Planning for a Driveway and Sidewalks

Planning for driveways and sidewalks is very important when building a home. Think about it, they are the gateway to your home. It's best to get it right the first time because it's pretty permanent after you've poured it. In the custom home building business, people hardly ever ask me about the driveway when we initially plan for the home, but I know that once we first start laying it out- it becomes huge to them. You need to think about traffic flow, the kids playing, water flow around it and options for finishes. I wanted to give you some basic tips for planning:

Know your budget

A basic rule of thumb for 4" thick concrete in Texas today is about $3.50 per square foot. The problem is concrete can get thicker if your surface isn't flat. Therefore you may need a beam, extra fill or curbs. If so, you may creep up higher than that. Steps are also calculated a little differently but that $3.50 mark overall should get you real close.

Know the trends

Driveways have evolved a little bit. We're seeing customers asking for things like SUV pads for guests, back-up pads, 14' wide vs. 12' wide driveways and 16' to 18' approaches. We are also seeing larger sidewalks leading from the driveway to the house, as well as more s-shaped vs. straight pathways.

Know the options for design

There are so many cool things being done today with concrete. As you see from the above photo, staining has become more popular. Typical stain prices today might start in the $3.00 per square foot range. Not bad considering it is the cheapest form of flooring available. We've even done decorative borders on the edge of the driveway, almost like a picture frame and stained that only. It gives you a real elegant look for a fraction of the price of staining an entire driveway. You can also do different textured finishes like broom, pebble or even a salt rock finish which is more of a pitted, old world look.

Know the functionality

Last but not least, you must plan for the future. This means having adequate pvc pipes underneath for drainage, future sprinklers and future landscape lights. Pick areas of the concrete and consult the experts when doing this planning and it will help you immensely when you do decide to put those elements in.