Bitumen, Asphalt or Concrete?

[spookypt]

Seeking help. I have bought my new house and am in the middle of building my new shed (180sqm) and I need to give my current road base driveway an upgrade.

I have 600sqm of driveway to cover in either bitumen, asphalt or concrete. Any advice? In rough figures bitumen is $15k, asphalt is $27k and concrete $30k.

As I have a lot to do around the house as well as fill my garage with a new toy in the new year I'd prefer to go the Bitumen but am wondering if there are any major "bewares" please I should know about or moreso "stay aways".

I live in the bush and my house is country coastal style so manicured lawns is not my thing. Its pretty bushy/rainforesty so trimmed lawns and edges is not the order of the day if that makes sense.

I've been told about the prep work for bitumen and asphalt being the key but aside from standing next to the dudes one can really only expect they'll do the job properly.

Any pointers?


Thanks in advance. Spookypt

[Aussie Mike]

I have about 450 sq meters of driveway and I paid about $36K. I went with exposed aggregate concrete as a big expanse of plain concrete looks pretty ugly in my opinion.

You also need to think about what will be driving over it. Around our area a lot of people by the big blocks as they own trucks. I went with F72 mesh and 5" thick everywhere for resale value of the property if we ever move.

You should also look at drainage as an area that size can collect a lot of water. I got a bunch of storm water drains put in and have no problems with standing water.

Cheers

[spookypt]

Thanks Mike... I agree about the concrete looking ugly. That and the $'s is the main reason I'm angling towards bitumen.

Spookypt

[Dimis]

As far as I'm aware, the asphalt will outlast bitumen by 3-4 times.
So really comes down to your priorities- Pay now, or pay later.


Edit - congrats on the new house

[spookypt]

Dimis thanks mate. It was a loooong time coming.

What makes you say that about longevity? Essentially both require the same road base prep. The asphalt certainly is smoother and easier to roller skate on!!! And the bitumen is a pain with all the loose rocks etc but I'd have thought for a driveway they both should last about the same?? Water and tree roots being the more obvious issues thatnactual car use for wear and tear.

I know from experience in the past Asphalt is more expensive to repair as you have to cut out the section whereas bitumen is a little less intense..

I guess whatever way I go they all have strengths and weaknesses but for bang vs buck bitumen seems OK...

[Dimis]

Bitumen is typically laid thinner.
Asphalt has better/more fillers/particles/mineral aggregates.

I'm pretty much in the same boat...

New home with garage and driveway that needs doing/re-doing.
So I've kind of been wrestling with the same topic for that last 6 months.

Only difference is my father-in-law (great man) is a gardener, so he expects at the very least my lawns are cut and the edges trimmed. LOL

Oh yes, one other small difference is my garage/caport combo is unfortunately much smaller.

[Aussie Mike]

There's a few places around us that have Asphalt with a brick edge. I reckon they look really nice. It was an option I was looking at for a while.

Cheers

[damage]

I wouldn't go for Bitumen its a pain in the butt because it will melt and get all sticky in extreme hot weather also if you spill diesel on the driveway it will also break down the bitumen over time, if you can afford the asphalt go that option it will last a lot longer.

[Jaydee]

I have always added black oxide to my concrete. Gives it that dark black look. And over time stays a nice dark grey. Excuse my ignorance, what's the difference between asphalt and bitumen.
With trees, at least non concrete will move with the tree roots, instead of lifting a whole slab. But for inside a shed it would have to be concrete.
JD

[Donunder]

The Pothole People?

Worth giving Greg a call you'd think.

[Modena]

I went with exposed agg out the back for looks, my driveway is black oxide concrete and looks good too, but it can be a bit slippery when wet. I have always liked the look of asphalt with a brick border.

[damage]

Bitumen is basically sprayed on then covered with a layer of rocks and then sprayed again. Asphalt is super heated bitumen and crushed rock that is compressed through a machine into a layer that's typically 25mm thick ( thicker on high traffic areas and highways ) generally AC is applied over a chip seal of bitumen and rock

Generally bitumen is more of a dust seal where as asphalt is a proper pavement and ends up like a concrete surface hence AC or Asphaultic Concrete.

[tomcat racing]

Hey Spook,
You know me, with over 44 years being a builder take this piece of advice, one day you will regret laying anything but concrete, set and forget, the other stuffs too hot, too many problems with water ingress into the substrate. Tree roots etc. You get what you pay for, but with bitumen you dont even get that, its your call.

Tomcat.

[spookypt]

Originally Posted by Donunder

The Pothole People?

Worth giving Greg a call you'd think.

Poor Greg couldn't get close due to me being on the sunny coast.

[spookypt]

Yep Tom I'll do concrete I reckon but I'll road base and roll it for now to see me through till the new year. It's a dust bowl atm.

Spookypt

[Aussie Mike]

Getting the driveway done made a big difference to our place. It was a dust bowl in summer and a mud puddle in winter. Money well spent.

Cheers

[Gav]

What's wrong with a good old sump oil driveway?
Honestly you city folk with your fancy pants concrete

[deano59]

Originally Posted by Gav

What's wrong with a good old sump oil driveway?
Honestly you city folk with your fancy pants concrete

I had a nice driveway made like this and use the freshen it up after every oil change was great for yrs till they built a house across the road and the lady who moved in worked for the EPA put a stop to that lol.

[guye]

My motorbike falls over on bitumen and asphalt in summer. So use concrete or I can't visit spooky.

[T.L.]

I went for dark coloured concrete for my area round the shed to tie in with the driveway. Was 415sqm and was about $40,000. Was 4" think using F72 mesh.

Went for concrete as I have some old cars as well, British, and if they aren't dropping oil then there isn't any oil there to drop, so at least with concrete it washes off after a while.