I used to think a broom finish was always the way to go for driveways

After watching a guy in Tucson do a exposed aggregate on a 95 degree day with no sealer and it held up better through 3 summers than any broom job I've ever seen, I'm rethinking everything - anyone else had better luck with aggregate on hot climate residential work?

3 comments

3 Comments

brooket432d ago

My buddy did his own driveway in Phoenix with exposed aggregate three years ago and it looks better than my broom finish that's cracking all over the place already... I'm with you on that one.

jason_stone592d ago

Three years is the honeymoon period for exposed aggregate in AZ, give it another summer and he'll be playing whack-a-mole with popping rocks.

adam_baker2d ago

...but here's the thing about exposed aggregate in a place like Tucson. I've seen more of those jobs end up with the stones popping out after a couple years because the heat just bakes the surface and the bond gets brittle. That guy might have gotten lucky with his mix design or maybe he had a really good base underneath. A broom finish is way more forgiving when it comes to thermal expansion and contraction. The texture hides minor cracking better too, while aggregate just shows every single rock that comes loose like a damn checkerboard.