A driveway with visible damage can ruin your home’s curb appeal and lessen its value. However, replacing a driveway can be expensive, costing up to $7,400 for a concrete drive and $10,300 if it’s made from asphalt. If your drive is in good shape or it was recently repaired, here are three tips for maintaining it.
Seal to Prevent Cracks
To keep your driveway from cracking, you can have a paving contractor close to IL seal it. If you have a concrete drive, it should be sealed every 12 months. If the drive is asphalt, then you can have it done every few years to prevent water from getting beneath the material, freezing, and causing cracks in the driveway.
Keep Water Off Drive
To help prevent water from penetrating your driveway, you should remove a two- to three-inch strip around the edges of the drive. As snow melts or it rains, this edging will act as a runoff for the water. A paving contractor can fill any cracks already on the driveway to help prevent water from getting beneath the surface of it and causing further damage.
Avoid Salt and De-Icers
The use of chemical de-icers and cement salt can damage the material of your driveway, allowing water to penetrate it and create cracks. There are many alternative materials that you can use to prevent slipping on the drive, including:
* Kitty litter
* Sand
* Coffee grounds
* Alfalfa meal
Contact website domain if you need your driveway repaired or sealed to keep it in good shape.
It is also important to clean stains off the driveway to prevent holes in it or keep asphalt from getting soft. A paving contractor can give you some advice about how to clean the stains to avoid using too much water or too many chemicals on the surface of your driveway.