What are the best alternatives to asphalt in residential parking areas?
Answers:
It really depends on the overall size of the parking area.
Cement ---- depending on what kind you get can run from $2 + and sand overall are cheap -- just make sure the mix is right and the cement is poured pretty quickly to avoid dry out. Also concrete shrinks as it dries so if you are doing a driveway you need to make sure that you have the niches put in -- can be done w/ a concrete saw -- what this will do is keep the concrete from cracking. If there are just cracks -- open them up a bit and smooth and fill with hydroseal which is an expanding concrete -- you can usually find this at a home depot or lowes. -- more likely home depot as this is more for professionals... lowes is more deco and inexperienced diy. If there are tree's around and the area is lifting it is most likely a tree root or if there is a lot of rain this could erode the concrete.
Another alternative is Driveway sealer -- usually black in color and is almost a tar texture but is an asphalt mixture. --- this can go over existing concrete or asphalt. Although very cheap it would seem --- If you are going over exisiting concrete this will be a yearly chore as it will flake off and look awful unless maintained.
Either way make sure that if you are just overlaying the area -- power wash it good. Or if you are tearing out the area and installing new that you have it lined up perfectly with stakes, boards, string, etc, and have gravel ready to go and tamped before you start pouring concrete and make sure the right tools are used to smooth and make sure it is level.
Another alternative would be gravel itself or a decorative stone but this can look trashy if not enough is used or it is not kept up -- rocks move so also something to maintain...
Other answers:
Cement and concrete tend to be the easiest to place over an existing asphalt parking lot. However it can be kind of pricey and time consuming.
Cement and concrete tend to be the easiest to place over an existing asphalt parking lot. However it can be kind of pricey and time consuming.
If you don't have any height requirements or other levels that need to be matched, than an alternative could be to use paving stone. It does have a high level of difficulty to do the work and any tools or equipment needed can be rented from your local tool rental place or Home Improvment retailer. The only thing you really need to check, is that the existing asphalt has a suitable, strong and stable base. Determining this can be done cutting a hole in the asphalt and dig down to determine what materials were used for the base, hopefully a good gravel base. Hope this helps.
It's not good to pour concrete over top of asphalt. The asphalt being so thin and probably cracked already, will cause further problems to the concrete. Yes concrete is the best solution, but it is hard work for a homeowner who has never done it before. If you do the concrete, I suggest you rip out the asphalt and use gravel for a base. I would also hire at least 1 person who has done concrete before, or else you could be replacing it again. Yes, it is expensive, but it will pay for itself in the long run.