FAQ

When you are done paving, is asphalt hard and ready to use?

Asphalt is made of liquid tar, sand and gravel. Depending on the grade of asphalt and the time of the year that it is done, it makes a big difference. We use HL3 fine grade for driveways, from our stand point it is the best asphalt, it has more stones and less fine materials, making it more resistant to tire marking in hot weather. In the very hot days of summer old asphalt will be warmed up to approximately 140f and when we finish rolling on new asphalt the temperature will be approximately 100-115f therefor making asphalt soft on top and easy to mark. Staying off the asphalt will vary from 3-14 days depending on the time of the year.

Is the gravel base important?

The gravel base is the most important part of your driveway. A good base will support your vehicle  It does not matter if it is asphalt or interlock, you need at least 16″ of gravel. Some companies will say 8-10″ inches is enough, but these are specs for walkways. When spring comes along and the frost comes out your sub base which is usually clay is saturated with water. Your clay becomes soft and almost like jello. If your gravel is not proper this is the time where asphalt or interlock will move and crack. You cannot prevent frost movement. When we dig a new base we dig 18″ , install a geotextile fabric to prevent clay and gravel from mixing and then install and compact 10″ of 2″ stone. The last step is installing and compacting 6″ of GA with a diesel vibrating plate or a roller in bigger areas and topping everything with 2″ of rolled compacted asphalt.

Do I need a new base?

We do not have x-ray vision but by looking at your existing driveway we can get a good idea if it is proper or not. We will always give you 2 estimates. The first one will be to remove old asphalt, regrade gravel, re-compact and repave (“4 R’s”). The second will be a full excavation, but there will be no surprises for the final invoice and you may choose to go with a full excavation because you are then certain of the work being done the right way.

Is there any warranty on cracks?

Unfortunately we CANNOT warranty cracks due to all variables of the base moving. Asphalt will crack when there is movement in the base,when frost comes out in early spring , that is probably the worst time in the year for it to happen.There is also a poor gravel base situation where we move with the equipment and there is movement, when paving, if this occurs ,the asphalt will crack.In the summer days, when we get a very dry and warm period, the sub base ,usually clay will shrink and therefore making a hollow space for the gravel the move down creating some movement and creating a small crack. These are all types of movement that we cannot control. If there was a way of doing the work that would prevent the asphalt from cracking we would definitely do it, and the city would do the same we are positive. Please be assured that If and when these problem arise you may contact us and we will go and assess the situation and see if there is something we can do, we will be happy to do it.