I have a single wide 50 foot driveway and was thinking of having a new one put in with an added parking pad next to it. Then found out it would cost about $25K. Since I don’t “really” need the parking pad I started think of options, one being resurfacing the concrete with a new layer of concrete. I don’t have any major cracks, maybe two that are about a 1/4" wide and no potholes or sagging in any areas. Some minor spalling overall.
Is resurfacing concrete durable? I live in SE Michigan, so the winters here are not overly harsh and I never lay down salt. Should it be good for 10 years? I don’t want to do asphalt paving as I’ve never liked the look and it would stand out as different in my neighborhood.
How much would I expect to pay for resurfacing? Would they grind down the existing surface and then apply a new layer on top? Are there color options I could consider?
I’m googling resurfacings now, but some opinions could help my search efforts out.
I used to live in SW Michigan. I had erosion and breaking concrete on my double wide, maybe 70’ long driveway. I replaced the whole thing in 2007? I had a company out of Ionia fo it. It cost me about $25k but I also had a walk to the front door a front entry pad, step, and mailbox column done. All stained, stamped concrete. It was beautiful. It needed coating every spring. Design choices and colors are unlimited. Only on the front entry maybe 6x6, they put a bonder that allowedd the resurface. It worked fine.
Not really, its not a rule not to use as I do not live in an HOA, but the neighborhood is moving upscale and nobody is using asphalt. And from what I’ve seen it doesn’t hold up well or add value to the home. Where I believe stamped concrete overlay of the existing pavement would.
If I were going to sell the house next month I might consider asphalt, but I plan on living here for 5 to 7 more years.
It would be used every night, as it would allow my GF to move her car from out of the garage without me moving my car. It’s not really a must have but other folks around me that have the same issue are upgrading to double wide driveways. A parking pad avoids me having the added expense of messing with the street interface and the curb removal.
With backup cameras on all my cars I don’t have to worry so much about having a double entry to the driveway, I can hit the single entry quite well thanks to the rearview camera.
I might do this for my rear patio where the concrete has a crack in it and has sagged slightly. Raising the height on the patio would bring it almost up to the door way and I could transition the side going to the yard. That and there is no real load on it like the driveway has.
I would say no, especially in that climate. Asphalt works fine with multiple lifts/layers, sometimes only 1-2" thick, because it remains somewhat flexible throughout its life and sort of smooshes together. Concrete on the other hand depends on continuous thickness to maintain its structure because it’s brittle and inflexible. Grinding half of it down and pouring a topping slab without some very specific and fussy engineering/additives/mix design/reinforcing would be ruinous for a driveway. It’s just two slabs on top of each other with only as much durability as each one by itself. Epoxy coatings may be an option, but those seem just as likely to chip and crack in an outdoor environment.
There may be a difference between how streets and driveways are engineered. But a minor street or an alley paved with asphalt will last MUCH longer than 7 years before needing to be repaved. The lifespan of asphalt is very greatly dependent on the weight of the vehicles using it. Heavy trucks will kill a street a great deal faster than passenger vehicles. I’m aware of one particular alley near me that was repaved about 15 years ago, and it’s still in good shape.