Do you need drainage for your driveway? What you need to know before installing a new surface.

Drainage is an important consideration for any asphalt or concrete pavement installation, including your driveway!

If you’re considering a new driveway, drainage needs to be one of your first considerations. Ensuring your driveway will have adequate drainage is vital for the longevity of your driveway, no matter if it is asphalt or concrete. In short, poor drainage will shorten the life of any driveway.

Why Drainage Is Important for Your Driveway

Water is one of the leading sources of damage to a driveway. While Florida residents do not need to worry about pooled water freezing and causing damage to pavement like in northern states, water can still do a great deal of damage to a driveway. There are a number of different ways that poor drainage can damage your driveway. They include:

  1. Puddles of standing water. If water pools on your driveway from rain, and stays after the rest of the driveway has dried, then it is doing damage. Standing water damages the sealcoating of your driveway, and the water will eventually work its way down into the asphalt or concrete itself. This deteriorates the pavement and allows debris and other contaminants into the pavement. The pavement weakens and then cracks and potholes form.
  2. Staining. Standing water also leads to staining of the pavement, whether from dirt, other contaminants like oil, or even from algae.
  3. Water pooling around the driveway’s foundation. Water that pools at the edges of a driveway can erode the driveway’s foundation and subbase over time. Then, the driveway’s top layer of pavement is not supported, and cracks and crumbling pavement form.

Ensuring that your driveway has adequate drainage means that rainwater or water from a hose will flow away from the driveway due to the gradient of the driveway and the land surrounding the driveway. Water should run off the driveway and away from your home and other structures. Water should never collect and pool on or around your driveway.

There are many different options for designing the drainage of a new driveway, and there are a lot of considerations for where the water will go, especially in dense suburban areas. This is why it’s always a good idea to utilize professionals when it comes to something as important as installing a driveway.

The experts at Tucker Paving have over 25 years of experience in asphalt and concrete pavement construction. We also experts on land grading and utilities, so we can devise the best option for your property for providing adequate drainage. Contact us online, or give us a call at (863) 299-2262, for your next driveway paving project!