Opinions on chip stone / tar & chip driveways? (Hamden, Simsbury: how much, safer)
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I'm looking to get some quotes for paving our driveway (West Simsbury, CT). Right now we have a gravel driveway, though a good amount of the gravel has eroded over the last several years that we've been here. One alternative to paving that I'm considering is what is called a chip stone or tar & chip driveway. Here's one company in particular that I've contacted (you can see some sample photos there): Driveway Paving, Chip Sealing, Tack Coating | New England Asphalt Services Northford CT
I love the way these driveways look, and they're supposedly a bit less expensive than paving and also potentially more "flexible" in terms of heaving and then settling back down after a winter.
What I'm worried about, though, is whether they're going to require a lot of special effort to plow in the winter. Our driveway is too long to use a snow blower, so we've been having it plowed. With the gravel, that means getting rocks all over the lawn which then have to be swept off in the spring (and then you need to replant some grass there). I've been advised with these chip stone driveways, that I should have my snow plow guy use "pads" so that the plow itself doesn't come in direct contact with the driveway.
Anyone have any experience with this type of driveway? I'm also open to hearing recommendations for paving companies (whether traditional paving or companies with experience with this chip & stone method).
Honestly, I wouldnt count on the plow guy being extra careful with your driveway. I would be worried about the plow scraping and removing some driveway material everytime they plowed.
I would talk to my landscaper/plow guy about it. See if he has the equipment or is willing to pick it up for the job.
The only thing is, these plow guys go out at 3-5 am sometimes and they can have a lot of driveways and may simply forget about your special needs driveway and mess it up.
I would talk to the paving company also and see what they say about it.
Not too sure about paving companies, since that kind of stuff is about location and distance.
But I know Empire Paving is big, which is the father company of New England Asphalt. Theres Also V and F paving in Hamden but im unsure of their willingness to travel unless you are willing to pay. Some companies will recommend a local company in your area if they dont go up towards you.
I'm pretty sure that the chip pacing needs to be applied on top of existing pavement and cannot go on dirt/stone. Many towns use this on less traveled roads to extend the usable life of the roads after they have been paved. I know Middlebury, where I grew up, did this on most of the back roads.
The website you linked to only talks about applying it on existing pavement.
My understanding is that they will absolutely do this with a brand new installation. They just have to include applying the underlayer of rocks, grading, etc.
The company I linked to gave me the addresses of a couple of recent customers near me. These were done this year, which is not ideal, as I'd ideally like to see how they've held up after 3 years or more. Anyways, I drove by them and they looked very nice, but I definitely worried about how they'd hold up during the winter when they got snow plowed. I've asked them to supply me with the contact info for one of their past customers that I can actually call and ask questions (especially about snow plowing), so we'll see how that goes.
NewHavensFinest, I agree with you that the best person to talk to is probably the snow plow company to see if they have experience with these types of driveway.
To be honest, even though I like the look of the driveways, I think I'm going to probably go the safer route and get a more traditional paved driveway. If my driveway was short enough that I could use a snowblower and set the level up a bit, I might go with it.
But I've still got to get a few quotes, and maybe I'll even get multiple tar & chip companies to give me quotes and drill them with questions.
We've been trying to decide between pavement, and concrete. Never thought about chip and seal ... from the pictures it look quite nice. Thanks for the idea ...
When you have sleet and ice under snow or when snow freezes underneath or when you have melting and refreezing or when you have freezing rain fall before snow. Last thing you want is to be "soft" with the plow. You want to scrap and be flush with the ground to get it all.
And like someone said... plow guys have a hard time during a snowstorm plowing as it is (you think its easy?), last thing they want to do is remember who needs special attention. They want to just drop and plow and move on to next site.
I love the look, but not sure about the lifetime with the winters we're having
When you have sleet and ice under snow or when snow freezes underneath or when you have melting and refreezing or when you have freezing rain fall before snow. Last thing you want is to be "soft" with the plow. You want to scrap and be flush with the ground to get it all.
And like someone said... plow guys have a hard time during a snowstorm plowing as it is (you think its easy?), last thing they want to do is remember who needs special attention. They want to just drop and plow and move on to next site.
I love the look, but not sure about the lifetime with the winters we're having
I wish the plow guy would scrape the snow flush to ground. He left 1 ½" of snow each and every time.
Scott R - I'm in the same area as you (West Suffield, CT) and looking at these options as well. I realize this is an older post, but curious what you found out and what you decided.
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What did you find out/decide?
