also called as drives in the UK. A driveway is considered as a part of private property, where this pathway may connect to some buildings standing within the same compound. But there are different types of drives made in the modern residential and commercial buildings, which differentiate from each other structurally and functionally.
Different Varieties of Driveways Depending on Materials Used For Construction
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Concrete driveway is the common type used in most of the buildings, due to its great durability of withstanding the weight of all kinds of vehicles and also need very little maintenance over the years. But a concrete driveway is not fit for the too cold climatic condition, as the heavy snowfall can result in causing cracks on the concrete stretch of the driveway.
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The gravel driveway may be a good choice for a long serpentine path in a rural area, because the appearance of the gravel pathway matches well in the green surroundings. But as the gravel particles are loosely fitted on the driveway, the house owners may need to replace these worn out gravels after every few years.
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Asphalt driveway is the best choice of a house owner, if the cheap price of the driveway is considered as the main factor in its choice. The proportionate mixture of asphalt cement, sand and rocks make the asphalt driveways as black as the highways. Due to the low cost of all these ingredients, very less expense is needed to install the long driveways. But the asphalt driveway is expected to be damaged quite frequently and thus demands more maintenance charges.
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Brick driveway has a classic appearance and match to the elegance of the brick homes built in the countryside. As the brick is very solid in nature, this type of driveway is more durable than the other types and lasts for many years, if installed correctly. But the brick pathway is more expensive than the gravel or concrete ones.
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Cobblestone driveway is the ancient type that was widely used in previous times and greatly favoured for its high durable nature and necessity of very little maintenance. Till now, this type of driveway is preferred in case of short pathways in the surroundings of a posh locality.
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A glass driveway is not actually made really of glass sheets; they just look like different colours of glass sealed with resins. But some builders really use recycled glasses of many colours to make this type of driveway, but the durability of this pathway depends only on the longevity of the resins that binds the glass pieces strongly together. Moreover, it is fit only to cover very small driveway, on which lightweight cars are supposed to pass through.
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reen driveway is a classy pathway that is environment friendly and looks elegant in dry areas, because grassy patches are grown over the plastic bases of this type of pathway. Some constructors also prefer to base the grassy way over the concrete grid with small holes, to pass the water sipping from the grassroots, when they are watered for maintenance. But the constant care of these grasses needs to be taken by the homeowner, to prevent drying away of this artificial greenery.
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Tarmac driveway is made of strongly durable asphalt that can sustain the weights of the heavy vehicles and requires very little maintenance in the long run.
The driveway is a unique piece of architecture in beautifying the homes and helps the homeowners in driving their vehicles safely to the garages.
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- Various Common Types of Driveways Used in Residential Buildings - July 17, 2017