How to Design a Driveway
A well designed driveway will add both character and charm to your home making it look and feel much more distinctive. So, whenever you sit down to design a driveway you should allow your creativity to flow in this design.
- Sketch out a scaled, aerial view of your property.
- Look at where you could possibly put your driveway and what the best design for it will be.
- Sketch out some ideas, patterns or designs.
- Look at home exterior design magazines or talk to professionals for advice.
- Measure the square footage that you will need in order to complete your driveway’s design.
- Decide on what materials you want to use. While concrete and asphalt are the traditional mediums that are used, today there are a lot of options that are also available.
- Look into concrete materials (i.e. stamped concrete, concrete engraving, exposed aggregate finishes, colored concrete, sawed or grooved patterns, concrete stains, interlocking concrete pavers).
- Make arrangements to remove your old driveway, if you have one. You will need to use a jackhammer and a large dumpster for this.
- Prepare your subgrade properly. Make sure that it is compacted, level and even in thickness (approximately a 4" consistent thickness).
- Make sure that the joints are correctly placed throughout your design.
- Plan for proper drainage. You will need your concrete to slope 1/4" per running foot away from your home.
- Map out where your reinforcements (either wire mesh or steel bars that are placed in a webbed pattern) will go.
- Enhance your driveway’s design with other accents (i.e. fencing, stones, bushes, flowers).