Asphalt, Concrete or Paver Driveways- Which is the best?!? 

Stan, just a side note for pavers. Some pacers can be turned over but most are one sided. How ever they still are the easiest to repair if cracked. When I do a paver project, I always leave extra pavers for that reason.

As an asphalt contractor and Sealcoater you can get a long life out of a asphalt driveway with proper maintenance. First when your going to get your driveway paved make sure they put at least 4 inches or gravel down and get it compacted. Then what most people don’t know is that company’s are only putting down top coat at 2-3 inches instead of putting a binder down at 1.5 inches and then top down at 1.5 inches so you get three inches total. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve paved a driveway or did patch work and find out there’s not only just top coat down but it’s only a inch thick. When your a home owner I would recommend asking the contractor to but road binder down instead of driveway binder because it’s a a lot stronger. And after the paving is done in 1-2 years you should Sealcoat your driveway, not with the stuff you can buy st home depo either you want a pro. And you want to be careful who you hire you want a company who uses a sand slurry mix. It’s the best to reguvinate the oils in the asphalt and you want to find a good company and learn about what they use for material ask them for a pamflit the plant hands them out for free! You also want to watch out for some company’s who will end up watering there material down. So do your research first. And after you get your driveway seal coated it should last 5+ years before it has to be re sealed again do not do it every year it will clog the pours on the asphalt and make it crack.

also with stamped concrete cracking, you still have to saw in the joints just like you would a normal driveway or patio. but the problem with that is contractors are cheap and don't cut down enough for it to be a good control joint, they try to save their blades by just cut 1/4 " and making the control joints way too spread out when it should be 3/4"-1" deep at least. and every 8ft in every direction.

good info. surface coloring concrete is ridiculous, when i pour stamped i mix color powder in with cement as its poured. i didnt even know they did a surface spray. secondly by adding 2 more inches of base and concrete adds so much more to price. you need to excavate down more inches meaning you have more dirt to get rid of, and depending on length adding 2 more inches of cement means waiting longer for it to start setting up, unless you get it poured dry in which case if you are slow it will burn up on you. you didnt mention adding wire or steel in cement, i wonder why that is.

I laid down concrete pavers at my parent’s house in 2009. It was for an extension on either side, and my dad wanted to be able to park and drive medium duty vehicles on it. We ended up with a 12-14” aggregate base, with 3 separate layers of geo-grid in between. It’s been 9 years and had tons and tons and tons of trucks, loaded dump trailers, equipment, etc on them. Literally no settlement. We’re in MD and it’s lasted through many harsh winters. NO salt was ever used on it though.

After watching this, I'm tempted just to keep my fugly gravel driveway lol

I was involved In asphalt paving for 30+ years. I've sealed it, cracked filled it, patched it, removed it , Installed it , hauled it and loaded it out BIG TIME ( all of the above) . When I put my asphalt drive way in I kinda went over board. I put probably 2 feet of stone in the driveway lol. Let it sit in stone for about 2 years then installed it in 2 lifts. 1 and a half binder / inch and a half surface lol. OK it was a little over kill, it was still there after 35 years, starting to fail a bit but still solid. In my world " black is beautiful"

As a Belgium farmer I would choose asfalt then concrete and last pavers. Because when the subsoil drops asfalt gently follows without breaking (to some degree) concrete creates holes underneath and when they are big enough the concrete gets destroyed. Pavers are just not strong enough for me. But in al cases thicker is better just like Stanley said and don't forget about the quality

I just paint the grass and soil grey! Talk about a cheap driveway!!!

I live in the Chicago, Illinois region (land of winter freezing & sub zero temps) and want to replace an asphalt driveway with concrete. (Asphalt driveway is 2 years old when home was built). So let me get this straight; 8" base, wire & 6" pour. Thank you for the heads up (video & comments) on that. Now, I want a black driveway. I understand in my climate (winters) it's recommended to use "iron oxide black" and NOT "carbon black" due to air / water entainment. (The darkness of the black tint isn't a major issue for me). Have an expert opinion?

U just confirmed brick stone drive way for me all the way.

i put a base of 12" crushed asphalt on my parking area and 6" out to the road never had any problems nor do i have any cost of maintaining

$12-24 per square foot. Wow. I can't imagine how much money my 80 ft long driveway would cost. About $20 grand at $20 a square foot. There goes my Harley money again.

As a fourth alternative, especially for people who have their own machines, gravel makes an excellent road surface. Every ten years we get some more and regrade with the backhoe. No cracks, no sealing, no settling, but you have to like gravel. I've lived with the driveway my entire life, so it's not a big deal but for a more urban area a hard surface would be better.

My unsealed asphalt driveway is 40 years old and the only crack is from a shallow rooted tree that the previous owner had planet next to it. Aside from sinking an inch and a half against the garage slab, I've got no reason to do anything with it for another decade. If it does get replaced, I'll just have them scrape it up into the new mix, lay it a bit thicker and leave it unsealed again. For comparison, the house on my right was religious with the tar and had to resurface once and replace once in 35 years; the house on the left sealed every other year and ended up replacing after 35 years.

Alot of left out information concerning an asphalt driveway , an asphalt driveway that's paved over a rock hard non moving base will last 30 years without cracking as long as you apply a thin coat of non rubberized pure oil base asphalt sealer ,not the clay based asphalt emulsions sold at home Depot & Lowe's , a 5 inch asphalt finished thickness will Outlast concrete when laid over the same non sagging base ,also the depth and type of base material depends on what conditions are found under the top soil or old driveway ,after the existing soil base is compacted if any movement of the soil is seen when the compactor is rolling over it is when you chose the base materials and thickness ,in a deep snotty clay base you should allow the existing base to sun dry for 30 to 60 days before adding base stabilizing materials like 60/40 ,crushed concrete or limestone ,if you started with a squishy base then you want to mix in a few tons of Portland cement to the existing Earth and compact it before adding a layer of crushed limestone and allow the limestone to sit another 30 days before paving ,on the day of paving have the contractor put down and compact a layer of 60/40 road mix or asphalt millings & compact it before paving , make sure you order a 5 to 6 inch finished depth that's installed in 2 separately compacted layers instead of the single pour 3 inch depth standard ,once paved make sure any gaps between the paving & grass are immediatly filled in with Earth & grass seed before compacting ,stay off the driveway for another week or 2 and you can expect a double wide 2 car asphalt driveway to last you every bit of 20 years without developing a single crack ,if your new asphalt drive dosent crack within the 1st year you know you have a rock hard base that won't sag and you apply petroleum based asphalt sealer at the 1 year mark using a squgee coat just thick enough to fill in the semi pourous asphalt paving ,don't ever use rubberized sealers or water based emulsions because both will peel or flake off unlike a petroleum based sealer that binds with the petroleum based asphalt paving ,you should reseal your asphalt driveway every 12 months applying the thinnest coat possible to cover last year's sealer ,not every 3 years , if you can wait for your new driveway to be completed for 3 to 4 months and follow the base layer install outlined you can expect a 20 to 30 year crack free driveway that looks new every 12 months due to you resealing the asphalt and replacing the petroleum in the asphalt by using only petroleum based sealers , I own over 60 rental homes in middle to upper middle class areas with all types of driveways ,including brick pavers & every drive I replaced over the last 42 years has been asphalt using the standards created for America's expressways & only 1 drive has cracked due to a renter having a gas leaking truck that degraded the asphalt ,I'm also a licensed contractor with a Journeyman card in waterproofing that covers parking lots ,parking ramps ,commercial roofing ,below grade waterproofing,road building , exterior wall waterproofing of brick cement and all woods,bridge waterproofing as well as residential driveways so I'm not talking out of my ass .

I couldn't ask for more. This is a great, self explanatory video about the different types of surfaces that you can put on your driveway. Very well done sir.

Crack sealing for asphalt and concrete hands down is the best contract job you can get. You can rent a crack sealer for about $300 a day buy about $500 of material, two man crew can accomplish a $5,000 job in just 1 day. Best part of crack sealing is you need no tools besides the machine. I would of never been able to break the 6 figure profit mark without adding crack sealing to my services.

Thanks for the comparison, I guess the stamped concrete is off my list.

concrete will be the best. u forgot to mention the different grade 3,000 psi all the way to 5,000 regular rock being the standard and limestone being the best quality. and yes concrete will always crack but that's why we do control joints at least every 8ft. your neighbors were too far spread out. we've never had problems pouring concrete just have a packed subgrade, 4" thick 3,500 psi limestone, control joints every 8ft and curing compound for residential properties where you won't have anything heavier then say 25thousand pounds driving on it.

Wow! I greatly appreciate you posting this, as the wife and I are currently trying to figure which way to go. Whatever we choose, we're gonna see about putting down a thicker base layer for sure!

OMG, does that guy have porn on his screen? Its all blurred out.

How do you POP out interlocking pavers to turn them over and reinstall... lol Dont they have a lip to hold them in place? Didnt see any of your videos showing how to do this... Link please?

In my years as a mason, landscaper, etc....I have done several paver driveways (patios and walkways too)...I have poured many driveways...and now I work for myself, sealcoating asphalt driveways (and handyman services). My landscaping is boulder walls...my patio/firepit and walkways are stone...and my driveway is gravel. When I die...they will cart me out of here via my gravel driveway.

Thank you so much for your video. It has helped me make the decision to use pavers to replace my old, tired, worn asphalt driveway. It's great to have expert advice.

Stamped concrete will usually have a sealer on it as well making it slippery when wet. It doesn't seem to fair well if shoveling snow with a metal shovel either.

Good video. Last year I did a bit of 'science' study when looking at concrete as a possibility for my driveway. I've still not moved forward on it yet, but I'm lifting my research from a Word file FYI, because it compliments your own findings about salt and concrete risks: >>> Concrete has high strength when it is compressed, or 'squeezed'. However, it is extremely weak when it is subjected to tension, or 'pulled'. Salt can take advantage of this weakness. Believe it or not, while concrete appears to be a very dense material, it is in fact quite like a blotter. It can and does absorb water. You can actually see this happen on a hot summer day. Sprinkle some water on your sidewalk or driveway and look very closely. You can actually see the water penetrate the surface of the concrete. When you spread rock salt on your concrete to melt snow and ice, the salt dissolves the snow and makes a salt water mush. The melting action of the salt allows water to enter the concrete. If the temperature then drops and the water freezes, the growing ice crystals can blast apart the concrete. Salt is also hygroscopic. It attracts water. It can cause concrete to become more saturated with water than it would otherwise. The presence of this extra water in freezing conditions can spell trouble. The volume of water increases by 9 percent when it freezes within the concrete matrix. The pressure of the growing ice crystals can cause the surface of the concrete to fail. It usually spalls off.

Pavers it is then, Thanks for this video.

Hi Stanley! Thanks for the video. It was very informative! My question is, I live in the Mid West were we get lots of snow and below freezing temps in the Winter. Since using salt is inevitable and since pavers are, I assume, made out of a concrete like material, won't the salt eat at it just as it would a concrete driveway? Thanks again for the video!

Thanks for such a concise and objective overview. Your video strikes the perfect balance of authoritative delivery without bluster, inspires confidence based on your obvious experience, and keeps things moving visually and conceptually without going too fast. I've had great luck with a stamped concrete driveway, but only because my contractor/friend advised me to spend the extra for what must be a 6-inch pour with lots of rebar--no cracks (other than the cut ones) after ten years! However, I have a long driveway and am considering replacing the asphalt stretch with pavers. Thanks for the tips on how to make it last better.

I used to drive a concrete truck. We poured colors every now and then. Usually for contractors who were going to have a stamp design

I like paver idea for a drive way and walkway how do you shovel it in the winter? Any issues with snow?

asphalt is the way to go for most practical people

I had to laugh at the number of dislikes. You provided good information. So they must all be from asphalt and decorative concrete contractors. I hit like. Maybe. No, I did. :-D

my asphalt driveway has about 12 inches of extremely compacted gravel under it and it hasn't cracked in 15 years.

Thank you so much. I was deciding on stamped concrete and pavers. I'm glad I choose pavers now that I've seen this video

Great video! I learned a lot. I already have a partial paved driveway and I'm eventually going to get the rest paved as the weeds/grass popping up in the stones of my driveway is driving my OCD crazy!

surprised you didnt mention rebar in concrete. i find that usually keeps cracks from forming. i also split my driveway into 4 sections with a row of brick for separation

w/o going through the comments. COST OF PERMITTING is where you MAY save some cost, using 'certain' pavers, due to municipal permitting for 'reduced' property rain water run off and possible environmental long term benefits. Design and function of some pavers, allows for a 'permeable' surface, where, water and pollutants don't or won't often leave your property, IF / when it rains or accident occurs such as fuel oil or even salt runoff. Engineered pavers/ infiltration systems, etc, with choice of subsurface materials, and retention system(s) (NOT detention, meaning, at some point whatever is collected, WILL POSSIBLY, leave your property into rights of way or public storm drains / water systems). Don't forget, almost any installed road or driveway connected to a public street, SHALL BE (meaning you MUST) PERMITTED. In some locations, your water meter and or shut of, could also be in your driveway! Which, YOU will have to pay for, from the meter, to your home / business, IF, it is removed or needs repair. I've never seen a water meter 'curb stop' shutoff, that eventually, doesn't need repair, in a driveway. However, your concrete driveway, may live longer than the valve / pipeline / tubing AND the riser, providing access to the valve, below your areas SUBSURFACE frost line / heave zone depth. Consider also, metal culvert, also are NOT USUALLY reusable ALSO due to aging. Check city codes for who pays for such costs, IF required /incurred.

I have a large amount of water where the swale goes from dirt/gravel up to my asphalt. This has caused sinkage of the ground underneath (since water can get under). When I re-do the driveway, I'd like to add drainage so that water from this dirt/gravel gets quickly directed to the other side of the driveway. What type of driveway is best for this, to stay flat, and to allow water to run through it? Can I get like 1 or 2 surface drains with perhaps metal grates to span the width of the driveway to help?

Hello, great video, Thank you. Re base thickness, do you mean before or after compacting? Which hard surface is best for South Florida so that's heat and humidity - also near a lake so not sure if salt is a factor? Current drive is asphalt (old house) with the crocodile cracks everywhere...

I really don’t know what to go with, paving blocks down at the mo, but they have sunk,

DM, the "bottom line" for engineering a driveway - like any road - is "base " ! Driveways and hard patios - like any travel way - fails from the " bottom up " ! Your video is a most cogent and worthwhile examination of the issues !

I am working at High Quality Asphalt Pyt Ltd ( highqualityasphalt.com.au/ ) as a Manager. According to my personal experience and research, asphalt driveways are the best. Asphalt is the right material for the driveways, roads and car parking areas due to its numerous advantages over other materials. I always prefer everyone to choose asphalt for construction purposes.

Very helpful video. I just purchased a home downtown and Im in the middle of you know....getting the city to look and approve whatever I want to do. That 8" base material is key! now I know what to say when I call somebody to do the job. Deeper base, less cracking. right?

Gives enough infrormation about some things to consider about using asphalt, pavers , or concrete for building a driveway.

In Australia we typically don't use asphalt mostly we use concrete but yes always get a good base for it and use reinforcement mesh it helps stop alot of flexing and cracing in the concrete and whenever you join against and existing pour/hard rock like surface pin/dowel it to it in my area so many didn't pin and dowel their driveways paths to their homes and they pop up and make nasty trip hazzards

I don't like how ugly repaired cracks in asphalt look. What's the point if the repair can be seen so blatantly after the sealer goes down? I'd rather the crack was repaired with asphalt not a rubberized product. A street is one thing, my driveway is another... I care what the end result looks like.

We use up to 12 inches of recycled asphalt product R A P In wet areas we place 3 inch minis then compact with bobcat tires and roller then add one inch minis R A P to grade then 3/4 inch base asphalt then 3/8 inch top asphalt 330 degrees F roal it and compact it we make it like a Mass. HIGHWAY SCOTT FROM NH .

I'm getting 3in of binder then 3in of top. I also have a 65 x12 pad of pavers underneath I have 3in of rock then 3 in of binder then paver

I have a Seal Coating Business and I have to say you edumacated me a lil more I enjoy your videos keep em coming and again A1 Video

Just the video i was looking for!!! anyone who has done pavers or aggregate concrete, do they hold harsh cold/heat weather? I live in toronto, i have a lot of driveways here that have these and seems like its, not a problem but just wanted to see what others think.

Salt damage-depends where one live. if you live in IL.your cement driveway will get some salt from your cars.

So if I want to lay brick or concrete ur saying use 8 inches of gravel and the filler?

Hey stanley! This is the exact question I've been looking for answers to. I think I've decided on a poured concrete driveway. 2 Questions for you: on your driveway did you use any rebar/remesh of any kind? And does having a steep slope change anything with the base material? My driveway is only 20' or so but sits at about 15-20° above level. Thanks friend! Super helpful videos

You forgot to mention rebar, rebar will add far more strength to your concrete driveway than a thicker base or pour, though those are definetely helpful as well, just don't ever forget to put rebar in at a 3ft grid minimum.

Great information. So the more inches on foundation before the pour, the better it will be?

Bah Humbug...you forgot to mention adding wire mesh to concrete for 25 cents per square foot. (Home depot) Drastically reducing cracks or cuts expanding and vertical shifting .

I live in the country and I have a very long driveway. What do you recommend for looong driveways?

I live in Tennessee and wonder is an aggregate driveway better than concrete or asphalt? I have a 90 ft long driveway with gravel on it on a 20 degree slope.

Hey love ur videos I have quit things like to ask u I starting my own business this spring and my first job is concrete slab is there email or something where I can ask u couple questions thanks ... I've learned so much from u thanks keep videos coming

We need to show this video to the customers since they always think we just want to over charger for more base and concrete. "Do you offer a guarantee" you say yes I guarantee that it will crack not right away but it will

We had pavers fitted because we trusted the person giving the advice and explaining the pro and cons to them, much like you have explained and those pavers still look great and any dipping over time has been lifted filled and levelled.

I been watching you and yes your right about all you talk about

Love you video's bro i learn something every time i watch them thanks. And GOD bless you.

I would pick pavers or concrete over asfalt because you cant put a car jack on it without getting two little holes.

Excellent video your expertise is saving us a lot of money, keep the great work !!!!!

Couple of points about concrete: 1 - All concrete shrinks when curing, just like the mud in a puddle cracks and curls in a summer sun. A finisher's job is to control how fast the curing happens and providing for joints to direct the cracking to specific places. Rebar, wire mesh, fibermesh, not pouring in heat/wind/low humidity and different chemicals can assist in minimizing shrinkage and subsequent cracking, spalling, etc. Whether mechanical jointing or diamond saw cutting is used, it has to be the proper depth and location. Water/cement ratio is important. Concrete thickness doesn't necessarily deter cracking. 2 - To a large degree, especially in severe freeze/thaw areas, subgrade prep is top dog in assuring long term slab integrity. Adequate washed rock drainage directly underneath the slab, along with compacted subgrade beneath that provides for maximum resistance to frost heaving from expandable clays and subsurface water. Rebar in impact areas or soft loamy subgrades helps. Integral piers in the slab can help extremely soft areas. 3 - Salt, de-icer, magnesium chloride, etc. kills concrete. Period. 4 - Over-tooling when finishing causes much of the surface cracking, along with adverse weather. Pour it and get the initial finish on, then let it bleed and stay off until it's time for the kneeboards. Don't throw water on the surface, and don't rub on the edges for something to do while it sets up. Save your energy to hit it when the time is right and you'll be rewarded with a nice looking job. /24 years in the biz, batching, hauling and finishing.

Hey you always on the phone/camera while driving is it not illegal in usa?

You are worth your weight in gold to me. Learn important stuff every time I watch.

Is it ok to install asphalt on top of a concrete driveway? Just trying to stay on a budget.

Aloha Stan have you heard of helix steel before ?? Instead of using rebar it is steel fibers, I use to build underground homes in Washington state years ago, we would dig down 20 ft pour a slab with helix then build a Quonset hut shell spray foam than shotcrete a foot of helix mixed steel onto the whole building 35 wide x 100ft long including 20ft 8x8 tunnel. It saved 10,000$ in labor tying all the rebar... Engineer said without it even being buried 5ft or more you could fly a 747 into the structure and not even damage it ... Check it out might help you or others out when you cannot fine good labor... Helix steel RU-vid it or google

Nice job on a great video! I'm looking to replace a concrete driveway that has cracks all over, due mostly to settling, and nearby tree roots. I am thinking of using pavers but I wanted to ask you the pros and cons of the different types. Have you heard of the composite pavers made from recycled tires? They're lightweight, and they are made to handle the weight of cars/trucks, etc., but I'm sure there are other advantages/disadvantages compared to bricks or concrete pavers. Thoughts?

I don't know what kind of bricks you guys use down there, but all the bricks I've ever seen have a top and a bottom, even tumbled ones. You can't just flip them over.

Why is this guy filming himself while driving on the highway? O_O

Wish I could edit my comments ... Here is the inside ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jOdgSp8o_t0.html

Here in Alaska the muni cross section for driveway is 18" of gravel(3" minus/pit run), 2" leveling course(D1 or RAP) and 2" of asphalt, or 18" gravel and 6" concrete on anything that will be driven on. I personally always put geotextile woven fabric under all my excavations too! Makes for a good driveway! I never get just putting 4"-6" of sub base....just won't hold up here...

My house was a flip and the driveway is a mess now. Big ruts where the tires go. After some of it chipped away I realized they did about 2 inches each layer.. Is it a terrible idea to just fill in the dips with patch?

thank you for this information. a good source of asphalt information has been lacking on RU-vid for quite some time! I jumped in to the sealcoating/crack filling business 1.5 years ago without any prior knowledge or experience. I have had some success but am always hungry for more knowledge. please keep it up!!

Don't do pebble stone.

Thanks this was very informative

The city where I live required 6" for the driveway apron.

that was a great video thank you

good info thank you

stamped concrete needs to be sealed every couple of years so the surface dosn't deteriorate and look crappy. also colored sealers need resealing every so often.

Thanks! Good information.

Thank you this was very helpful! We are going to do pavers!

This is excellent. Thank you for making this video.

A lot of bad information here!!!!

I really want to move to where all of these guys are having work done. I'm an asphalt paving contractor. paved thousands of driveways. I live in an area that we get lots of snow, and the weather is usually not sunny but for about 3 months out of the year. Proper way to lay asphalt is to have a proper base first. The base needs to include at least 12 in of pit run, which is very large Rock and gravel mixed basically virgin gravel out of the ground. Graded and compacted to the height and level that you want your driveway to be. Next you need 2 to 3 in of 3/4 crushed gravel to reach your final grade. It then needs to be sprayed with alot of water and compacted until it feels like concrete to walk on. This is the only way to get a proper base and not have to worry about the material that is being laid on top of it, whether it's asphalt concrete or pavers. I noticed cracks in all of the driveways that you showed your video. If you don't want cracks then make sure that you got a proper base and by base I don't mean small 3/4 inch Rock 12 in thick. that doesn't work. Small crushed rock is not a good base material it moves around when you drive on it and never gets the compaction that you need you need big rock 10 inch plus with binder soil mixed with it. After all your prep work is done and you have the proper grade then you're ready to lay asphalt on top of it. A 3in compacted asphalt Mat is very desirable but 2, 2inch lifts is even better. There is absolutely no reason to seal coat your new driveway for the first 12 months because asphalt doesn't cure for 12 months and sealcoating you will not do any good. After 12 months then you need to apply a seal coat. The average cost is about $0.20 a square foot and should be applied every third year. If you do end up with some cracks in your driveway the cracks need to be filled with hot rubberized crack filler. It needs to be applied to fill in the cracks to the height of the asphalt it might take two or three passes to get it to the right height. I have driveways that are 15 + years old that have very few cracks in them and still looks like new. If the cracks are filled immediately and not allowed to sit with moisture and anything else that can get in them they won't expand can you drive will still look new 20 years later. There is no doubt in the driveways that I laid today will still be there 30 years later and look good. Love you Work Stan, I enjoy your videos. Thank you for sharing!!!!

Go concrete. Paver drives get all kinds of weed growth and possible settling, and asphalt looks like crap and smells in the summer sometimes.

Thank you very much for the video I learned a lot

Very professional and helpful! Thank you.

I think Asphalt is best then pavers. Up here, we tend to use a lot of salt and cars will carry that stuff over into the driveway. Sometimes 'some people' forget to use ice melt and use salt which makes it crack. Its a PIA to fix. Also, I tend to drive older cars and removing oil stains is much easier.

Thanks for the tips / wisdom ! With a driveway that runs between 15 -25 degrees I can't find anyone willing to even price out an asphalt replacement (they say its too steep and not worth the aggravation) Masons bitch about sagging and can't be bothered doing it in segments. All I come up with is pavers and concrete headers every 6 feet at a price of ......$ 70 sq ft ! -Gravel and 4 wheel drive ?

Depends on water table, sub grade, compaction of soil is huge. Also what is driving on the on it. Heavy trucks concrete. Heavy vehicles can sink on asphalt on hot summer days.

i will never have another asphalt driveway. had concrete through 4 winters now, temperatures fluxuate from -30 deg C to 35 deg C here... no cracks... how can you go wrong. clean, looks classy, and was only about 30% more than asphalt.. no/low mtc. pavers for me out of question... i'm not frigging with that and cleaning weeds out of the cracks.

find an "honest" concrete company don't just compare prices and pick the cheapest one. the cheapest guy will 9/10 times be using the cheapest materials to get the job done, cheap concrete, not packing down ground, control joints spread out too far( because they're very time consuming)and pouring less than 4" thick to save money. I let every customer know exactly what I'm quoting them on, we're not the cheapest, we just charge what it takes to do the job right. I've never had anyone call me back because of horrible cracks or concrete crumbling or sinking.

I had a house built and the driveway ended up back grading so water ran into the garage. I fought to get the builder replace it and I videoed the entire job. Turned out there was no sub base but it was solid 8" thick concrete. Took them forever to bust up and haul away. They then put a 6" sub base in place and poured the common 4" concrete slab. Within 2 years it looks far worse than what they "fixed". Wish I woulda left it alone. Too much head ache to get them back again. Live and learn eh ?

I know these are just driveways, but at 4” you need a layer of rebar and contraction joints to stop the cracks from temperature and shrinkage if you really want your driveway to last long. Going thicker than 4” I cannot see how you get away with no rebar and expect the concrete not to eventually crack. I think people don’t want to spend the extra money on rebar, just pour my driveway and forget it, but knowing the material properties of concrete no way you will get away with no cracks eventually. Rebar and contraction joints just help mitigate them.