How Thick Should A Concrete Driveway Be?

Nowadays, lots of people are choosing a concrete driveway for their properties. This is because of its awesome style, versatility, durability, low maintenance, and ability to boost the home value. But as good and practical as a concrete driveway can be, people are often confused about how thick it should be. 

Well, you don’t have to worry too much about this as this article will shed light on the right thickness of a concrete driveway.

The thickness of a concrete driveway

Without mincing words, the thickness of a concrete driveway is the most important factor for determining its quality and durability. A concrete driveway with a thicker layer will likely last longer than another with a thinner layer. This is why many concrete services focus on the thickness of the concrete.

If your concrete driveway will receive minimal or moderate traffic, it should have a thickness of around 4 inches. This usually applies to most residential properties. With this thickness, your concrete driveway should be able to last for several years.

However, you can boost the quality of your concrete driveway by adding an extra inch to it. According to experienced contractors offering concrete services, the 1-inch addition can boost the load-carrying capacity and durability of the driveway by around 50%.

When providing concrete services, contractors also take care of the driveway edges as they can be damaged by heavy traffic. Therefore, contractors may add one or two inches to the edges.

Nevertheless, if buses, RVs, and other heavy vehicles will be using your driveway regularly, you need to increase the thickness to about 6 to 8 inches. The exact thickness will depend on the size of the vehicles. But you should note that such thickness is not recommended for a residential building. Besides, local codes may restrict the thickness of a concrete driveway.

While thickness is the major factor affecting the durability of a concrete driveway, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of maintenance. Fortunately, driveway maintenance is easy. You can do it yourself or hire professionals that offer concrete services.

Besides, steel rebars can also increase the durability, strength, and quality of your concrete driveway. You should contact your contractor to learn more about this.

What are the factors that influence the thickness of the concrete driveway?

Before choosing the specific thickness of your driveway, you should remember that there is no thumb rule for it. The following factors can affect how thick your concrete driveway should be.

• The function

What will the driveway be used for? If it is a residential driveway with only minimal traffic, it shouldn’t be too thick. Nevertheless, a commercial driveway should have a thickness of more than 6 inches.

• Type of soil

The soil topography and soil type of a place can also affect the thickness of the driveway. In this regard, the contractor will have to carry out a soil analysis that will help them to determine the moisture-retaining capability of the soil.

• Budget

Lastly, you should know that the casting of concrete greensboro nc requires lots of money. The higher the inches you want to cast, the more you will have to spend. With the information provided in this article, you should be able to determine how thick your concrete driveway should be.

Penny Daniel