bfmgoalie
Veteran Member
Cost me $25.99 at WalMarts. 
I'd love to be able to do concrete, but as you say, a cold climate is not friendly during freeze/thaw.That looks nice! Love the smell of asphalt, hmm, maybe conjure up a cologne? Down south here 99% of driveways are concrete, easier on the feet in the heat! We don't have the freeze thaw problems you northerners have to deal with. Up north they would put a rock base down before pouring, here; everything is just poured on top of the sandy soil. My neighborhood when built had "troughs" in the lawns 3-5 ft from street and each driveway had a corresponding trough to channel the water towards the storm drains. Of course after 40 years, the lawns have grown and you just end up with a driveway wide puddle of water in your driveway. When I retired from batching concrete last June my boss gave me 10 yards of concrete for free (about $1300). First thing I did was tear out 13' of my driveway and form it up so it would drain to street. Did a back patio/trailer pad/sidewalk to pool with the rest of the 10 yards, drive took about 5 yards. Cheryl is very happy to not get out of her car and step in puddle of water if she has to get something out of the back. So much easier to pressure wash driveway now too.
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Definitely. they have changed the composition of the asphalt (the liquid) that basically binds it all together. Its softer, so even asphalt that was done years ago, you will notice when it gets really hot, suffers from scuffing when people turn the wheels on their car without moving. Walking through a shopping center on a hot day, you will notice this. Sealcoat is basically gone the same way as well. Its kind of a problem, no matter how much compaction you get, you will get marks on it, and we always get calls about "poor workmanship", and of course the contractor is to blame even if the materials just arent what they used to be.Did mine 10 years ago but the oil truck has done a number on it. Don't think the new asphalts are as hard as the old stuff so be careful if you have oil deliveries.