Any paving contractors out there? Need some advice

vtsnowedin · Mar 20, 2015

jmc said:
A little off topic, sorry, but are paving prices down due to lower oil prices? I've got a big job that needs it, at some time.

They should be this summer as long as crude prices don't shoot up between now and then. Asphalt cement is the dregs at the bottom of the barrel of crude oil after everything else is skimmed off. If there was no use for it they would have to pay to bury it somewhere, but as it makes excellent flexible pavement they have no trouble selling it for the same price as gasoline or diesel fuel.

Buppies · Mar 20, 2015

No price is stable not up or down over past year and a half locally and have been advised that price will not go down for the upcoming summer. As we have gotten better and better at our refining processes the byproduct is nonexistent. What used to be a single grade cement ie 30W is now 10W30 and downward pricing pressure not as great. Also stone which is apart of asphalt goes up each year

jmc · Mar 22, 2015

Thank you for the input, vtsnowedin and Buppies.

At this latitude, asphalt plants shut down in the winter so I suspect there is a surge in the paving business as soon as they reopen in the spring. Would that be a time to avoid, from a cost standpoint, if possible?

vtsnowedin · Mar 22, 2015

It tends to start slow then get busy as it gets warmer mid summer and projects that broke ground in the spring get ready for pavement. When you get a price quote they will tell you when they can do it. Just be sure the road has all the frost out of it and has had a chance to dry out from the winter.

Buppies · Mar 22, 2015

No difference as far as I'm concerned. I think you would get a better job in the May June time frame as far as temperatures are concerned

Buppies · Mar 22, 2015

And you are welcome anything I can do to help

Tomtint · Mar 22, 2015

I have a 1000 foot long driveway that I would love to pave. Also have a 300 foot section with a 70x45 section that is already base paved 1". This winter has beat the crap out of my paved part. I don't think it will last another winter. It has several cracks that I'm concerned about laying a top coat over.

vtsnowedin · Mar 22, 2015

Tomtint said:
I have a 1000 foot long driveway that I would love to pave. Also have a 300 foot section with a 70x45 section that is already base paved 1". This winter has beat the crap out of my paved part. I don't think it will last another winter. It has several cracks that I'm concerned about laying a top coat over.

Just a matter of how deep your check book is.

Without pictures and a more specific question that is about all that can be said.

Tomtint · Mar 23, 2015

vtsnowedin said:
Just a matter of how deep your check book is. Without pictures and a more specific question that is about all that can be said.

No real specific question, much of what I was thinking has been clarified in earlier posts in this thread. I do remember getting estimates on paving it when Diesel was almost 5.00 per gal. And a couple of the guys quoting it blamed the high cost on the price of fuel. We ended up paving what's in front of the garage and the immediate entrance to the house, in a attempt to minimize dirt and dust into the house. We also have a5-6" base of reprocessed asphalt under the 3/4" binder coat which has cracked in several spots. We had planned to pave the 1000 foot that is now gravel this year, but I think I'm going to have to spend the money to fix what we have now before it gets to bad.

vtsnowedin · Mar 23, 2015

Tomtint said:
No real specific question, much of what I was thinking has been clarified in earlier posts in this thread. I do remember getting estimates on paving it when Diesel was almost 5.00 per gal. And a couple of the guys quoting it blamed the high cost on the price of fuel. We ended up paving what's in front of the garage and the immediate entrance to the house, in a attempt to minimize dirt and dust into the house. We also have a5-6" base of reprocessed asphalt under the 3/4" binder coat which has cracked in several spots. We had planned to pave the 1000 foot that is now gravel this year, but I think I'm going to have to spend the money to fix what we have now before it gets to bad.

That 6"" base of RAP will not work as well as you might think. If they had added a good dose of 1 1/2" stone to it it would hold up much better. As is, it is too fine and gets squishy when lot .