If you do asphalt, you'd be wise to get a thick, solid base, or the asphalt will crack and crumble before long. Contractors will try to give you the best price, and make the base THIN. Asphalt puts off more than a little heat in the summer - that may not bother you. I'd go with concrete, personally... Oh, asphalt will need maintenance. Cracks sealed, and a top coat every few (?) years.

Appreciate the insight, yes, definitely was leaning more towards concrete. I have two dogs so I feel it would be a bit more friendly on their paws during the summer time.

Concrete gives you more options in terms of color and stamping and does better in high heat, but salt/cold can cause it to crack and chip. Asphalt is usually cheaper, but requires resealing every few years and doesn't handle high heat well, but is more resilient to the cold.

In terms of thickness, generally speaking, the thicker the better in terms of longevity. I think the need to add reinforcement depends on how much weight you're going to have going across it.

Asphalt is soft, and will become very soft in the heat. Let's say you plan to park an RV or store a boat on it for long periods of time in the summer, the wheels can literally sink into the surface of the asphalt. Concrete pads simply support huge loads without deforming.

• Your title does not adequately describe your project or your question.
• Your title is clickbait or inaccurate.
• Your title contains the words "xpost" in some form or another.
• Your title is in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
• Your title is unreadable, not understandable, uses acronyms, is not in English, or is otherwise difficult to read.

Please read our guidelines before resubmitting

If you believe this was a mistake, please message the moderators.

For sure do re-bar in concrete. But its the base under it that makes the difference on longevity. Done right concrete should last way better than asphalt

Funny, I was going to mention dogs, cause I had 3 dogs when I was deciding on what to do with my driveway, and heat on their paws, or even for them to lay down on (they liked laying on the driveway) was important to my wife and I. (We ended-up keeping it gravel, but added more gravel, as we lived in a rural area, and we just liked the gravel look).