If you have a large driveway and/or patio then improving it can be expensive whether you go for imprinted concrete, resin bond, block paving or even tarmac so you want a product that lasts. You don’t want to have to re-surface your driveway every couple of years
When pattern imprinted concrete first become popular around 10-15 years ago many people where worried about how long it would last compared to other driveway materials and there was no benchmark to go off, just estimates by the salesman.
We now have Pattern Imprinted Concrete driveways around that where laid over 10 years ago, some look great but some look an absolute mess with fading, crack and chips, but why is this?
Like everything, its all depends on the materials and the workmanship, if the correct materials, mixed in the correct quantities are used and the driveway is laid by professional than it will stay looking good for 15-20 years at least.
If the concrete has been mixed by a cowboy who is simply winging it and doesn’t actually know the ratios to use then your driveway can crack and sag within a couple of years – by this time the cowboy is long gone and so is his burner phone – and this is because pattern imprinted concrete isn’t just concrete. Pattern Imprinted Concrete is a special mixture of concrete and other compounds that make it more elastic and allow it to expand and contract – You may have notice channels cut into a Pattern Imprinted Concrete, this is so it can expand and contract.
Unfortunately there are a number of amateur, cowboy contractors offering cut priced pattern imprinted concrete installation all across Greater Manchester and Cheshire which may sound tempting to many people looking to save a little money and sometime the price difference can be quite a lot, however, it’s cheap for a reason, it’s not the genuine product and will be missing very important components such as the special resins, fibre mess and compounds that make the concrete flexible, hard wearing and non slip.
By the time you find out that they have not used the correct material – 6/12 months in the future when your driveway does start to crack, warp, peel and fade – the rogue driveway company will have changed their company name and phone number after spending many months scamming customers leaving you with a driveway that needs completely ripping up and doing again properly and this is the false economy of using amateur driveway installers.
If installed by a professional driveway company your driveway should stay looking good for many years and you can even increase the lifespan of your driveway by having it sealed every year.
What to look for when choosing a driveway company?
Unfortunately there are currently lots of amateur driveway companies touting for work across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cheshire, these companies will usually cold call in person with the typical line “We are doing driveway for someone in the adjacent street do you want us to give you a quote too?” this nonsense, its a scam to get you to agree there and than by telling you its going to be cheaper because they are already in the area and have material left.
If you want to get your driveway upgraded then look for driveway companies online and find the ones with their own websites, avoid companies than only advertise on social media as these are usually the cowboys who constantly change their name and phone number.
Have you found a local driveway company? Have you looked at their portfolio of work? Have you checked how long their website has been active? Good… Now you can call for a quotation.