Concrete vs Asphalt Driveway: Which One Suits an Upstate SC Home?

For a house you plan to stay in, concrete is usually the driveway that holds up longer and needs less work each year. Asphalt usually costs less up front. On a lot of Greenville County roads the answer is some of each, because the county has a rule about the strip closest to the road.

By the crew at Ace Concrete Construction, Taylors, SC

We pour concrete and don't pave asphalt, so weigh our side of this with that in mind.

Both work in the Upstate. Which one fits comes down mostly to how long you'll own the place and what you want to spend now, and on a county road with no curb, the last few feet have to be asphalt anyway.

How does each one handle an Upstate summer?

An Arizona pilot study cited by the EPA found conventional asphalt reaching surface temperatures up to 152 degrees Fahrenheit at midday. On a July afternoon here that binder can soften, and it can scuff where a tire turns in place or dent under a trailer jack left sitting on it.

Concrete stays hard in the heat. It's also lighter in color and reflects more of the sun. Oil and gas drips are worth a thought too, since petroleum can eat into an asphalt surface; on concrete a drip mostly leaves a stain you clean up.

Can a concrete driveway run all the way to the road in Greenville County?

Only where there's a curb. Greenville County's driveway installation guidelines, revised October 4, 2023, say that unless a curb is present, as in a subdivision, concrete driveways are not allowed in the right-of-way. The apron from the right-of-way to the road has to be asphalt, and the county does not maintain or repair concrete driveways.

So on a county road with a ditch and no curb, a new concrete drive typically stops at the right-of-way line and an asphalt apron ties it to the pavement. Same document says the culvert pipe under a driveway has to be reinforced concrete, corrugated metal or gray double-walled polypropylene. Black plastic pipe is out. City streets and SCDOT roads have their own rules, check with whoever owns the road before anybody forms up.

Which one costs more?

Asphalt usually costs less to install. We don't price asphalt, so we can't tell you what the gap is on your lot. Get a quote for each. On the concrete side, tear-out of the old surface and base prep on the clay tend to move the number most, and our breakdown of concrete driveway cost in Greenville goes line by line.