Paving a driveway. Concrete? Asphalt?

The house I recently purchased in the mountainous woods has a goofy dirt driveway. It's only about 60 feet long, but has a sharp curve between angry pine trees with a short-steep 14.5 degree grade concentrated in a 15 foot stretch. Kinda like the corkscrew at Laguna that got the shrinky-dink treatment, a reference that you won't understand if you were born after 1979. It's a mud pit in the winter. 2+ feet of snow at times. Monsoon rains that turn things into a raging river in the fall. And then 5 months straight with no rain or snow at all. I'm trying to determine what surface I should lay down. It must be snow-shovel and deep pine-needle-droppings friendly. What's my move? Ceeement? Pavers? Asphalt?

 

Move?

 

Asphalt, it will give you the flexibility you need. You might add a trench drain.

 

Concrete. One and done when done right.


We did ours that way 8 years ago and have had zero issues with it.

 

I tend to lean towards concrete, as an engineer. One thing to consider is you should not throw salt on concrete. So if you plan to salt your driveway during winter, go with asphalt.


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Any way to improve on design first. I have a neighbor with a similar issue and they really regret not changing the layout before paving.

 

Too many trees, will kill the concrete.

 

If you expect either concrete or asphalt to last spend money on drainage and the base (go deep) and move the trees back.

 

Perfect timing of this thread. Im going to go with asphalt. How deep should it be? Fwiw i have a dodge 3500 and a single axle trailer that sit mostly idle in the winter months.

Thanks in advance!

 

Balls?

 

Asphalt will be cheaper but won’t last as long.

 

Route some geothermal pipes through it to keep the ice off in the winter.

or electric heater loops if yer a baller

 

Depends on your area, colder climate needs to be deeper. You won't go below frost, but at least 8'' deep, 12'' would be better. A packed gravel base and drainage that will drain on it's own before the asphalt even goes down.

 

Asphalt is generally more expensive in the Carolina's right now due to oil cost. Asphalt also has to be redone every 10'ish years.

Concrete is expensive, but when done right.....well....it's done.

With the snow you mentioned, definitely a hot water loop to melt the snow.

 

You must fix drainage problems first or all else is a waste. Trees should be at least 25 ft away. Mud indicates you don't have a proper base. 3 ft of engineered (ie compacted) stone fill prior to whichever top you choose.....

 

There's not a whole lot I can do about the layout due to the nature of the property. It would be heartbreaking to cut down a bunch of the pine trees, but several may have to go. That heating is a great idea, I'd never even thought of it. This may be the home I die in, so it sounds like concrete is the way to go for longevity.

 

Ok. The soil has a high clay content so drainage is eh at best. Trees are far enough away not to be an issue.

I may do concrete parking pads near the house and then finish the rest with asphalt.

 

That’s what I did
About 50x35 of concrete in front of garage with asphalt driveway. Don’t have to worry about parked cars and using jacks.

 

Have you thought about crushed rock?
Perhaps concrete pads combined with 3/4” crushed rock over a prepped base of DG?
You can contain rock with a border along both sides of the driveway
Your rough grading can take into account how/where you want to move water runoff...

 

Clay is good for stability, just make sure it drains.
It's all about budget, if concrete is in the budget, heck yea use it. Excavate 12''+ of soil, pack it, add 4'' of gravel, pack it, 4'' more gravel, pack it, then 6'' of fiber reinforced concrete, thickened edge, with drop in rebar grid. Put a new coat of sealer on that every year and you'll never have any trouble with your driveway. Heat it if you like, and proper drainage.