New Driveway- 2 pavement options..help!!

[JBS71383]

Hello, this is my first post, and I obviously need some help deciding on what way I should go with paving my drivway...

I live in Northeastern PA and we do get some pretty bad winters here... not so bad the past few year though....Our home was built in 2004, the lot was previously a wooded lot. The driveway is completely flat as well..When I had the driveway cut in,(about 4500 sq. ft) I had them excavate down 18" from the surface of the ground, and had it filled with shale to provide a good base. Once the house was complete, I had 40 ton of modified laid down. About 2 years after that when the modified was packed in, I had 40 ton of 2b gravel spread down, and thats whats on there now..Since I now have 2 small children, they need a place to ride their bike, so we decided to get some quotes on paving the driveway..So far I have gotten 3 quotes from reputable contractors in my area, but they gave me two choices...

1. 2 1/2" of binder , with 1 1/2" ID2 wearing surface

or

2. A single 3" layer ..(One contractor said he would use an ID3 compound, (which I assume has some larger rocks mixed with smaller rock) and the other contractor is going to use just ID2 surface for the 3"

Now, all of the contractors, didnt push one or the other, but it seemed like they favored the single 3" layer.. The Two layer is 25% more money than the single layer as well..For my application for a standard driveway, what is best route to take... I dont want to cheap out and have the driveway fall apart, but I dont want to overspend if I dont have to... Looks arent as important to me as durability... Any help would be great.

 

[Soundguy]

looks like you already have a stabilized subgrade.. if the subgrade has not been damaged by washouts or large potholes, then the 3" 'black base' is not a bad idea.

the black base is cheaper as there is less work involved, less lifts, less materials, les compaction of the binder.. etc. etc.


soundguy

 

[gghb]

get a bid for the job not the tons of asphalt applied this encourges the contractor to get a good well conpacted subgrade so as not to use excess asphalt in my area we do 4" of well graded base rock typically 3"-. 2" of well graded 5/8 minus crushed rock with 2" overlay of ac not familier with the rock spec you listed but the subgrade should be small crushed rock with no larger rock within the top 4"an uneven depth of subgrade wil cause the ac to flex differently and shorten it's life


greg

with 40 years of road construction experience

 

[JBS71383]

looks like you already have a stabilized subgrade.. if the subgrade has not been damaged by washouts or large potholes, then the 3" 'black base' is not a bad idea.

the black base is cheaper as there is less work involved, less lifts, less materials, les compaction of the binder.. etc. etc.


soundguy

Yes, I believe the sub base should be stabilized by now after 7 years of freeze/thaw cycles and traffic ...There are no wash outs or potholes in the drive way either.. Its held up very well, just a few thin spots where the 2b gets pushed around when tires turn, other than that its in great shape..

If I do go with the single 3" , which one is better??? The ID2 mix is what we use for a top coat around here, with the smaller rocks and pieces and they are basically just going to put on a 3" thick top coat over the whole thing

The ID3 mix here is a mixture of the small rocks from the ID2, but mixed in with larger rocks as well, so it has bit rougher texture, with larger stones showing through...

 

[Soundguy]

get a bid for the job not the tons of asphalt applied this encourges the contractor to get a good well conpacted subgrade so as not to use excess asphalt in my area we do 4" of well graded base rock typically 3"-. 2" of well graded 5/8 minus crushed rock with 2" overlay of ac not familier with the rock spec you listed but the subgrade should be small crushed rock with no larger rock within the top 4"an uneven depth of subgrade wil cause the ac to flex differently and shorten it's life


greg

with 40 years of road construction experience

not saying not to get a bid on the job as a total, however asphalt overruns can be calculated in place with borings...

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

Yes, I believe the sub base should be stabilized by now after 7 years of freeze/thaw cycles and traffic ...There are no wash outs or potholes in the drive way either.. Its held up very well, just a few thin spots where the 2b gets pushed around when tires turn, other than that its in great shape..

If I do go with the single 3" , which one is better??? The ID2 mix is what we use for a top coat around here, with the smaller rocks and pieces and they are basically just going to put on a 3" thick top coat over the whole thing

The ID3 mix here is a mixture of the small rocks from the ID2, but mixed in with larger rocks as well, so it has bit rougher texture, with larger stones showing through...

different regions have different specifications and names for their asphalt.

down here in florida, that equates to base course and surface course.

If you are going to have hevy traffic with the potential to rut the asphalt.. I'd go base. if automotive traffic.. surface.

We also do slag roads down here which is essentially small and large gravesls, laid down in lifts with tar binder.. then sanded and swept, with surface being small chip seal sized gravel, more bituminous mix, and then sanding, rolling with a rubber tire roller.. etc. Makes a very durable road at much less cost than cooked prepaired asphalt... no asphalt machine needed to lay it either.. only a liquid asphalt distribuitor, which will likely be needed for either of your options, and a spreader truck.. which can dump gravel or sand.

for a job with an existing subgrade, slag and a black base are going to be price competitive, with black base going down a lil faster, and possibly less labor cost, but more material cost, with the slag havding a lil mre hand work and time, but cheaper material cost.

black base will likely hold up, load bering wise, better than the slag, in your application.. IMHO..

caveat.. I havn't seen the sitework drawings for your project nor looked at soil borings.. etc.. etc.. and have not inspected the site.

soundguy

 

[dieselscout80]

Since I now have 2 small children, they need a place to ride their bike, so we decided to get some quotes on paving the driveway.

Whats wrong with learning on gravel thats how I had to do it.

I do understand that pavement is much better.

 

[dodge man]

Your situation sounds similar to where I was about 10 years ago. The thicker ashpalt will hold up better, but at more cost. Unless you have money to burn, I'd go with the thinner amount. As far as what type, they used surface on mine, I wish I could remember how much, but I think it was around 3 inches. As far as durability goes, I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference if you seal it every couple of years.

Mine is about 10 years old, and is just now starting to break up. I will probably have to add another layer in the next year or two. Its not cheap, but when I did it, my kids were younger and I think it was a great improvement. It also keeps the house cleaner, and its not so messy when it rains or snows. Its really easy for snow removal.

 

[JBS71383]

Whats wrong with learning on gravel thats how I had to do it.

I do understand that pavement is much better.

haha... I hear ya..I grew up on a dirt road, so I had alot of dirt and rocks infused in my knees...lol

My kids are just starting the tri-cycle stage now, and all they can ride on is about 30' of sidewalk.. I live out in the country, so we dont have any sidewalks to ride on besides what is from the house to the driveway..lol

I dont mind the gravel driveway, although snow removal really sucks!!

 

[JBS71383]

Your situation sounds similar to where I was about 10 years ago. The thicker ashpalt will hold up better, but at more cost. Unless you have money to burn, I'd go with the thinner amount. As far as what type, they used surface on mine, I wish I could remember how much, but I think it was around 3 inches. As far as durability goes, I'm not sure it makes a lot of difference if you seal it every couple of years.

Mine is about 10 years old, and is just now starting to break up. I will probably have to add another layer in the next year or two. Its not cheap, but when I did it, my kids were younger and I think it was a great improvement. It also keeps the house cleaner, and its not so messy when it rains or snows. Its really easy for snow removal.

Yeah I know its not cheap..lol... I almost fell over when I got the estimate for the 2 layer ... The single 3" layer is about $2,000 cheaper.. Luckily our house doesnt get dirty from the driveway,since the stone is a bit larger thats on it.. When we had just modified down, that was a mess!!