I had my driveway done about 8 years ago and they dug out all the old material and put down a base of stone and stone dust. Then put down a 3" base coat of bituminous concrete. This is the only material that I have had for the last 8 years. I have had numerous dump trucks, excavators, bulldozers, oil trucks, trash trucks, etc. over the driveway and it still is intact. I did have some areas that were just dug out, because of the harshly cold winters, boulders have been pushed up and have caused a high spot on the driveway. These boulders must be removed before the final coat is being put down next month. To do the final coat, they are going to spread a "glue" and then put down a leveling course. The it will be rolled and a final 1 1/2" top coat is going to be put down. The asphalt (bituminous concrete) that the contractor that I use uses is made up to MA State formula for highway use. Different contractors spec the formula depending on use and to keep the cost down. I was just talking to the contractor about this a couple of days ago. He told me that asphalt is running about $35 - $43 per ton, depending on where he purchases it. He also commented that the company that supplied my original material was not producing the quality product that they once did. It was his opinion that they were using about 2 gallons less asphalt per ton. He also told me that some of the manufacturers were putting in a larger percentage of "old road grindings" to cheapen the mixture. He is very particular about the mix and his work shows it. Remember it is better to pay more initially than to save a few dollars and have a job that doesn't last. I feel that doing it my way.... having the base coat done and waiting a couple of years to put down the top coat is best. We now know what rocks/boulders would be the problem and have eliminated them. When the original base coat was done, there was no signs of any of these rocks. They must have been down deep, because they spent 2 days just preparing the "bed" of the driveway before they put down the base coat.
I would ask for references of jobs that were done a few years back. All driveways look good when they are new. Also ask about the material specification and how many tons of material that they plan on using. Try to get a "state specification mix" if at all possible. Also, don't worry about the sides. All you have to do is back fill the sides with loam and plant the grass. Once the loam is packed down and grass growing the sides will be supported. It is important that water doesn't infiltrate under the driveway, so make sure that any source of water is diverted. I wouldn't consider doing any part of the job. That is what the contractor is being paid for and in reality, you won't save much doing any of the grading yourself and if the driveway should fail, it will be blamed on what work you have performed. I would do a Google search and learn as much as possible about the process and then ask the questions of the contractors. The better educated you are, the better a job you can expect because of that knowledge. Call the asphalt plant and see who they recommend. Call the town and ask who does their work. Just don't deal with the guy that has one truck and a paver that is here today and gone tomorrow. There are a lot of good contractors out there, you just have to find them.
