DIY - Building your House Driveway

7 Building Elements of a Driveway

Your driveway, along with the front of your property, is a very prominent part of your landscape. It is very visual from the street. It is an entry to your home. In addition, it is the main thing people look for when coming to your home. There are a few important things to think about when undertaking a driveway design.

1. Garage Access

Easy access to your garage (or parking area) is necessary. If you need to make a turn to get to your garage or parking area, create a proper turning radius so that it is not too tight of a turn. An arc with a ten to fifteen feet radius works well. The depth from your garage doors to the driveway edge as you back out should be a minimum of thirty feet.

2. Guest Walkway

Driveways should function well for guests who come to your front door. Create a walkway from the driveway to your front door entry which is wide and inviting. The walkway design should be wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Four feet is the minimum for comfort. However, wider walkways can be even nicer, whether they are curved or straight.

3. Extra Parking

Many people disregard extra parking or turn around areas. As you pull out of your garage or parking area, try to create space to back into so that you may drive forward towards the street. This space can also serve as extra parking. If you are designing a circular driveway, make it wide enough near the front door so that one car can pass while a car is parked there. The entire width of the circle does not have to be this wide. However, the outside circle diameter should be seventy feet wide. You are probably thinking that this is too wide, but I assure you, it is not.

4. Plan the Dimensions

If your property lends itself to a parking court at your front door area, make sure the dimensions are right. Many people do not realize how wide this actually must be for the courtyard to function properly. Parking courts are usually square. Fifty five feet in width and depth are good dimensions to use.

5. Driveway Width

How wide should a driveway be? I prefer driveways that are more narrow, anywhere from nine to eleven feet in width. Why create more hardscape than is necessary? Although a driveway can be designed nicely, the driveway paving takes away from plantings and other garden amenities. In addition, driveways create runoff in the environment, so the less hardscape square footage the better. However, if your garage is in the front of your house and not a long distance, the width of your driveway may have to accommodate two cars.

6. Landscaping Entry

Think about driveway entry landscaping ideas. A nicely landscaped entry is welcoming. The planting design should blend with the rest of your landscape. If your property is informal, the entry can be somewhat different on wither side, but balanced. On the other hand if your home and landscape is more formal, you might want to create the same type of design at the driveway entry, such as an allee of trees.

7. Decorative Paving

You can also dress up your driveway entry by using a more decorative paving material there. For example, a pretty tumbled paver entry can look nice with the balance of the driveway being constructed of asphalt or loose stone. The paver entry can be fifteen to twenty feet long and as wide as the driveway itself. The paver area can have a soldier course as a defined edging.

Arthor and Source: Susan Schlenger

Driveway Paverstone or Asphalt?

Through the use of concrete pavers, driveway design has taken on a life of its own. Where once the driveway was just an afterthought, now it is part of the landscape design. Asphalt driveways were once as common as asphalt roads but now they are almost never considered unless the distance is uneconomical for other products. Even in those unusual conditions, you will find the driveway closest to the house made of something more pleasing to the eye, such as concrete pavers or stamped concrete.

Asphalt Trying to Compete

The asphalt industry has attempted to create a more aesthetically pleasing product by offering designs imprinted in the asphalt. Heated cables, connected in several different designs, are pressed into the driveway asphalt. Once the cables are removed, leaving channels in the asphalt, colors are used to create the look of cobble or brick on the driveway.

Why you should Paverstone your Driveway

Driveway Landscaping Designs

A driveway is an essential part on any real-estate property. A driveway is normally seen in two types. A driveway that leads to the entrance porch of the building and a driveway that leads to the garage. 9in case of small houses.

General Rule

As a general rule driveway is responsible to connect the internal parts of the plot to the main outer road. So vehicular movement is quite obvious. Taking this into consideration the material is normally concrete roads, or tar roads for the driveway.

How to Design Driveway Landscape