Phoenix Home Services builds concrete, concrete and brick, concrete paver, stamped concrete and heated drive ways. We can install all types of driveways in Northern Virginia. From concrete drive ways, brick driveways, and stamped concrete driveways. We work in Fairfax, Loudoun, Arlington, and Prince William County Va.  As a home owner in Northern Virginia you may ask yourself which is the best choice for paving material for a driveway asphalt or concrete. The quick answer is asphalt because it is the least costly option. The problem with an asphalt driveway is the up keep it will require over the years, and the fact it looks cheap. A far better choice is concrete for a drive way. If a concrete driveway is installed correctly it will last for over 20 years without any care. Phoenix Home Services installs concrete driveway in a time tested way. The first step in building a concrete driveway is to remove the old driveway. When the old driveway is removed we will form, level, install gravel, and set grade stakes. Once the form have been approved by the home owner   has approved the   forming . We will order the concrete mix from a local ready mix concrete company such as   Virginia Concrete. Our typical design mix is 3500 PSI (pounds per square inch cracking point)  , air entrained, with a slump of 4.  Concrete   slump  is a term used to describe how consistent a concrete batch is, rather than using odd descriptions such as wet or dry. Air-entrained concrete is produced through the use of air-entraining Portland cement, or by introducing air-entraining admixtures. The amount of concrete entrained air is usually between 4.5% & 7% percent of the total volume of the concrete mix. Phoenix Home Services uses  air entraining add mixes to create  a concrete mix that is  resistant to  frost and cycles of freezing and thawing that we experience in Northern Virginia. Most city sidewalk are installed with a 3000 PSI mix but Phoenix Home Services ups the Portland content to gain a minimum of 3500 PSI concrete at 28 days. At 28 days concrete has gained it full strength through the currying period. If your Driveway is to be covered with clay pavers we will also add fiber,   Fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) will help concrete not to crack. Studies made on fiber reinforced concrete in driveway found that mixing (FRC) fibers provided strength and controlled cracking by 500%. We do not use fiber on finished driveways but Phoenix Home Services uses 6” x 6” wire mesh to reinforce our driveway systems. When pouring a concrete drive way the first step is to make sure the grade is set so no water can inter the garage and  any excess water will be diverted to the street curb. The concrete will be placed on your drive way from the concrete truck shoot. As the concrete comes off the truck it will be Screened  using a large 2”x 4” to make sure using grade stake your driveway has a full 4” of concrete. With our Forman’s  oversight a  sawing  motion is used to   move  the  2x4  forward  a foot or so on the along the form. This method  will force the concrete to  lower spots on your drive way. The next step is to place an magnesium bull float on your concrete driveway to smooth out the concrete. Magnesium is used for a concrete floating device because it does not draw up to much water and let the chemical process of hydration occur with our evaporation. Concrete does not just dry out, but is a chemical process called hydration not evaporation. When the time is right steel trowels are then used to  smooth out the concrete and bring up the cream (Portland cement and sand). At this point in finishing your driveway project timing is everything.  Your concrete driveway needs to be finished with a broom to so that it has some traction, and rough spots are cleaned up. Broming a driveway to soon will leave it looking ruff and give it an unfinished look. When the concrete is just about set a concrete broom will be run vertically to finish the concrete project. The concrete broom is dipped in a bucket of water and very carefully run across the almost set concrete. One or the most important steps in building a concrete driveway is to install control joints. The temperature method for required reinforcement is:
As = (f )  (12)t)/(2) (fs-TµEs)  In layman’s term a control joint should be placed every 8’. Concrete will crack but installing control joints will tell the concrete were to crack. Phoenix home Services will saw cut expansion joints in your driveway with a diamond blade saw.
Phoenix Home Services also installs exposed aggregate concrete driveways and sidewalks. The technology behind installing a exposed aggregate concrete driveway and a finished driveway is very similar. The main deference is when the concrete order is placed it is ordered with pea gravel instead of the normal #57 gravel used for most concrete driveways and Patios. When the concrete is bull floated we spray on a concrete retarder. A concrete retarder keeps the top  1/8 “ of your drive way from setting up. Once the concrete retarder is sprayed on your driveway we then lay down a 5 mil plastic trap. After the concrete is set, we will return the next day and power wash off the Portland cream to expose the pea gravel.  Often times we dye the concrete to match the color of the pea gravel to give your drive way a more uniformed look. After a day or two we will then seal your drive way to protect the aggregate and give your driveway a custom luster. After the aggregate concrete driveway is set up Phoenix Home Services will return to saw cut expansion joints in your concrete slab.
Phoenix Home Service  Builds some of the best brick and brick boarded driveways in Northern Virginia. We also are a company that can install concrete  paver, stamped, and colored drive ways for home owners in Northern Virginia. We work in the cities of Ashburn, Alexandria, Annandale, Aldie, Burke, Bristow, Broadlands, Clifton, Centreville, Chantilly, Dale City, Dumfries, Falls Church, Fairfax Station, Fairfax City, Fairfax, Great Falls, Gainesville, Haymarket, Herndon, Langley, Mclean, Middleburg, Nokesville , Oak Hill, Oakton , Leesburg, Lansdowne, Mclean, Springfield, Woodbridge, North Reston, Reston Town Center, Reston, Sterling, Sterling Park, Tysons, Manassas, Manassas Park, South Riding, Viennia, and Lake Ridge  Va..