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Hardscape Delivers on ROI in Real Estate

1/16/2018

5 Comments

 
You never get a second chance to make a good first impression, and when it comes to home value this is especially true. Years ago, it was commonly thought that the kitchen and bath were the most important place to put your money when remodeling to increase the value of your home. In the past decade however, that has changed and almost every expert’s recommendations (including an article in the Wall Street Journal) now starts with curb appeal at the top of the list.
 
For this reason, the use of interlocking pavers in driveways, front walkways, and entries has skyrocketed. Most new communities now incorporate the front yard pavers as standard while the backyard landscaping, pool and pavers may be standard or options. Many older communities facing costly HOA repairs to cracked concrete driveways have already instituted driveway replacement plans either replacing all of their driveways with pavers in phases or facilitating group discounts and/or incentives to encourage individual homeowners to replace the driveway and thus relieving the HOA of any liability for the cracked driveways in the future.

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But does curb appeal really start at the curb? Don’t visitors get their first impression at the entry of the community? What do the streets say about the property values? Are they cracked and resealed? Do they bleed black tire tracks onto the driveways and garages?
 
Developers have long known that paver streets sell homes and add value whether it be the high end custom home community that wants the highest value, a high density condo project that needs to look like a warm village rather than a cramped and sterile environment, or the multifamily community that doesn’t want its new project to feel cold and foreign but rather look like it has always been a part of the region forever. Municipalities have woven millions of square feet of interlocking paver streets into the urban fabric of Vancouver’s Olympic Village, North Bay Ontario’s downtown, Seattle’s downtown, Chicago’s Green Alleys, Hong Kong’s airport runways and the Los Angeles Zoo, just to name a few. Europe may have more pavers than asphalt in their streets.

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But can only new communities afford pavers? A recent study performed by Robert Tuvel, a Southern California reserve fund consultant, of the prestigious country club Bighorn, found that over the life cycle of the pavement, interlocking paver streets are less expensive then asphalt streets if you incorporate the cost of maintenance. This is substantiated by an ICPI (Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute) study with the same finding.
 
The lifecycle of interlocking pavers is now longer than thirty years and may be pushing up to forty years. It is important to note that the quality of the installation and the knowledge of the industry technical specifications will impact the life span of the pavement. Any installer performing street work should not only have a contractor’s license for this specific trade, but must have an ICPI Commercial certification, and provide references from other jobs of similar size and scope that are a minimum of five years old. These jobs should be inspected. Since we know that pavers have more load-bearing than concrete, will not crack, do not need resealing, and come in endless colors, designs and architectural styles from contemporary to old world, you may never look at asphalt the same ever again.

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5 Comments
Jordan link
6/4/2018 06:42:12 pm

My wife and I have been looking for a hardscaping contractor, and I think that being able to get some tips could be nice. I like that you talked about how how hardscaping can help with adding value to the property, which I think is just another benefit of getting ours done. I'm going to have to look for some hardscaping services and see what our options are!

Reply
Hazel Owens link
10/3/2018 02:56:55 pm

That's good to know that installing interlocking pavers is less expensive that an asphalt street. This is definitely good since pavers, in my opinion, look better and more classy than an asphalt driveway would. My mom is looking to repave her driveway so I'll have to mention pavers since they will cost less and update the look of her home.

Reply
Mike Lee link
12/13/2018 06:59:27 am

My wife and I have been talking about adding hardscaping to out front yard. I want to but in a driveway with pavers because I love how it looks. It is good to know that this investment will do wonders for the curb appeal of our house.

Reply
Vivian Black link
2/20/2020 06:30:33 pm

I love that you mentioned curb appeal and how you should look at driveways and garages more. My husband and I are looking for a hardscaping service that can help us as we've never done it before. We will keep these tips in mind as we search for a professional that can help us best.

Reply
Janelle Steele link
11/22/2020 02:26:58 am

Good rreading

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