What's a "tar & chip" driveway? How does it compare to other driveway materials?

Question: What's a "tar & chip" driveway? How does it compare to other driveway materials?

Answer:

Pros of Tar and Chip Driveways

• Attractive.
• Cheaper than asphalt.
• Low-maintenance (occasionally replace displaced stones).
• The rough surface potentially affords good traction.
• Durable.

Cons of Tar and Chip Driveways:

• Difficult to find contractors for installation.
• Snow removal is more problematic than for concrete or asphalt.

Here's how tar and chip driveways (or "Macadam") are constructed:

Hot tar is applied to a gravel base. So much for the "tar" part. What about the "chip" part? Well, while the tar is still piping hot, stone chips are thrown on top, so that they can adhere to the tar. Since a major selling point of tar and chip driveways is their looks, people usually make sure the stone chips are pretty, not just any old stone chips. For instance, you might want stones that are a particular color. After the stone chips are laid on top of the tar, a steamroller presses them in firmly.

Besides their splendid appearance, tar and chip driveways are less expensive than asphalt, nor do they have to be sealed, thus cutting down on your yard maintenance.

Tar and chip driveways afford good traction, since the surface layer is composed of individual stones. So rather than having a smooth and potentially slick surface like asphalt, the surface of tar and chip driveways is rough. But the same characteristic that gives these surfaces traction also makes them more difficult to plow and shovel: namely, all those individual little stones sticking up.

Plowing too closely will damage the surface of a tar and chip driveway. You can address this problem with tar and chip driveways by instructing your plowing contractor to keep the plow blade up slightly off the surface (hopefully, your contractor follows instructions well!). But unless you plan on having that leftover 1 inch or so of snow melt off pretty soon (as it might on, say, a south-facing slope), you may be losing some of that good traction for which tar and chip driveways are known. In New England, where I live, an inch of snow can stay around for a long time (especially on a flat surface), and it will generally ice up -- creating a hazard. Besides, plows can't get into tight spaces, so I always end up doing a little shovelling to clean up after the plow; and unfortunately, tar and chip driveways are more difficult to shovel than are asphalt or concrete drives, with all those little stones in the way.

But if these snow-removal issues aren't a problem for you, tar and chip driveways may be a beautiful addition to your landscape. Commenting on the durability of Macadam, This Old House mentions an additional advantage to tar and chip driveways, remarking, "Any small oil leak from the car can be hidden with a quick rake of the gravel." Finding a contractor to install one, however, may be a challenge, as tar and chip driveways are not nearly as popular as asphalt paving.

Back to > Driveway Materials FAQ Index

Back to > Index for All FAQs