The 5 Signs You Need a New Driveway

Whether you live in what you call your forever home or have grand plans to make a lucrative sale of your current residence, the kerb appeal can be a great factor in how your home is judged and whether people may be willing to make an offer on it. A large part of the kerb appeal tends to be the driveway. People visualise their car sitting on it, they imagine the smart presentation it may help deliver and they create an impression of you and your home.

Now take a look at your drive and see if you think yours gives your kerb appeal a little edge or helps make your car look even better.

Chances are, it’s seen better days. After all, we use it every day and general wear and tear can creep up on you and suddenly leave you with a driveway that resembles an old school playground or one of those pothole-filled roads we so often find throughout the county.

In our position as specialist surfacing contractors, we spend lots of time, carefully restoring and relaying driveways to help develop and improve residential surfacing throughout Sussex and Surrey. With our extensive knowledge and years of experience, we’ve put together the key indicators that may show it’s time for your drive to have a makeover.

Your driveway is cracked in multiple places

The weather is unreliable in the UK at the best of times meaning cracks that appear fairly minor can change into a major problem very fast. Cold weather and rain can see cracks get worse quickly. As we write this, we are heading into the summer months, and it would be hoped that the sun is shining. However, with the unpredictability of the weather, we could face downpours in the middle of a heat wave. This could lead to the surface contracting and expanding as the climate changes and see water seep into the cracks and causes them to grow both wider and deeper.

You may be able to look at patching up the smaller cracks your drive is showing, especially if they are not very deep but this can lead to a surface looking less appealing aesthetically.

Potholes lining your drive

Even one pothole can be a huge problem on your driveway. A slightly misjudged approach in your car could cause significant damage to your vehicle as you bump over and through the pothole. Even with careful driving and skilled parking, the damage to the drive could just be the start of further problems as the weakened surface is already exhibiting its potentially poor construction or wrong surface type. Potholes can be caused by general wear and tear, a bad surface installation, the British weather (again!) or even poor general maintenance. If you spot the signs of potholes, it could be worth getting a new driveway as it could end up cheaper than buying a new car if you damage yours significantly or repeatedly!

It doesn’t drain like it should

Drainage is a key feature of any driveway and new regulations state that all driveways must be constructed with porous materials or incorporate SuDs. SuDs is the surface drainage system that allows water to flow safely away from the surface and drain into the soil or a suitable environmentally friendly area. If your driveway is old, it may not have been installed with drainage in mind, or, even it if was, the surface type chosen may lead to water sitting on the surface for long periods, weakening its stability and leading to cracks and potholes.

If you can see water pooling in random spots of the driveway or water running to one particular area, you may need to look at a new driveway.  You should also consider that if the driveway does this now, come winter months when the surface water may freeze, you could have a very slippery and dangerous surface to navigate.

It’s showing its age

If your driveway is now looking a little dated or has random cracks, chips and holes adorning it, it could be worth considering a replacement. This may sound like a drastic conclusion to come to, but as mentioned previously, some of these smaller problems can accelerate rapidly and become much larger concerns very quickly. Some driveway types last longer than others, you could get perhaps 30 years or more from a concrete driveway whereas tarmac drives can last about half that time. This is worth bearing in mind if you start to notice issues. If the same drive has been in place since you moved in, and a prior twenty years to that as well, you may need to think about a change.

It's faded

This may be a minor cause for concern but in terms of kerb appeal, it can have a long-lasting detrimental effect. If your driveway is constructed of coloured asphalt, for example, it may show signs of fading after being in use for many many years. The bizarre British weather (yes, again!) can lead to high temperatures but also heavy rain. These can cause fading which, due to the parked vehicles and the way the sun/rain hits the surface causes the fading to be patchy rather than consistent. This leaves you with a messy-looking drive that won’t endear you to potential buyers.

In many cases, you may be able to look at some small preventative maintenance should these issues arise, but this can come back to haunt you later as the quick fixes may lead to bigger problems in the future. For full peace of mind, speak to our team at Tidey & Webb, our fully transparent and open dialogue will help you make an informed decision as to whether you would be best off with a new driveway or better with some low-level maintenance. Our more than 40 years in the industry allow us to deliver an honest appraisal of your situation with both affordability and time taken into account. A new driveway can add value to your home and make the sale more lucrative than you first hoped, so why not enquire today and see how we can help.