Asphalt Overlay
Parking lot and driveway resurfacing and overlays first begin by
cleaning the existing pavement surface. Removing lose and
unstable asphalt pieces and using gas powered blowers to remove
any debris. New asphalt is placed into low lying areas to level
the existing surface. Tackcoat is then sprayed on the entire
surface which acts as an adhesive while bonding the new asphalt
to the old asphalt. Two inches of new asphalt pavement is
applied with a mechanical spreader and compacted with a heavy
roller.
Excavation and New Construction
Asphalt excavation and new construction first begins by removing
the existing asphalt or ground. The existing rock base and
subgrade under the old asphalt must be inspected to ensure
property stability. Normally additional inch minus rock is added
and properly compacted prior to paving. New construction usually
calls for a minimum of six inches of inch minus in driveways and
parking lots depending on traffic loads. Three inches of new
asphalt is applied with a mechanical spreader and compacted with
a heavy roller. Parking lots with heavy traffic may require two
lifts of new asphalt with one lift of Type X-Mix and two inches
of surface mix pavement.
Asphalt Patching Repairs
Repairing and patching old asphalt is done either by surfacing
patching or saw cutting and removing the existing pavement.
Surface patching is done by removing the lose asphalt and
applying tackcoat to the old asphalt prior paving. Saw cut
repairs are done by cutting out an area of asphalt and removing
all the asphalt down to the existing rock base. New inch minus
rock is added as needed and compacted prior to installing the
new full depth asphalt. Either surface patching or saw cutting,
the edges of the patches are sealed with an asphalt primer.
Typically surface patches last of three years and saw cut
patching should last 10 - 12 years.
Parking Lot and Driveway Sealcoating
Commercial parking lots or residential driveway sealing is first
started by cleaning and removing all dirt and lose debris from
the existing asphalt surface. Crackfiller is then applied
usually to cracks a quarter inch or more. This is done by either
a liquid crackfiller or a heated rubberized filler. Typically
all driveways are sealed with a squeegee while parking lots are
sealed using a sprayer. Parking lots are
first trimmed out with a squeegee around sidewalks and concrete
to prevent over spray from the sprayer. Typically asphalt
sealing is done once every three years and on occasions is
necessary to require two coats of sealer on a very oxidized
parking lot.
Asphalt and Sealcoating Cost
The cost of asphalt is a moving target based on many different
factors. Number one is price per ton of asphalt set by the
asphalt plants based on the price of oil. The price per gallon
of sealer is also based on petroleum prices. When a potential customer
calls to get a ballpark price based on a square yard number,
what the asphalt estimator needs to know is the current surface
condition and how much cleaning is required. Will his equipment
be able to get easy access to the job site, and if not, how much
hand work will be necessary to complete the job.
Will the paving company have to park the equipment on a busy
street requiring additional labor for traffic control.
