FAQs Archives - Paving Finder

When Does the Paving Season End? The Ideal Conditions

The paving season does not end when the air turns cold but rather when the ground freezes and paving installation becomes impossible.

Appropriate timing, weather, and temperature conditions play a huge role in paving installation. You need to ensure you have optimal conditions when laying down your pavement if you wish for reliable and successful results.

On that note, let’s discuss all the relevant details below.

When Does the Paving Season End?

The season ends when the ground freezes for all paving companies, and they can no longer work on it. This is especially true in the case of asphalt, the most popular paving material. It paves best in summer or warm weather.

During the winter season, the ground stiffens up so much that the labor cannot work with the asphalt anymore, let alone get it right. If you attempt to lay asphalt in the winter season, it will set in long before you have had time to smooth it. Hence, the result will not be high-quality and neat.

Incorrect paving means your pavement will soon suffer more wear and tear, especially in uneven areas where there is more concentration. The bad weather will even render the seal coating finish incapable of doing its job. Do you know why? Because seal coating is a water-based sealer and it does not set incorrectly when the weather is inappropriate.

If you’re paving asphalt on your driveway and don’t want it to crack or spoil, then a temperature above 45 degrees F is ideal.

The Best Time of the Year to Pave Your Driveway or Lot

Paving a driveway or lot is a hefty investment, and surely, you want to do your best. Hence, if you ask, we’d suggest late spring till early fall as the ideal time of the year for paving your lot.

Ideal Conditions for Asphalt Installation

When does the paving season end? The ideal temperature conditions for paving asphalt lots or driveways must be 45 or 50 degrees F and above. Moreover, ensure that the ground is firm enough to lay down your asphalt pavement but not frozen like that in extreme winters.

We do not even recommend early spring as an ideal paving time because of the precipitation and melting snow/ice. Hence, your asphalt paving projects should best bring from late spring onwards.

Ideal Conditions for Concrete Installation

When does the paving season end? According to experts, the ideal conditions for installing concrete on your driveway or lot are between 40 degrees F to 60 degrees F. What happens if you try installing concrete below this temperature range? Supposing you install concrete at 40 degrees F temperature: the chemical reactions that make your concrete stronger will slow down and weaken your paving material.

Furthermore, if the temperature reaches below freezing point when your concrete is curing, the water inside will freeze, your concrete will expand and ultimately suffer cracks. Similarly, temperatures above 77 degrees F will evaporate the water to hydrate and cure your concrete.

As a result, the concrete’s temperature will increase, weaken, shrink and crack your structure prematurely.

Why the Right Weather is so essential for a Successful Paving Project

You may have heard experts stressing the importance of optimal weather conditions for your paving project to be successful. But have you ever wondered what ‘optimal weather’ truly means? When does the paving season end?

In simple words, we’d say that optimal weather is where the base and air temperatures meet the specified requirements. If the two temperatures are colder, your pavement will cool too fast and set in too soon. As a result, you will not get the desired compacted density in your structure.

The thicker layers of your pavement will not cool as fast as the thin ones, though. Additionally, if the ambient or base temperature is low, the pavement material will cool quicker, its density will fall short, and the patch will come undone and fall apart sooner.

Overlay and paving projects don’t last too well if your material mix cools too fast. You will end up with a rocky, rough, and unraveled surface way sooner than you expected. The life of your pavement will reduce as it begins retaining more water and speeding up the unraveling process.

In short, it is crucial to monitor the following during your paving process:

Wind velocity
Base temperature
Ambient temperature
Hot mix asphalt temperature (for asphalt installation)

How to Prepare Your Property for Paving

You cannot begin laying the asphalt/concrete mix as soon as you decide to pave your property. You need to undergo extensive preparations to ready the site paving. For preparing the area, here is what you need to do:

Area excavation- you first have to excavate the area where the pavement material will go. Mark out the site and dig down to the depth you require for the base layers. Along with flattening the foundation’s bottom thoroughly, you must also clear all large rubble from underneath.
Flattening- using a plate compactor, the next step is compacting and flattening the earth. The compactor helps with flattening and leveling the earth for a firm base. You will have to repeat this step after each base layer for perfect leveling.
Access road- the workers need an access route for transporting equipment and material to and fro from your property. Hence, you may have to build a temporary access road with their help.
Demolition and clearing- the project site needs to be clear of vegetation, debris, trees, and rocks. Demolition of the obstacles and clearing them off is essential.

What to Plan for when paving a New Driveway/Lot

A new driveway demands attention to detail and careful planning. Remember, it is a structure that has to last you for years and return your value for money; hence it is only right to give it your best shot.

But what defines the success of a driveway or lot? The answer is thickness of the asphalt and a proper drainage system. Let’s discuss these factors in details below:

A. Proper Thickness of Asphalt

Residential driveways do not need to bear heavy traffic loads: they cater to a small number of vehicles at the most. That too, at slow speeds. Hence, the proper thickness would be 3″ for this use. This thickness further compacts to 2 ½ “.

By combining your carefully compacted sub-base with this thickness, you get the optimal measurement for a reliable and long-lasting residential driveway.

The problem with applying a thick asphalt layer in residential driveways is that it does not compact well and, with time, causes depressions on your surface.

B. Proper Drainage

One of the greatest enemies of a driveway is the freeze/thaw cycle. It damages the structure and deforms asphalt faster than it should. You can prevent the devastation of water infiltration by installing a proper draining system for your new driveway.

A proper drainage system will also minimize the damage from flooding on your new driveway. You may also consider installing a linear drainage system for your residential lot. It will help drain the water along the entire length of the pavement.

Final Thoughts

The ideal season for paving projects begins from late spring to early fall because it does not freeze to an unfavorable extent. Furthermore, the temperature conditions and wind velocity also remain feasible for paving projects.

The success and maximum life of a pavement depend on how well you built it and how well you selected the season, temperature, and time of the year. All of these factors play a significant role in extending the best performance of your paving materials and structure.

April 21, 2021/by admin

Asphalt, FAQs

What Causes Potholes – A Complete Guide To Potholes

One big issue homeowners and business owners often experienced is the formation of potholes on their pavement. Overtime, potholes naturally form on driveways, parking lots, and roadways. If you fail to have them filled, they can be frustrating and can damage your vehicle. They will also continue to cause severe damages to the surrounding surface if you neglect to fix them on time.

Vehicles usually depend on a smooth, flat surface when they travel on city streets and highways to move comfortably, quickly, and safely. Potholes provide a bumpy and possibly dangerous trip, as they can be damaging to vehicle tires and even impact the alignment of a vehicle’s wheels.

What are potholes?

Potholes are sections of road surface that have developed cracks, worn away, and ultimately created a hole. Potholes begin as tiny cracks and can expand from just a few inches deep and wide to be anywhere (few feet wide and many inches deep) if they are not repaired on time.

Potholes are tiny, bowl-shaped pavement surface depressions that penetrate the Hot Mix Asphalt layer down to the base course. Generally, they have sharp/rough edges and vertical sides close to the top of the hole.

Potholes show up on all roads, irrespective of the region. Your pavements can not avoid potholes even if you reside in a region where it is always warm. Water has a way of eroding road surfaces under any climatic conditions. Even without freezing and thawing cycles, water can still penetrate through the pavement’s surface to its underneath, creating divots by weakening the materials, including loose gravel, forming the roadbed.

What causes potholes?

Potholes form naturally due to many elemental forces in action. Typically, potholes develop when moisture permeates a paved surface or when the groundwater beneath the pavement penetrates the paved surface. The heating up and cooling down of water triggers the surface to expand and contract, causing weakness to the pavement with the added pressure.

Also, when a pavement surface already has a weak spot, as a car or truck moves over it, the vehicle’s weight causes the surface to disintegrate further, leaving potholes to form.

The seasonal freezing and thawing cycle experienced by most countries every year is one of the main causes of potholes.

Water often enters under the pavement through the pavement surface; as the groundwater expands and contracts, it causes potholes to form on the pavement. You should think of when making ice cubes – a water-filled tray is placed in the freezer, and when the tray is removed from the freezer, you will observe that the water has expanded. This similar effect occurs when water penetrates the ground beneath the pavement.

If it tends to freeze, it will occupy more space beneath the pavement, leading to expansion, bending, and cracking of the pavement, which weakens the pavement material. After then, when the frozen water melts, the pavement will contract, leaving voids or gaps in the surface beneath the pavement, where water can enter and get trapped. As the water freezes and thaws repeatedly, the pavement will wear out and begin cracking.

When the weight of cars and trucks moves over the driveway’s weak area, it weakens pieces of the driveway material, causing the material to be displaced or deteriorate from the weight, which creates the pothole.

What time of the year are potholes most likely to occur?

Are you always curious to know the season of potholes? Sometimes, it seems like it is all the time, but it’s actually not.

Potholes often appear in late winter and early spring due to changing temperatures. The frequent freeze/thaw cycles of melting snow, coupled with spring rain, erodes the pavement, and that is what causes potholes and cracks formation.

Winter is the peak period for asphalt pavement damage, particularly in cases of frequent melting and freezing. This can rapidly cause the occurrence of eggshell cracks or potholes.

Also, we have noticed lots of potholes form during the early spring because that is when we get daytime temperatures above freezing due to the longer daylight hours and nighttime temperatures below freezing.

This change of temperature leads to many freeze/thaw cycles that cause potholes. Therefore, early spring can also be regarded as the season where potholes most likely occur.

How are potholes repaired?

If your pavement has already developed potholes and you are curious to know how to get it fixed, the following steps show how to repair potholes on pavement effectively;

Get the pothole cleaned. It is vital to have dirt, dust, and other debris that can get inside and beneath the pavement removed. Because if there is a piece of broken pavement in the hole, and new pavement is mixed with it, it can weaken the repair.

Heat the pothole. The pothole heating ensures that any extra moisture that may be present in the current pavement is removed. The heating also softens the area so that it is possible to add the new asphalt. Once the pothole is softened, it can also be reshaped, and existing asphalt can be extracted or rejuvenated.

Apply the new asphalt. A hot asphalt mix is usually used for this fix. After application, the asphalt needs to be compressed to ensure that water penetration is minimized and improves its resistance. Because primarily, water is what causes potholes to form. Compacting the asphalt allows the formation of bonds between the new and old asphalt pavement.

Give the new asphalt time to cool. Any debris remaining around the repair will be cleared. It is possible to drive on most pothole repairs immediately.

How can the formation of potholes be avoided?

Here are the ways you can avoid the formation of potholes:

Cracks filling
Regular seal coating
Do not allow standing water.

Constructing your pavement correctly in the first place is one of the most critical measures in pothole prevention. A well-laid driveway has a remarkable ability to stand against damage.

Crack filling

The most important thing you can do to avoid pothole formation once your driveway is set is to address any cracks that show up immediately.

Regular seal coating

It’s a smart idea to have your driveway and other pavement seal coated every few years. This is a preventive intervention intended to keep harm at a distance. Sealcoating also ensures that tiny cracks are filled in. While you might not be able to see these very tiny breaks in the pavement surface, They are a concern since they are likely to get bigger over time.

Do not allow standing water.

When rainwater runs through a driveway or other pavement, it poses a serious threat to the surface. It is bad enough when water remains on the pavement’s surface. Standing water causes the pavement’s protective layer to wear away and speeds up degradation. This and some other external factors are what causes potholes to form. But water is the main cause.

How to avoid potholes and prevent vehicle damage

Always concentrate while driving to scan the road so as to spot what is in front of you.

Ensure you keep a safe following distance to know when the driver in front of you react to seeing a pothole so you can be able to brake safely and have a clear view of what is in your front

Avoid overspeeding when driving on a road that appears rough. Consider seeking an alternative route if the road is poor.

Pay attention to water. Water from a close snowbank and rain can be absorbed by large potholes, making it impossible to know how big the pothole really is.

Avoid swerving as it could put you in more danger doing so. Dodging may make you veer into an oncoming lane of traffic. Instead, apply the brake gently when you see a pothole and safely avoid it.

Conclusion

Potholes create a terrible experience for drivers as they drive through the driveway surface. They also pose a severe threat to the pavement structure, reducing its longevity. Hence, it is vital to have even the tiniest cracks on your driveway fixed as soon as you notice it to avoid expanding to a giant hole.

One of the best ways to avoid potholes is to take care of your pavement properly. You can seek professional advice to guide you on how to best prevent the formation of potholes on your driveway, even in the winter and spring seasons.

February 16, 2021/by admin

FAQs, Parking Lots

Estimated Parking Lot Life: Get the Most Out of Your Lot

In this article, you will learn all about the estimated parking lot life. A durable structure can offer a service life of thirty to forty years. Many factors affect this tenure, including timely repairs, proper maintenance, and taking corrective measures against the harsh elements.

For all the homeowners, structures are a form of major capital investment. Considering the life expectancy, you have to fight against the exceptionally harsh environmental factors to achieve that life period.

Let’s discuss all the factors in detail below:

Factors that Affect the Longevity of a Parking Lot

If you are in the process of paving a parking lot or having a newly paved one, you must surely be concerned about its longevity. For all homeowners, longevity is the utmost desire. Considering what a huge investment building a structure is.

However, a lot of factors have a direct and huge impact on the lifespan of your lot—these range from pavement material, traffic level, drainage to others. In comparison, concrete tends to be far more durable than asphalt if you maintain the right conditions.

Having said that, let’s take a look at the factors that impact how long your parking lot lasts.

Surface Type

No structure, no matter how solid, can last forever. This rings even truer for those who live in areas where winters are on the extreme side. You surely are aware of what damage a rough winter can cause to your parking lot, be it of asphalt or concrete. In fact, the weather is just one factor, as several others can take a toll on particular surface types.

Every pavement surface must have specific elements that will help it withstand traffic load, weather elements, and others over its lifetime. If you allow inadequacy in the asphalt’s depth or type, or if certain negligence leaves anything lacking in the base support, you can expect premature surface failure.

Then there are also certain other factors relevant to surface types that you need to consider. Bituminous concrete is another composite material that commonly goes into the surface for parking lots. Some common conditions could also cause the surface to deteriorate and the life expectancy to reduce.

The conditions include:

Shoving actions causes the surface to deform. This happens when traffic pushes the surface, producing an abrupt and short wave-like movement on it.
Rutting is another harmful factor for the surface. This action includes a lateral or consolidated movement of the surface’s material. This occurs due to a heavy traffic load.
Raveling may also reduce the estimated parking lot life. This happens when the surface wears away because of tar binder, asphalt or concrete loss, and dislodged aggregate. But only certain conditions create the threat of raveling for your surface. This includes a particular type of traffic, such as aggressively treaded or tracked vehicles. Other conditions that categorize as raveling include oil spillage causing softening and dislodging of the surface.

Weather

Weather can be brutal to your parking lot, and the after-effects can also significantly reduce the service life of the lot. Let’s look at the weather elements that are detrimental in this regard:

Ice- one cannot underestimate the severe damages and hazards ice can create on your parking lot. In addition to making the surface extremely slippery, ice causes driving to become hazardous on your lot and also creates deep structural problems. After every ice season, your parking lot may require repaving.
Rock salt- you may be in the habit of throwing rock salt all over the snow pile in your parking lot. This is perhaps the most damaging thing because rock salt may be melting the ice fast, but it also causes refreezing later. When the melting and refreezing process happens repeatedly, it sneaks into the porous asphalt and starts breaking away at it. Consequentially, you will notice more wear and tear and potholes.
Weather also causes cracks in your parking lot. The cold and hot weather causes repeated contraction and expansion of the asphalt, and it ultimately develops weak spots and cracks. The ground underneath your asphalt also shifts over time, causing more cracks. This happens because water from the melted ice gets through the cracks and then freezes and expands more. This causes cracks to become bigger year by year.
Rain, too, causes a lot of wear and tear from puddles and stagnant water. Over time, rain begins to wear down your parking, creating small holes that widen significantly over time. Not only are potholes damaging to vehicles but also dangerous for pedestrians walking over the parking lot.
Hail may not be too common in your area, but if it is, then your parking lot is in for more trouble. Hail worsens the effect of erosion.

Traffic Type

If you subject your parking lot to heavy traffic, it will have adverse effects on the life of your lot’s structure. This is especially true if your parking lot does not feature a design that caters to current loading patterns. The opposite is also a problem here: very little traffic or parking lot usage means the asphalt will become brittle sooner, and shrinkage cracks will form throughout the structure.

Drainage

Two main water problems are detrimental to the estimated parking lot life. These are:

Sub-surface water saturation
Insufficient surface drainage

Sub-surface water saturation is the larger of the two menaces because the high water tables or leaking irrigation saturate the support structure under your asphalt. The load-bearing exerts additional stress and eventually cause the asphalt to fail and the base structure to weaken or collapse.

Maintenance

Consistent maintenance can contribute largely to maximizing the life of your parking lot. However, negligence in this regard will cause the cracks to widen, the seepage to worse and other damages to turn worse with abandon.

When you regularly seal and fill the cracks, you slow down the oxidation rate and also protect your structure from water seepage. Proactive repairs go a long way in preventing and minimizing damages to the surface and load-bearing structure of your parking lot.

Durability Comparison between Asphalt and Concrete Parking Lots

Till a few years ago, rarely would you have come across a parking lot featuring concrete: it was asphalt all the way. With time, you must have seen the widespread popularity of concrete, and they’re all the valid reasons for it.

Concrete sure has several advantages over asphalt apart from durability alone. This includes strength and sustainability, among others, but sadly, concrete still is not the first option for many because of their unawareness.

When it comes to big construction projects like a parking lot, concrete is definitely worth the investment. Let’s take a look at some essential components of asphalt and concrete below to compare the two materials.

Concrete

Many are of the belief that asphalt parking lots last for approximately twenty to twenty-five years. In truth, asphalt lots require major repairs in as less as five or seven years after you install them. But when we talk about concrete, you can trust this material to last you far longer.

You find it interesting to note that experts expected the original concrete roads to last for twenty years. The same roads not only completed their twenty-years life expectancy but are going strong even thirty, forty, and fifty years later.

Concrete even has the potential to spread heavy loads over its larger areas. Hence it is more durable in the long term. It minimizes pressure on its sub-base too. Due to this characteristic and considering the soil type and application, concrete lots can even use lesser aggregate in your base than asphalt.

This proves the optimal longevity and durability of concrete. In comparison, you will hardly find any asphalt parking lot or even roads that outlast their initial or speculated lifespan. But with concrete, you can expect this as a standard because concrete is meant to last.

When you put the travel, vehicle load, and weather into consideration, you’d find it sensible to choose concrete that can withstand massive daily stress.

Asphalt

Asphalt does not last as long as its own life expectancy, let alone outlast it like concrete. Those who own asphalt parking lots will tell you how they had to conduct repairs in less than five years after the installation and have had to do so repeatedly.

Asphalt also lacks the ability to spread loads and, as a result, creates high points that exert higher pressure on the subbase. As a result, the likely degradation escalates, and the subbase begins to deteriorate.

You find yourself conducting maintenance and repairs on the asphalt parking lot sooner than you had expected.

Proper Asphalt and Parking Lot Maintenance

Proper maintenance is key to having your parking lot remain in top shape for as long as possible. If you have an asphalt parking lot, you can follow certain best measures for its maintenance. Let’s take a look at those below:

Repair pothole as soon as they appear
Ensure proper signage
Seal and fill the cracks as soon as they appear and before they have a chance to widen
After every two years, you must treat your parking lot to seal coating
Conduct inlet repairs the moment you notice signs of failure
Never take standing water in your parking lot lightly. Find out its root cause immediately and remediate it. Many parking lots have suffered failures from standing water and the eventual free-thaw cycles. If you leave small cracks untreated, they will soon turn into potholes, and the pavement will likely fail.

We can define the proper asphalt maintenance practices into three categories, based on the order of priority.

What you must do

You must immediately attend to parking lot troubles that revolve around personal and property liabilities. This includes hazards like potholes, broken curbs, large cracks, raised sidewalks, failing inlets, and alligatored areas.

What You Should Do

You should pay due attention to parking lot areas that concern with preventive maintenance measures. These will also help you stay ahead in cost savings by preventing a lot of complicated problems that could occur due to neglect in maintenance.

What You Could Do

You could reconstruct the parking lot when your budget permits and when you feel your parking lot has served you sufficiently without asking for attention. This way, you can avoid a lot of costly base repair if you perform paving and milling early.

Proper Concrete Parking Lot Maintenance

For concrete parking lots, you can conduct maintenance every three to five years. To this end, you will have to address small issues really and not heavy structural issues. A proper concrete maintenance checklist must include the following:

Surface sealing- you must use a sealant to block the porous surface against salt and water’s corrosive effect. Sealing the surface is a fine idea because it prevents more damage from occurring and will also reduce the need for further concrete repairs in the future.
Filling chips and cracks- for repairing cracks, you have to fill with concrete, pourable crack filler of a leveling caulk. You can use hydraulic cement if you have to patch up chips.
Deep surface cleaning- for this, you can power wash your concrete lot annually. It will clear all the dirt piles and uncover the beautiful and fresh concrete underneath.
Stabilizing sinking or low areas- for this, you will have to pump cement slurry below your problem area. You may even use a cold mix pothole filler for patching the pothole.
Uneven section grinding- concrete sections tend to shift, causing uneven surfaces. You can fix this problem by grinding down the high sides and attaining a smooth surface.
Protective coating application- for this, you can add a protective layer of the acrylic coating to your concrete lot. It will serve as a barrier until the parking lot needs a replacement, which is typically after years or more.

Conclusion

The estimated parking lot life is typically around twenty to twenty-five years, unless it is concrete that can last even beyond. The key to maximizing the life of your parking lot is making time and set aside a budget for its preservation. Proper maintenance, regular checks on your parking lot, and proper measures will suffice in achieving the service life period you expect from your parking lot.

February 6, 2021/by admin

FAQs

Can a driveway be paved in the winter?

If you were wondering whether-or-not you can pave your driveway in the winter, you came to the right place.

It is really important to hire a reputable and qualified paving company to pave your driveway to ensure that all of the industry standards are being followed and a one of these standards that is most important is: whether or not you can pave your driveway in the winter.

Can a driveway be paved in the winter?

If you live in the warmer regions of the world, you can most certainly pave your driveway ANYTIME of the year. However, those who live in the northern hemisphere, or anywhere it gets cold enough for freezing temperatures, you MUST wait until spring or there is a significant break from cold-freezing conditions.

A driveway cannot be paved in the winter if the temperatures are dipping low enough to freeze, the asphalt will not be able to retain enough heat to remain malleable, thus stopping work or running the certain risk of ruining the asphalt product. The questions below should substantiate your decision and ease any doubts as to whether-or-not you can pave your driveway this winter, or you should wait until spring.

When is the best time of year to pave your driveway?

Knowing WHEN to schedule your driveway to be paved can save you a lot of money and extend the life of your driveway in the long run.

In the northern hemisphere, most paving jobs are completed in the SPRING and SUMMER.

Depending on location, some paving companies may even be able to continue working late into fall. When it is considered “winter” outside; cold, possibly snowy and blustery outside, the asphalt cannot retain the extremely hot temperature that is needed for it to remain malleable.

In such a scenario, should there be an emergency, if the pavement has cracked, or a hole has been created due to a pipe breaking, you won’t find anyone trying to resurface or pave anything, especially if the temperatures are below freezing or hovering some-where near there. Patch work will be tolerated until the weather conditions improve.

What is the best temperature to pave a driveway?

You ideally want to have your driveway paved when BOTH the GROUND and AIR temperatures are between 50 and 90 degrees.

The “perfect” temperature would average out to about 76-80 degrees, if you could, by some crazy chance, control the weather, or live in San Diego or Malibu, California.

When asphalt is paved outside of the aforementioned temperatures, undesirable outcomes to the quality of the driveway begin to take-play and in the long run; the driveway will deteriorate MUCH quicker than a driveway that was paved during proper temperatures.

Is it okay to pave over an existing driveway?

If your driveway was installed properly and you have gone through the trouble of maintaining it and keeping it in the best possible condition, you should be able to get 20 to 30 years out of it before it is time to resurface or replace the existing driveway material.

Many fear that once an existing asphalt surface is at the end of its lifespan and their driveway is in disrepair, they will have to dig everything up and start over with a new driveway entirely. This may not necessarily be the case.

There are several factors to determine if you can pave over your existing driveway or will have to replace it completely. If you pave over your existing driveway, the process is called an” OVERLAY”.

Doing so may add 10-15 years of additional life to your driveways surface, possibly saving you some significant money. However, to determine if paving over your existing driveway may be suitable for your property, it’s important to have the pro’s go over these factors with you.

Pre-Existing Damage: If you are considering paving over the existing asphalt, all the existing damage must be fixed first prior to resurfacing. It is very important to understand, if any of the damage of the asphalt goes all the way to the sub-base, the driveway may not be able to be resurfaced. It is very important to ensure you are dealing with a reputable company, so that you ensure you are getting the best quality job.
Overall Cost: The cost to resurface is around 65-75% of the overall cost for a new driveway installation, depending on all that needs to be done. It is only a good idea to pave over existing pavement if it is in fair to good condition. If the driveway is not structurally sound, it will be cheaper to reconstruct the driveway from the beginning than to pave over and keep repairing in the future. Paving over a driveway that is not in good condition, will cost the home-owner a lot of money down the road.
Drying and Set Time: When installing an overlay of asphalt, it takes time, patience and skill to have a quality finished product. Once it has been installed, it is absolutely critical to allow the asphalt time to set and cure specified by the contractor. Are you able to allow enough time for it to set, without exposing it to traffic?

Factors to consider before paving your driveway

Before taking on such a MAJOR task, you will want to take a step back from focusing solely on the driveway for a minute and really think about what your desired final product is and just make sure you haven’t overlooked anything.

This may be the opportunity you have been looking for to renovate or mix-up your properties aesthetics. Take some time and consider the following.

If you live in climates where the temperature can get really hot or cold, it is best to do your research before considering paving your driveway; there may be alternative materials available, it may not be possible to pave asphalt, but maybe concrete is an option.
Speak with more than one paving company. It’s important to interview several of the best companies that you can find. Between the different quotes on estimates and talking with the companies estimators you should get a general idea on the scope of the project.

Have you picked the right contractor? Are they suitable for the job? They have paved driveways before and not just commercial parking lots, right? You want to make sure that the company or contractor you have chosen to pave your driveway, does so often. Some companies only specialize in certain aspects of paving. You don’t want someone who paves interstates and highways to do your driveway, or vice versa.
If paving a new driveway installation, are all the proper steps being taken to ensure the sub-base is compact, level and the proper density? Check to ensure the proper materials are being used. Get it specified in your contract.
Do you need any permits or to follow any specific local regulations? There may be a home-owners association or some other governing body. Check before you do ANYTHING.
Has the contractor allowed for proper drainage and water run-off? You DO NOT want standing water on your driveway.
Will you be able to ensure that the driveway is NOT USED for the proper amount of time so that the asphalt can set and harden properly?
Cost of Maintenance and “Up-Keep.” Have you asked about what you need to perform periodically over the years to keep your investment protected? Some are not aware of the additional costs incurred down the road nor are many informed. Don’t be that guy or gal.

If your driveway is paved properly, the correct materials were used and you are able to keep up on the ever occasional, somewhat pricey maintenance, your drive way should ideally last you 20-30 years; this is according to the National Asphalt and Paving Associations website.

How to Choose the Right Paving Contractor

When selecting your local paving contractor and getting estimates, it is important to be vigilant in your search.

Choose a company that is reputable, has been established for some time and offers a guarantee on their work.

You don’t want to select the cheapest bidder for your job; doing so usually results in poor workmanship and low-grade materials. Usually, it’s not worth the risk. If you have to bundle up and deal with the freezing temperatures in the winter season, it’s best not to pave your driveway during those times, period. Think on it, make an appointment for sometime in the spring, after the last freeze, and turn your energy elsewhere. You’ve taken all the proper steps and figured out if you can or can’t pave your driveway in the winter.

October 26, 2020/by admin