DIY Driveway Ideas for Your Home

The driveway… No one gives it a second thought, right? That is until there’s not enough room to park all your vehicles or it starts to show signs of wear and tear. At that point, a home’s driveway can make your home look less than appealing. If you need some more space for parking your car or your driveway could use a facelift, the ideas below are sure to help. Even if you’re not the handiest of people, you should be able to do these DIY projects with ease. 

1. Make a New Parking Space

The easiest and least expensive fix for not enough parking is to clear out some sod and lay down some mulch. The result looks great and it can be finished in less than a day. The problem with this DIY project is that it isn’t permanent. Even if you put weed barrier under the mulch, eventually weeds will find their way through. Furthermore, mulch fades in the sun over time and can get carried away by rain. Maintaining a parking pad like this requires routine maintenance to keep it looking good. If mulch doesn’t seem like the right material for the job, try laying gravel, stones, or oyster shells instead.

2. Create a Paver Driveway

A more solid and durable option is to create a driveway out of pavers. Pavers are concrete blocks or bricks that when laid correctly create a lovely surface that lasts for many years. There are several steps to laying a paver driveway.

1. Dig out the area where the pavers are to go
2. Lay a base material like crushed concrete and use a compactor to pack it down
3. Lay a thin layer of sand over the base material
4. Arrange the paver bricks on top of sand layer in your desired pattern
5. Pour a concrete border to keep the bricks from shifting outward
6. Using a broom, fill the joints between the bricks with more sand

3. Pour a Concrete Driveway

You really can’t go wrong with concrete. There’s a reason why it’s the most common material used for driveways. Besides looking great, it’s affordable and lasts a long, long time. If you’ve never poured concrete before, you may want to make a practice run by pouring something smaller like a sidewalk. While there aren’t as many steps involved as there are with creating a paver driveway, pouring concrete isn’t exactly beginner-friendly. On the other hand, there are a plethora of tutorials online that show you how to pour concrete correctly.  We often take our driveways for granted, but you can up the curb appeal of your home simply by improving the look of your driveway. If you have the time and are the DIY type, the three ideas above can help you do just that.