Remodeling my house. Driveway suggestions?

[reedld]

You have a Firebird addiction my friend! Nice collection!

What about pavement? I was on the fence when doing my driveway....I like pavement because lite snow and ice melt with sunlight. Concrete wont settle, but needs to be sealed, and snow and ice won't melt as easily. Stamped is nice, but pricey. I did 6"x6" pavers in my back yard, lots of prep work but real nice. I'd hate to lay them for an area as large as your driveway.

[T_Raven]

You have a Firebird addiction my friend! Nice collection!

What about pavement? I was on the fence when doing my driveway....I like pavement because lite snow and ice melt with sunlight. Concrete wont settle, but needs to be sealed, and snow and ice won't melt as easily. Stamped is nice, but pricey. I did 6"x6" pavers in my back yard, lots of prep work but real nice. I'd hate to lay them for an area as large as your driveway.

I've been considering asphalt. A buddy of mine use to pave roads and said we could do it ourselves. I know if you have it professionally sealed, then it needs to be sealed every 3 years to get the most life out of it. But my dad's driveway is asphalt and he's lived there for 15 years and never resealed it. I don't know how old it was when we moved in but, it's held up pretty well.

There are a few reasons I think I might not want asphalt: it gets soft if it gets hot enough, things with small wheels, like jacks, don't roll as easy on it, it looks good when freshly sealed but quickly fades, a big black slab out front might be a bad thing in the summer, maybe not much worse than concrete though.

I've looked at pavers, but they are pretty expensive, I like that if a spot needed to be repaired they can be pulled up, and I could probably lay them myself much easier than trying to pour 3500 sq ft of concrete.

[dlove63]

I think pavers are way over priced . They look very nice but not worth the thousands of dollars it would cost to do that large of an area. I have seen them used like you mentioned as a border around a concrete pad and I think it looks just as nice. The stamping techniques used these days can also give you a great look and there are a ton of options,colors, and patterns so you can make it look however you want. Whatever you choose Im sure it will turn out real nice.

[Kenova]

It doesn't really matter how cold or hot it is, jacks and stands will still sink into the asphalt. I would stick with the concrete. Have it coloured or stained a darker colour to help with melting any snow or ice.
I'm not too good with US State abbreviations but I'm guessing you are in Idaho? If so then there are a couple of things you can do to ensure a long lasting concrete driveway. Make damn sure you have an excellent base, and it sure wouldn't hurt to put some drainage under it all. If you get any amount of water under the slab it can start heaving in spots and concrete isn't as flexible as you would like it to be. The heaving seems to be worse in the spring. Don't ask how I know .
Street curbs heaving in the spring seems to have always been a problem around here. Now when they construct a new street they put drainage under the curbs.
You've done an outstanding job on the house. Ain't easy, is it? Looking forward to seeing the rest of your home "build".. As for the garage/shop, well I'll probably cry myself to sleep tonight.

Ken

[T_Raven]

It doesn't really matter how cold or hot it is, jacks and stands will still sink into the asphalt. I would stick with the concrete. Have it coloured or stained a darker colour to help with melting any snow or ice.
I'm not too good with US State abbreviations but I'm guessing you are in Idaho? If so then there are a couple of things you can do to ensure a long lasting concrete driveway. Make damn sure you have an excellent base, and it sure wouldn't hurt to put some drainage under it all. If you get any amount of water under the slab it can start heaving in spots and concrete isn't as flexible as you would like it to be. The heaving seems to be worse in the spring. Don't ask how I know .
Street curbs heaving in the spring seems to have always been a problem around here. Now when they construct a new street they put drainage under the curbs.
You've done an outstanding job on the house. Ain't easy, is it? Looking forward to seeing the rest of your home "build".. As for the garage/shop, well I'll probably cry myself to sleep tonight.

Ken

Good point on the drainage.

The painting was a lot of work, but it's been a lot of fun. Next time I paint a house I'm spraying the ceiling and trim. Hopefully this summer I'll have pics of the kitchen and shop done. Then I can finally get down to business on the 67.

[carbuff]

Do you have any limitations on the 'impervious cover' on your lot? Where I live, we are limited to a total of 45% of the lot having a solid cover, which has been an issue a couple of times during my house-shopping... I can't really tell from your pictures exactly how large your lot is, but just make sure that's not going to be an issue in your area before you get too far into your planning...

[T_Raven]

Do you have any limitations on the 'impervious cover' on your lot? Where I live, we are limited to a total of 45% of the lot having a solid cover, which has been an issue a couple of times during my house-shopping... I can't really tell from your pictures exactly how large your lot is, but just make sure that's not going to be an issue in your area before you get too far into your planning...

Dang I've never heard of that. My lot is big, about .4 acres, but I'd like to leave the possibility open for either paving behind the shop or building on back there. I better find out if there's a limitation on that. If there is then maybe I'll have to make the driveway less wide than I was planning.


I have looked at Grass Pave 2 and Gravel Pave 2. I thought about putting the Gravel pave 2 on the shop side so there'd be no grass to mow in that big area and it wouldn't be just dirt. It holds the gravel in place pretty well compared to just a layer of gravel. The down side would be that I couldn't roll anything around that didn't have big rubber wheels.

I could put Grass Pave 2 on the house side of the driveway, then if I need to park cars there from time to time it won't destroy the grass.

[T_Raven]

Holy cow never mind the Gravel Pave 2. It's MORE than concrete. I figured rolls of plastic rings covered in gravel would be pretty cheap. Found this price comparison

Paving materials, per square foot installed:
Asphalt, 2 1⁄2 inches thick: $1.45
Brick, 1 1⁄2 inches thick: $11.00
Concrete, 6 inches thick: $5.85
Concrete pavers: $11.50
Crushed stone, 1 inch thick: $0.70
Grasspave2: $8.00
Gravelpave2: $8.00
Gravel, 6 inches thick: $0.85
Paving stones, 2 inches thick: $26.50

Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green...#ixzz2DNgUgHkl

[astroracer]

Do the shop and garage approaches in concrete and the rest in gravel with a crushed stone top... That would look nice and save you a bunch of coin.

[gak68]

Do the shop and garage approaches in concrete and the rest in gravel with a crushed stone top... That would look nice and save you a bunch of coin.

I second this. I have done driveways with crushed granite. I don't know if you have that material in your area, but it packs down so tight you basically make concrete. Since it is granite it has a nice look to it.

[T_Raven]

I second this. I have done driveways with crushed granite. I don't know if you have that material in your area, but it packs down so tight you basically make concrete. Since it is granite it has a nice look to it.

I'll have to check that out. I've thought about doing a few feet in front of the shop door in concrete and the rest of that area in asphalt. That way I could at least jack up one end of a vehicle there if I needed to.

If granite would be significantly cheaper than asphalt that might work alright and I could always dig it up and lay concrete later.

[Takid455]

Nice work.

The before shots of the kitchen look like the house from the brady bunch lol

or Napoleon Dynamite

[stage2ROUSH]

Stained concrete can look really great, and depending on color/ texture,can add to the total " curb appeal " of your house! on a side note, for the wall where the fire place was, have you thought about installing a gas fire pit of sorts im there? that is a perfect place for one.

[T_Raven]

My dad's in the propane business so I was originally going to put a gas insert in. I only have electric coils in the ceiling for heat, but I decided I want to install a furnace so I can have central air too.

I can always put one of these in the hole for ambiance lol

[woody80z28]

Wow, I am envious of all that room! And at the same time glad my driveway project will be cheaper with only 720sqft. haha

I really want concrete, but have quite an incline...probably 3' on 30' length. Thinking pavers will be the way to go. They go on sale for about $3/sqft from time to time. Then you just need to buy the base and do the installation.

[Kenova]

I only have electric coils in the ceiling for heat, but I decided I want to install a furnace so I can have central air too.

Electric radiant ceiling heat!! I haven't heard anything about that "stuff" since the '70s.
Yes, you will want to make the elimination of that heat source your number one priority. You will find the forced air furnace (and A/C) much more comfortable.

Ken

[T_Raven]

Yeah it was a pretty stupid way to heat a house. Last winter my monthly electricity bill was $300 and it was $100/mo during the summer. So it was costing $200/mo just for heat. I'll have my dad get me a deal on a furnace and come help me install that and an AC unit. Saving money on heat will probably be offset by the AC in the summer but at least I'll be comfortable.

[SPDMETL]

$200 a month for heating a sizeable house isn't bad, in fact I'm amazed it's that low. Electricity is the least efficient heat. Nice place!

[T_Raven]

Might as well update this now that the driveway is done. I've made a lot of progress on the rest of the house too.

I cut down my trees out front. They didn't provide shade anywhere it was useful and I was tired of the sap and bird poo all over my cars.





I left it like this for a few months and just kept parking on the dirt. I get real sick of the mud in the winter though



I've worked over seas off and on since '05. I was offered another job in Feb so I came back to Afghanistan. First order of business was to replace the driveway.



I decided to just keep it simple and skip the stamped border. I also went all the way to the sidewalk rather than leaving any grass or bushes on the right side.



When I bought the house compared to now. Looks a lot better and I haven't touched the exterior of the house yet.

[T_Raven]

I finished the kitchen. I did the drywall, plumbing, wiring, and tile. I had the cabinets built and installed, and of course the granite company did the granite.





The guy that built the cabinets had a better idea for the island than I did. I love the way it all turned out



Redid the laundry room. I need to put the cabinet doors back on.





And the master bath