Sunday, March 11, 2012

Cost Analysis - Pervious Concrete vs Asphalt

Every project, new or renovation, have budgets that need to be met in order for them to move forward. Projects that have "green" initiatives, or are trying to achieve LEED standards are of no exception to this. We believe that with pervious concrete on your project you will exceed your requirements for stormwater management, and at the same time have the potential to positively impact your budget.

Asphalt has been around for many years now, and so it is no surprise that developers and contractors are very familiar with how inexpensive asphalt is, as a pavement. What people may or may not be as familiar with is the asphalt system costs. These system costs include all the necessary work and infrastructure below the pavement to sufficiently deal with the given site parameters, stormwater design, and pollution control requirements.

Pervious concrete is rapidly increasing in demand, yet it is relatively new to many in the industry. It is therefore not surprising that many designers, developers, and contractors are not yet familiar with pervious concrete system costs.

In order to shed some light on this subject, we have completed a comparative analysis for a real project, and provide a copy of this analysis for your review. The numbers in this analysis are for the noted local area, and for the period of time also noted. They are derived from a joint effort from SCC and a local well known and practicing civil contractor.

It is our hope that with this information that many of you will consider the system costs when determining and recommending the best stormwater management solution for a project. It is our opinion that in many cases, where stormwater management requires infiltration, detention, or retention, pervious concrete will be your most affordable solution.

Press this link (http://db.tt/FhEFQyZ1) to download a pdf version of the cost analysis.