The last bit of road delivering visitors to your doorstep, your driveway can make a statement all its own through choice of material, design, and good maintenance. Driveway materials range from green options to asphalt and choice is driven primarily by the personality of the home, the regional location, and financial investment.

With so much attention to protecting the environment, it is no surprise there is an increased interest in driveway material alternatives. According to

www.sealingyourdriveway.com, the grass driveway is attracting some attention. This “green” alternative is designed with strong, load-bearing lattice work serving as the base. The lattice is then filled with soil and seed which grows until the lattice is hidden.

The environmental benefits of a grass driveway include reduction in the amount of water and pollutants that run into the sewer drain and enter our lakes and rivers, light absorption which reduces the temperature surrounding the home, and lastly, the elimination of the use of harsh chemicals in maintenance.

Unfortunately, grass driveways can cost five times as much as an asphalt driveway. Recommendations including not parking vehicles on the drive for days at a time as the plantings require rain and sunlight to thrive and not utilizing the drive more than four or five times a day put a damper on the green appeal. The ability to remove snow and ice without damaging the grass beneath is also a concern.

Website www.bobvila.com suggests other distinctive driveway alternatives; among them are bricks, stone, pavers, compressed earth, concrete, or a mix of materials for a unique look. Concrete is a versatile choice that can provide aesthetic appeal similar to costlier brick, stone or pavers. The material can be colored, shaped, and contoured. It can be embedded with stones, shells, or imprinted with patterns that resemble stone, cobble, or brick.

Concrete is still more expensive than asphalt and, unlike asphalt, cannot be relayered. It stains easily and cleaning can be a challenge. Maintenance is more involved with concrete and although concrete drives will outlast asphalt in some regions, they do not necessarily in locations with severe winters.

Asphalt is perhaps the most familiar choice for driveways, particularly in cold winter states like Maine. Asphalt is a flexible material that moves with the land, heaving and sometimes cracking with colder temperatures, which accounts for the many dips and potholes in Maine’s roadways.

When choosing asphalt for your driveway, paving professionals stress the importance of using reputable companies that stand behind their work. Mike Cloutier, co-owner of R.C. and Son Paving Co. in Lewiston, reminds consumers to be wary of the company that comes knocking at the door with “leftover asphalt from another job. Any paving professional worth his weight in paving knows how to calculate a job accurately. Having ‘extra’ and offering to do the job today are both red flags to the potential customer.”

It is also important for a new or replacement driveway to have a good gravel base graded correctly, thus saving on the amount of asphalt used. “Most companies prefer to do their own fine grading,” explained Cloutier. “We are fussier about the base. If I look at an existing driveway and I see lots of bumps and cracking, I know there is a base issue that will need addressing. If I see a 20-year-old driveway and it’s in good condition, I know the gravel base is good. A professional should be able to tell.”

Asphalt drives can be done cheaply or expensively depending on the homeowner’s goal. A home on the market may require only a neat, clean drive for curbside appeal while a homeowner who intends to reside at the property indefinitely will want a more substantial paving job.

Repairing and sealing existing driveways is an area of expertise for Daniel Lemay, owner of Lemay’s Paving in Lisbon. He and his crew have been paving and sealing asphalt driveways and parking lots since 1985 and they work with Cloutier’s company on select jobs.

“Crack repair is most important to the existing asphalt driveway,” confirmed Lemay. “The key is maintaining a steady 380 degrees temperature on the rubber while making the repair. If the rubber is over heated it will fail, under heated it will not adhere.” Any cracks and crevices should be thoroughly cleaned before a repair to assure that the rubber completely fills damaged areas.

As a rule, Lemay said new driveways should wait minimally one year before being sealed unless exposed to extreme heat. Additionally, Cloutier added that reconstructed drives take one day to prepare gravel, two weeks to pack by homeowner use, then one day to brush up the area, prep, and pave.

Traditionally, asphalt driveways have been smooth, clean, neat black surfaces but, today, even asphalt can be decorative. According to Lemay, infrared heat can be used to create borders along the sides of driveways, new or existing. Decorative borders at the end of the drive can be stamped with the house number.

Entire drives can be patterned for a cobbled effect and painted. “The process is an involved one,” said Lemay. “One best left to professionals.”

Who knew there could be so many options for something as simple as a driveway? Homeowners can now reflect their own personalities into the landscape of their drives. Whether nature lovers, contemporary connoisseurs, history enthusiasts, or just the family next door, there is a driveway “personality” for every appreciation and every pocketbook.