LET'S TAKE CARE OF OUR ASPHALT DRIVEWAY
Residential Asphalt Driveway in Ogden, UT

Assuming that you’ve got the residential asphalt driveway with a strong foundation 3 inches of road base for every inch of asphalt the next thing you need to be aware of is maintenance. We are talking about crack seal and seal coat. It’s not a hard procedure just a messy one. If your DYI guy I would call around to an industrial manufacturer of sealcoat and see if you can rent a buggy. The industrial strength sealcoat will last for two to three years before an additional application. The big box stores have seal coat material in five-gallon buckets, buy squeegee a pair of boots and you’re set. However, plan on doing that every two years.

Not sure you want to be the DYI guy, a small driveway will take us a couple of hours, a large driveway will take us half a day. That involves cleaning out cracks, crack sealing with a hot rubber, and applying two coats of Industrial strength sealcoat.  

LET'S BUILD A NEW ASPHALT DRIVEWAY

Many people come to us for their residential asphalt driveway paving solutions. That’s what we do best. The driveway is usually the first area of your home that people will see it leads to your palace. So, it makes sense that you want it to look as sharp as possible. All the driveways that we construct are more than capable of handling the typical residential traffic a cars trucks RV’s etc.

It’s possible and also expected to have an asphalt driveway last up to 25 to 30 years. However, the preparation and foundation of that driveway camp ignore it. A strong base is the key. Using the right soil type and grading that allows draining.

Your first sealcoat will applied three to nine months after your asphalt driveway has been installed.

MY ASPHALT DRIVEWAY IS A PIECE OF WORK. I'M READY FOR A NEW ONE!
Asphalt Driveway Process

Does your residential asphalt driveway need to be replaced or repaired? Replaced means a rip out and replace or R&R. Sometimes if your base has failed, see below, and R&R is the right path. If you’ve taken care of your driveway and it’s just old you may be able to use some of driveway as a base and not disturb the road existing base that has been down there for years. This procedure is called a mill and overlay.  And there will be times, when you can just apply an overlay with minimal R&R work around the garage entrance, sidewalks, etc.  Typically, we want to see pictures or make a trip and evaluate the condition ourselves.   

HERE ARE THREE REASONS WHY YOUR DRIVEWAY COULD BE IN NEED OF A REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT

When you’re deciding which path to take you must ask yourself what went wrong? let’s try to diagnose what the situation really is. Truthfully pictures won’t lie. 

  • Ask yourself, did you seal coat and crack seal every 2 to 3 years?  Or did you ignore your driveway? We all do it, don’t beat yourself up too bad.   
  • Did your contractor cut corners when they installed your pavement?  Do you have the right foundation / road base? Asphalt blowouts?  That mean the road base is not compacting evenly.  Up top on the surface start to fall apart.  Not having six inches of road base, distributed evenly and compacted under your asphalt causes cracks, depression, pools of water on the surface, larger cracks and inevitable pothole.  Reflecting exactly the failure that occurred under the surface. 
  • Or your driveway could just be 30 years old. 
Asphalt application to a driveway in Ogden, UT

*Beware of the guy who knocks on your door and says they have a truck full of “hot asphalt”, that they need to sell cheap. Your driveway is not ready. Even if you have been driving on it for 10 years. It is compact for sure but it’s not graded or crowned. You know for a fact that there is 10 or 12 inches of road base, good job but it is not ready.

If you let them pave it, you will have some asphalt that is 3 inches thick and some asphalt that is 6 inches thick. Filling in some of those holes. And when they try to roll it will compact differently. And the driveway does not crowned so the water won’t drain off it. Water seeps in, eventual you will have low and high spots where water will pool and freeze, then the big cracks and the blowouts.

You are not saving any money and you will regret it. You will try to find them to get your money back, and they will already be halfway through Kansas. True story from a sweet lady in Huntsville, UT.

LET'S CONNECT

At Asphalt-Experts, we solve asphalt problems fast with expertise and great communication. Reach out to us and let’s see if we are a fit.