More concrete paving questions

[aemeijers]

(snip)

'Existing aggregate' would scare me a little. Fine and dandy if your existing substrate is deep enough and drains properly. But how do you or they know? Around here, the top-tier companies scrape to undisturbed soil, reserving reusable gravel, and build back. If going to undisturbed soil is not practical (like on a lot made out of a swamp), they put the base down in layers, and roll and tamp the living hell out of it. My asphalt driveway has a dip that was pretty clearly a truck tire rut or loosely filled ditch, that they just threw sand or gravel in.

[Joe J]

I have a concrete apron in front of the 2 garage doors and then the rest is gravel. I want to pave the gravel area.

Thanks,

[bob haller]

ALL the existing gravel needs removed dug out and replaced with brand new base.

If you dont replace the base you will be doing this all over again in just a few years:(

this will cost more but is critical

[Steve B]

If you've driven down the Interstate lately, you will probably have noticed the green rebar. It is coated with a substance that helps keep out the moisture. In the life span of a pour, the rebar will rot out before the concrete does. The man is right about the use of wire and rebar in steel. It's just that it takes so long that like you say, you'll be in a nursing home by then. I'd study a little more about the mesh vs. rebar. A 3,100 sf job is pretty large for either asphalt or concrete. Pick the right one. You don't want to be standing there a few years from now, the thing going to hell, and saying, "Gee, I wish I would have spent another couple of grand." Study to make sure you get the right sack mix for your climate, study your substrate and geology, then make your pick based on knowledge.

Good Luck.

Steve

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