Why Choose Pavers over Asphalt for Your Naperville, IL, Driveway

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Choosing the right material for your Naperville, IL, driveway can be a tough decision. Both popular contenders, asphalt and concrete pavers, offer a set of advantages and disadvantages. However, choosing concrete pavers can be the better decision in most residential applications, giving you an aesthetically beautiful driveway that is environmentally friendly and ultimately more durable than asphalt. 

Design versatility

The biggest advantage of using modern concrete pavers for your driveway is the versatility they offer. Pavers can be found in an almost limitless array of shapes, sizes, textures, and designs. This makes it easy to find the right paving stones to fit in perfectly with the front facade of your home and any existing masonry in your front yard. For more traditional homes, concrete pavers that mimic natural stone are an excellent option. This is also an excellent way to bring the old-world charm of cobblestones or clay bricks to your driveway. For more modern homes, you can choose a sleeker paver with clean lines and subdued colors that will provide a more minimalist look. Or you can go the middle route of using pavers based on natural stones, such as bluestone or sandstone, that can work beautifully in most designs.

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Laying patterns

Interlocking concrete pavers also offer the ability to further enhance your design with intricate laying patterns. Laying patterns can be used to integrate a variety of pavers of different sizes to give your design more depth. Moreover, you have more freedom in creating borders and accents that can make your driveway really stand out. In contrast to this amazing design versatility, asphalt driveways can seem quite drab, giving you few options of customizes their appearance. 

Permeability

Permeable variants of concrete pavers also offer a more environmentally friendly solution to rainwater management. While asphalt driveways are typically impermeable, which causes water to flow off them and into stormwater drainage systems, permeable pavers feature a more penetrable surface. This allows water to seep into the driveway and assimilate back into the soil. This water eventually joins the groundwater and helps to maintain the groundwater levels under your property, completing the water cycle and providing a more eco-friendly solution. 

Longevity

Lastly, we come to the major reason why most people choose asphalt for their driveway. Asphalt is typically favored due to its longevity. However, concrete pavers installed by an experienced contractor can produce a driveway that can be significantly more durable than asphalt and last decades without the high-maintenance of an asphalt driveway. The secret lies in ensuring that the underlying layers of aggregate provide a solid foundation for the pavers, as well as the weight of vehicles. Moreover, modern construction often utilizes a synthetic mesh grid that does an excellent job of ensuring that there is little to no sinking of the surface by evenly distributing the weight over the soil. The pavers themselves are highly durable, featuring high strength concrete and multiple color layers that prevent them from fading from sun exposure and spills. 

Cost

Asphalt is also associated with having a lower cost. However, while paved driveway can be more expensive to install, their desirability and durability can get you a better return on investment by raising your property’s value. Interlocking pavers are also easier to replace if damaged or cracked, whereas asphalt requires unsightly fillers or complete replacement if cracks develop over time.