The pore size is very small by necessity and within a few months, the formerly porous asphalt or concrete will begin to pool water and becomes essentially impervious. If you’ve got stormwater running over and through your permeable asphalt surface, it’s going to carry particles of dirt and debris that will clog up the interior of a once permeable surface. But, there are a variety of ways in which this system can fail you.įirst, clogging is the main issue with porous concrete and asphalt. This creates a structure in which there are countless pathways for water to trickle through the surface and down into a collection area or directly into the soil. Porous concrete or asphalt surfaces are made up of a coarse aggregate that is coated in mortar or cement paste. Obviously, water runoff and collection is a big deal, this is why permeable materials for things like driveways and sidewalks were invented. A Porous Concrete Driveway Won’t Be Perfect In order to get you up to speed on the potential issues with these materials, let’s go over how they work, what problems you might face, and what might be a better alternative to porous asphalt or concrete.
Many people still aren’t aware of the potential pitfalls of something like a porous concrete driveway or porous asphalt, however. In fact, some of the potential problems you might face with porous asphalt or concrete could end up being so serious that it costs you thousands in repairs or remodeling. Porous concrete and asphalt while better than traditional hardscape aren’t without their own issues, though. The problem is- this porosity and ability to absorb water is very short-lived and super expensive. Everyone knows that surfaces that absorb water instead of creating runoff and flooding are needed. Videos of porous asphalt absorbing water have gone viral. Porous concrete and pervious asphalt were invented to help reduce the costly consequences of impervious surfaces. Flooding from impervious surfaces is wreaking havoc contributing to billions of property damage and even deaths. Water pooling and runoff have also been an issue with these materials, however. From parking lots to walkways, driveways, sidewalks, intermediate areas, and more, both asphalt and concrete have gotten the job done when it comes to providing solid surfaces for us to walk and drive on. Concrete and asphalt have served us well over the ages.