7 Important Elements of Driveway Design
Your driveway, along with the front of your property, is a very prominent part of your landscape. It is very visual from the street. It is an
entry to your home. In addition, it is the main thing people look for when coming to your home. There are a few important things to think about
when undertaking a driveway design.
1. Easy access to your garage (or parking area) is necessary. If you need to make a turn to get to your garage or parking
area, create a proper turning radius so that it is not too tight of a turn. An arc with a ten to fifteen feet radius works well. The depth from
your garage doors to the driveway edge as you back out should be a minimum of thirty feet.
2. Driveways should function well for guests who come to your front door. Create a walkway from the driveway to your front
door entry which is wide and inviting. The walkway design should be wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Four feet is the minimum for
comfort. However, wider walkways can be even nicer, whether they are curved or straight.
3. Many people disregard extra parking or turn around areas. As you pull out of your garage or parking area, try to create space to back into
so that you may drive forward towards the street. This space can also serve as extra parking. If you are designing a circular driveway,
make it wide enough near the front door so that one car can pass while a car is parked there. The entire width of the circle does not
have to be this wide. However, the outside circle diameter should be seventy feet wide. You are probably thinking that this is too wide, but I
assure you, it is not.
4. If your property lends itself to a parking court at your front door area, make sure the dimensions are right. Many people do not realize
how wide this actually must be for the courtyard to function properly. Parking courts are usually square. Fifty five feet in width and depth are
good dimensions to use.
5. How wide should a driveway be? I prefer driveways that are more narrow, anywhere from nine to eleven feet in width. Why create more
hardscape than is necessary? Although a driveway can be designed nicely, the driveway paving takes away from plantings and other garden
amenities. In addition, driveways create runoff in the environment, so the less hardscape square footage the better. However, if your garage is
in the front of your house and not a long distance, the width of your driveway may have to accommodate two cars.
6. Think about driveway entry landscaping ideas. A nicely landscaped entry is welcoming. The planting design should blend
with the rest of your landscape. If your property is informal, the entry can be somewhat different on wither side, but balanced. On the other
hand if your home and landscape is more formal, you might want to create the same type of design at the driveway entry, such as an alley of
trees.
7. You can also dress up your driveway entry by using a more decorative paving material there. For example, a pretty tumbled
paver entry can look nice with the balance of the driveway being constructed of asphalt or loose stone. The paver entry can be fifteen to twenty
feet long and as wide as the driveway itself. The paver area can have a soldier course as a defined edging.
I hope I have given you some things to think about which will be helpful when thinking about driveway designs. I have written about this and
other driveway elements, such as paving types, edgings and the driveway landscape at my website page below.
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