cost of paved drive

[Robert_in_NY]

You can rent the equipment but it isn't worth it, you can do the prep work which usually requires removing the exsisting driveway down however far and then filling with a base material to where the blacktop will start then the pavers will come in and have it done in a couple hours and you do not have to clean everything up which is a lot of fun. The base will depend on your ground and who ever you have pave it will tell you what to do.

 

[radman]

Most asphalt is either in 3 or 4" thickness. 4" being better. You can also have "fine or coarse" mix with fine costing more. Can put down 3" of coarse and top with 1" of fine. Fine mix makes a smoother surface.
Very important to have the surface rolled after asphalt is laid. A rolled surface compacts and seals the surface and removes cracks. Cracks allow water to enter resulting in heaving and breakdown of the asphalt over time - end result holes. If you get a bid ask for the surface to be rolled also. Many asphalt companies will omit this.

 

[snowman]

The guy that did my driveway used the coarse mix, because I did not want a slick surface in the winter and because I figured it would be a little bit cheaper.

I thought that the coarse mix leave a rough surface, but it doesn't. I ride down it with my 2 year old in his plastic wagon and it's a very smooth ride.

You can see large "rocks" in the driveway, but they compacted it down so much that it doesn't affect the surfact.

I'll sealcoat it next year, and after putting that on, it'll probably look like it has the fine mix.

I'm not sure what you'd use the fine mix for other than aesthetics. In other words, I don't think you really need it if you want to save some money.

 

[gerard]

Around here they put the coarse (binder) down first then top it with the fine or finish coat. Optimal is to wait a season before putting down the top coat to permit settling/compaction, then top. The fine coat permits less water penetration which is what will break up a driveway over time. (Water permeates/freezes/ breaks up a little with each freeze-thaw cycle). If you look at just the binder there's a lot of space for water to penetrate so a thick sealer coat is a good idea periodically. Anything to prevent the water from penetrating. (Unless of course you live in Florida or anywhere else where there IS no freeze/that cycle).

Another option I haven't heard anyone talk about is oil penetration. About 1/2 the price of asphalt and the way they used to do roads before asphalt became so popular. After you have a good compacted base a liquid asphalt truck with a drip bar off the rear spreads a coat of the liquid asphalt down. Then a dump truck with a spreading box on the rear drives backwards, following the oil truck, and drops a uniform mix of fine stone which then gets rolled and pressed into the "oil". We did several parking lots at Syracuse University this way, several roads in my last development, and my neighbor does it for a living. (He did my house before we bought it) A lot cheaper and gives you a pretty smooth finish although not as smooth as asphalt. I think it was about $2/sq yd

 

[RPM]

Anyone know if asphalt pavers typically have a minimum square footage that they'll handle.

Reason is I want to broaden my drive by around 4 feet -- the rest is already paved -- and am curious whether an outfit would even consider doing it.

Patrick

 

[snowman]

My guess is that there's probably no minimum amount of square footage required.

It's probably more of a situation where they'll have to charge you a minimum price since, no matter what size the job, they'll need "x" pieces of equipment and "y" number of workers to run the equipment.

They may tell you it'll cost you a minimum of, say, $500, so probably the question to ask is whether or not the work that you need to be done is worth the $500.

 

[roysallis]

After reading this thread yesterday I was talking with a coworker and she just happened to bring up her experience with asphalt paving. Late one afternoon an asphalt paving company came by and offered her a great deal on some paving. They had just finished a job and had some material left over and it would be just enough to pave the entrance to their driveway. Their driveway is about 150 feet long and they were just going to do about 10 -15 feet where it met the county road. They price was great - $1 sq.ft. She agreed for them to do the work. One of her horses was having surgery and her husband was in the barn with the vet and she went in the house and was doing other things. She laid down to rest a while and fell asleep. Awhile later the pavers go to the barn and tell her husband they are through and want their pay - $1700. Her husband went up to the house, woke his wife, and asked her to write them a check. She was expecting it to only be a few hundred $ since it was just the entrance to the driveway. The pavers then said that they had enough material to pave the entire drive. She told them she did not have enough to pay them the entire amount but she would write a check they could cash now and also write one that they could cash in 30 days. Since they were very trusting souls they agreed. By this time it was well after dark and she seemed to think she got a good deal. The next day they she went out to see her beautiful new drive. Much to her surprise, and great disappointment, they had laid about an inch of asphalt. They had done no prep work and it was like a roller coaster. She immediately stopped payment on the other check and has not heard from the paving company since. All the kids around there love it, it is great for skateboarding. Moral is: beware of these 'good deals', know what you are getting, and deal with a reputable company.

 

[Bird]

Roy, that seems to be a common scam in this part of the country, so you do have to be careful. However, I've also known of a couple of times when legitimate companies have had surplus material and done good jobs. Just be sure you know who you're dealing with and what kind of work they'll do.

 

[dmccarty]

Roysallis,

Ditto on what Bird said. Its a big scam in NC as well as TX and I'm sure everywhere else. The guys just happen to have a bunch of leftover asphalt and will give you a good price. There was a company around here that was doing this to a bunch of business. They would just drop the asphalt on GRASS, sorta roll it, collect a check and scram from the scam...

Later....
Dan

 

[RPM]

That post about the scam brought back some memories. My father has a concrete drive and he gets a knock on the door at least once a year from asphalt companies wanting to put asphalt on top of it. They can never explain to him what added benefit that brings - the drive has been in for over 30 years and has no problem as it is!!

Patrick