Curb Types

On Roadways

• Street curbs are often flat in front with a straight drop to the roadway. If drainage control is needed, the curb can be curved and made continuous with a gutter and sewer grating system to help prevent ponding of water. For additional pedestrian and motorist safety, curbs and roadways are usually made in contrasting colors, such as a dark asphalt street with light concrete curbs. The most common material used in making curbs is concrete. Concrete is poured using forms or slip-forms, or extruded by machine to create a curb. Concrete may be reinforced with different fibers to enhance strength and longevity. For example, a manufacturer could use a fiber mesh to decrease slump which can occur during the extrusion process.

  The tar-like color of asphalt is less desirable for decorative landscaping applications, but roadways are often paved with this material. Asphalt is used to make curbs where the definition between the road and curb is unnecessary, since there would be no color differentiation.

  Stone slabs may also be used as a curbing material. Although cost and required manpower are considerably higher, natural stone may be the developer's choice for curbing a parking area when it highlights the style of new construction.

In Landscaping

• Decorative curbing embraces a myriad of landscaping options. Garden beds and trees can be edged with curbs made of concrete or stone. Property lines, paths and pool confines can be delineated using curbs that come with lighting already placed within them. Decorative, concrete curbs can be stamped with designs to make them look like brick, rock and stone. They can be sloped and textured in almost as many ways as clay can be manipulated.

  Cobblestones, stone slabs, and pavers are also used to create decorative curbs and would be placed onto a prepared mortar or cement base.

Indoors

• Finally, curbs can be found in a home's interior. They are a design feature used to separate a shower area from the rest of the bathroom floor. Sometimes functional, to keep water within an area, they are often purely decorative. Materials used for interior curbing include tile, natural stones -- such as slate, granite and marble -- and glass or aggregate block are preferred over concrete or asphalt.