Granite Cobblestone Driveway –The Perfect Driveway for Your Home; Elegant and Functional

A concrete driveway is not perhaps, an attractive driveway but is functional, extremely durable and resistant. Cobblestone driveways are the attractive alternative to a concrete driveway.  They have the same characteristics and qualities as concrete driveways such as strength and durability but in the same time, they are beautiful and elegant.

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They truly, increase the curb appeal of any home. In fact, they are the perfect option in terms of functionality and aesthetic.

Perhaps, these beautiful and aesthetics driveways have a single disadvantage. They are quite expensive. Granite is the raw material for real cobblestones.

Granite is a very hard rock and also, one of the oldest rocks of the Earth. Some granite sediments are estimated to be more than 4 billion years old. Therefore, using granite pavers on your driveway is expensive, but your driveway will last for life.

You can find also, “recycled” cobblestone pavers. These old pavers come from old city streets from United States or imported from Europe. They look different from new ones. They are narrower and longer and come in a wide range of natural colors. The new granite cobblestone pavers come generally, in shades and tones of brown or gray. Certainly the old, antique ones are more expensive than new ones.

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Granite Cobblestone Paver Qualities

a. Granite is an extremely dense material and therefore a granite cobblestone driveway is stain resistance.
b. Granite cobblestone driveway is freeze-thaw resistant unlike concrete driveway where this freeze-thaw process leads to cracks.
c. Granite cobblestone driveway is resistant to scratches.
d. Granite cobblestone driveway matches with most of the types of landscapes increasing the value of your home.
e. Granite cobblestone pavers may be used for other construction projects too such as patios or walkways.

How to Lay a Granite Cobblestone Driveway

Tools & Materials:

Compactor; Masonry Saw.
Granite Cobblestones; Gravel; Sand.

Surface Preparations:

A good preparation of the surface is critical if you want a strong and long lasting driveway.

a. First, you need to demolish the old driveway surface. If you do not have an old driveway then you should start, measuring and tracing your future driveway.
b. Next step is to dig the foundation of your driveway. For this, you need to dig down between 6 and 10 inches.
c. Take out the dirt and level the surface. Check and make sure your surface has a slight slope to allow water to drain away (a difference of about ¼-inch from top to bottom).
d. Following the grade of the slope lay a gravel bed. This gravel layer will facilitate the water drainage as well.
e. Following the same grade lay now a sand bed. Water and compact this sand layer.

Laying Down the Cobblestone Pavers:

a. Start laying the cobblestone pavers from the center top of your driveway.
b. Make sure the pavers are close together as much as possible.
c. Use only fine masonry sand to fill the gaps between pavers.
d. Wet your driveway and add again fine masonry sand. However, maybe it is necessary to repeat this operation two or three times until you cannot add more sand. All the void spaces between pavers must be filled.