House and Home

So we have a nice little garage apartment in our back yard. Its about 450 sq ft and is perfect for 1 person or a married couple. We have been renting it now for about 400 a month and the extra income is nice. The really great part about this apartment is that our property has an easement on the back side with a semi paved or asphalt drive.

The garage was the only thing existing when we bought the property and my wife and I turned it into an apartment while we built our home up front. There was never a drive way to the apartment from the easement. This isnt a problem normally, however when it rains it pours. Mud everywhere and my wifes little car even got stuck. My heavy truck leaves ruts and just tears up our parking space or so called driveway.

So I thought about pouring a driveway out of concrete. Then I thought of all the hard work and labor involved in a project like that so I passed. My other option was an asphalt driveway. The area where we park is quite small and i knew it shouldnt cost too much. If I remember correctly, the average going price of an asphalt driveway here is about 2.50/sq ft. So this is the option I opted for.

With a driveway are of about 200 feet, the asphalt driveway cost was just under 500 dollars, and I didnt have to lift a finger. It looks nice and provides our tenants a place to park without having to worry about rain and mud. I would recommend an asphalt driveway to anyone on a budget.