concrete-construction-building-news

A brand spanking new blacktop driveway can really improve the curb appeal of your house. Real estate agents will tell you that curb appeal, or the first impression that your house makes when people arrive at it, has the most significant impact on the resale value of your home. It is more important than kitchens, bathrooms or any other interior items. Just visualize a crumbling or decrepit driveway and how awful it looks and you can imagine the difference a new one makes.

Our driveway is almost one hundred feet long leading up to a detached one car garage. It was originally a concrete driveway with a long patch of grass in the middle. On one side of the driveway is the property line between my property and my neighbor’s property. We agreed to remove a chain link fence that had been on the property line (actually it was on my property by about six inches) for a long time. Instead we planted some hedges and other flowering bushes to serve as a dividing line. This served two purposes, first it looked a lot better and second, it improved the soil erosion that used to occur. The other side of the driveway is along the side of our house. This area used to have a patch of lawn but now it is a beautiful planted garden. We had a landscaper come in and mulch the area between perennial plantings. This side also gets a lot of southern sun so the plants do really well there.

The new driveway is lined with stone blocks on either side. This really provides a bold contrast to the blacktop and was quite expensive. We made the decision to spend the money because it really made a tremendous impact on the look of the driveway. The new driveway was installed on a base of crushed rock which provides an excellent foundation and allows for the perfect pitch to allow proper runoff and drainage of rain water into the street.

In the year since we installed the driveway I noticed several oil and grease spots which really show up against the blacktop. These must be removed so I went to Lowes and picked up a special degreaser specially made to remove grease. Then I used a portable pressure washer to clean the remaining residue. Since the driveway is so long it took about three hours to clean it from end to end. I used a convertible hand truck to wheel the power washer along as I cleaned.

Unfortunately there is no way to avoid grease and oil stains on the driveway. Those annoying spots really look ugly. At least now I have a quick and effective method to clean it once spring rolls around.

For vital tips about how to install suspended ceiling - please make sure to read this page. The times have come when proper information is really within your reach, use this possibility.

Post a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.