The Best Driveway Material for Cold Weather

If you live in an area that experiences a lot of cold weather, you know all too well the effects of cold on a variety of exterior household materials. The cold makes things brittle and more vulnerable to certain types of damage. It can also wear down certain materials over time, especially if those materials are going through a yearly freeze/thaw cycle.

Driveways are one of the most used areas of any home. Not only do they see daily traffic in most cases, but they have to withstand heavy pressure and friction on a constant basis. This, combined with cold can make for high maintenance requirements, especially with certain types of driveway materials.

In case you want to build a driveway that’s able to withstand the cold for years without breaking down, let’s take a look at how some common driveway materials perform in the cold, and what the best material is for building a cold-weather driveway.

Asphalt and Concrete Can’t Hack the Cold

Although you’ll likely find many driveways made from concrete or asphalt in cold-weather areas, they are not the ideal option for cold weather. The homeowners who use these materials in cold-weather climates have to pay a sacrifice in the form of increased maintenance costs and shorter driveway lifespans, because neither asphalt nor concrete is suited to stand the test of time in cold-weather climates.

For starters, concrete becomes brittle and more easily cracked and chipped in below-freezing weather. It also suffers from major structural damage if the surface is penetrated by water because the water freezes and expands in the cold. Once it warms up, the water melts, leaving a bigger gap for more water to get in and freeze when the cold comes back around.

This can lead to huge cracks, buckling, sinkholes, and more if left unchecked. Once your concrete has been compromised, you’ll likely have to have your entire driveway replaced and relaid, which will cost thousands of dollars. Also, if you use de-icing salt to remove ice from your concrete driveway, you’ll likely end up with unsightly blotching and stains.

Asphalt is no friend of the cold, either. Asphalt performs best in warm-weather climates where there is little threat of a freeze/thaw cycle occurring. The same damage from water intrusion that occurs with concrete will occur in asphalt too. Once the sub-surface damage becomes too extensive, the only solution for repair is to resurface the whole driveway.

Resurfacing is expensive and needs to be done about once per decade anyway, but cold weather can speed up that timeline and cost you a lot of money throughout your driveway’s lifetime. Using salt and other measures to keep your driveway safe and clean can also result in a compromised surface. You’ll need to reseal your asphalt driveway frequently to prevent the surface from being penetrated by water.

Pavers Provide a Superior Option for Cold-Weather Driveways

Pavers are without a doubt, the best driveway material for cold weather, however, not all pavers are created equal. For instance, there are concrete pavers and brick pavers that can be laid over a gravel substrate, but still break down easily and do not perform well in cold weather.

Permeable plastic pavers, on the other hand, are a fine option in any weather. They are made from 100%-recycled plastic and are incredibly durable as a result. They are completely unaffected by cold weather and allow precipitation to drain directly through them and into the soil below.

This leads to less snow and ice buildup and makes for much lower maintenance during the winter. Freeze/thaw cycles do not damage high-quality pavers such as TRUEGRID PRO LITE and TRUEGRID PRO PLUS, either.