Why driveways crack in Montgomery County
The soil here is heavy clay that swells when wet and shrinks when dry. A driveway poured straight onto graded clay with no compacted gravel base rides those movements and cracks along whatever line the ground chooses. Add a few freeze-thaw cycles each winter and small cracks open into trip hazards.
Drainage is the other half. Water pooling against a slab or running under a paver walk washes the base out. Every paving job starts with figuring out where the water goes now and where it needs to go.
Concrete
A concrete driveway or patio gets a compacted crushed-stone base, wire mesh or rebar depending on the span and load, control joints cut at the right spacing so any cracking happens in the joint, and a broom finish for grip. Thickness is matched to the use: a walkway needs less than a drive that sees a loaded pickup.
Curing matters as much as pouring. Fresh concrete is kept damp and protected from hard freezes for the first several days.
Pavers
Interlocking pavers cost more to install but handle ground movement better because each unit moves a little on its own. They sit on compacted stone and a bedding layer of sand, with edge restraints so the field does not spread. A damaged paver is lifted and replaced without touching its neighbours, which no slab can offer.
Permeable paver systems let rain soak through, which helps on lots where runoff toward the house or a neighbour is a problem.
Asphalt repair and sealing
For existing asphalt drives we handle crack filling, pothole patching and seal coating. Sealing every few years keeps water out of the asphalt and slows the oxidising that turns black pavement grey and brittle. A drive that has alligator-cracked across most of its surface is past sealing and needs the section cut out and re-laid.
Walkways, steps and patios
Front walks and steps take the most foot traffic and are the first thing a visitor or buyer notices. We match new work to the existing brick or stone on the house where possible, and we build steps to consistent riser heights so nobody trips.
Combining with other exterior work
Paving is often the last step in an exterior project that includes gutters and downspout extensions, because it is pointless to pour a patio where a downspout will dump against it. Getting the water management done first protects the investment.