PSA: Stop using broom finish on steep driveways

I spent 12 years doing broom finish on every residential driveway until last spring when I did a job in the hills outside Portland. Homeowner wanted a slip-resistant exposed aggregate instead. I finished a 40 foot steep section with aggregate and it held up way better through the winter than any broom job I've seen on that grade. No cracking, no peeling, and the owner said nobody slipped once during the ice season. Has anyone else tried exposed aggregate on steep slopes instead of the usual broom?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugow3013d ago

Stop trying to reinvent the wheel for something that's worked fine for decades. Broom finish is cheap, fast, and homeowners understand it. Adding exposed aggregate on a steep grade just means more labor costs and a rougher surface that's a pain to shovel snow off of.

james53313d ago

Buddy of mine tried exposed aggregate on his driveway a couple years back... said it was a nightmare. First winter the snow packed into the grooves and turned into ice sheets. He spent more time chipping ice than actually shoveling. Come spring, the aggregate started popping loose in spots where the snowplow caught it. Now he's looking at patching it up or maybe just grinding it all down and starting over with broom finish.