Driveway

House is a rental. The neighborhood has a mix of concrete and dirt driveways. The driveway I have is two 7 ft slabs. 1 slab is newer and the other slab is the old stuff with huge rocks in it. The driveway doesn't extend all the way to the street either; it's missing another slab. I plan on ripping out the driveway. Should I redo in concrete or asphalt? If concrete I was thinking about doing the ribbon driveway; 2 strips of concrete with grass in the middle. Comments.

The 2 strip concrete drive is "green" and makes a statement in more "hip and socially conscious" areas.

Why? Less impervious space, less rain water run off.

Oh, and its a lot less concrete to buy.

@Shanequa J. I agree. In fact on the new house we are finishing up, we are doing concrete strips with some type of groundcover in between. Depending on the style of house, you can also use large concrete tiles and do a grid pattern. Good luck.

The above suggestions are probably OK as long as there is no SNOW to remove ... If you have to deal with snow in the above suggestions, clearing snow off grass might have to happen.

I spoke to an inspection for the area and he said Fayetteville doesn't want that kind of driveway. I'll go downtown and find out what I can do when I pull the permit.

Yes, the strips are cheaper; that's why I want it. Plus, I think it looks cool. Concrete is $120 a cubic yard here.

In my area, driveways are usually $4 per square foot to rip out and replace. That is materials and labor. Also, one cubic yard of concrete will give you 81 square feet of driveway.

I personally think that concrete is a better surface. It'll last longer and hold up / look better over time. Personally, I'm not a big fan of the concrete strips and, yes, I'd be impressed if a municipality allowed you to put it in. Now, that being said, I know that where I live, concrete flatwork does not require a municipal permit. I literally doubled the size of my concrete driveway without any permit.

Does the street have a curb? You'll probably need a permit to join the street - probably should call the permitting department and find out what the requirements are on that. My rental just has a dirt driveway. Is the existing driveway functional or is it all cracked up and deterioated? Even if it doesn't have the same finish slab to slab, I'd leave it alone if it was still structurally sound just to save the money. Its doubtful you will get more rent for the driveway and it doesn't do much in regards to maintenance expenses, if anything.

But to answer the question you asked: Concrete all the way. Asphalt is glorified dirt in my opinion (insofar as being used in slow traffic areas). It will not have near the life that concrete will have. I also wouldn't bother with the strips as I personally don't like that kind of driveway. There are better ways to make a "green" driveway. The problem with "green" pavement is that is main function is to allow moisture to drain into the subgrade. Saturation of subgrade soils is the number one enemey of all pavements. Ironically, a lot of architects like to design green pavement sections and then the engineers make them put plastic underneath...

Brian Hoyt Yes, I will have to get a permit. It's functional, but it's an eyesore. Everything else is getting rehabbed. Why stop at the driveway?

I might consider painting it rather than ripping it out. Or just ripping out the section that shows the larger aggregate. Hard to have a solid opinion about what to do without a picture.