Looking to have asphalt driveway installed at rental property in Atlanta, GA. Present driveway is broken concrete. Large tree roots and age are factors in present condition. Suggestions on installation requested.
Would you place asphalt over concete?
How thick should the asphalt be?
It will meet a concrete pad at car port. Should there be a turned down area for added thickness?
Should it be installed in layers or all at once?
What are the maintenance requirements?
What specific questions should I ask contractors to qualify for project?
Thanx
Replies
Tree roots... anyway to correct?
Over concrete... I wouldn't. Remove the bad and put in a compacted base of 304 aggregate. Your contractor should be able to give specifics for your area. Up here in the tundra of Ohio, we start with #2s, then 57s, then 304. Not sure if that is necessary in Georgia... thus, you should check what is appropriate for your region.
How thick? Depends on use and weight of vehicles that will be using it. Again, check your local requirements.
Not sure what you mean by "turned down area"... could you elaborate?
Layers? Again, refer to your contractor. He is the one providing the warranty. I have not had a situation that required the driveway to be layered... but that does not mean that certain situations may require it.
Maintenance. Sealing the blacktop after proper cure time. 6 - 12 months for an initial sealcote... then each year thereafter. Keep chemicals such as gasoline and oil off pavement. A good cleaning every now and then is a MUST.
Questions for contractor? Typical questions... insurance, Work comp coverage, BBB member and history (and/or angie's list), yrs in business, customer references (especially ones that have had an issue and have dealt with the company for a repair or replace), experience level of crews, etc. Specific questions... warranty, continuing education in their trade, EPA history, credit references... anything else you can get away with asking!
Asphalt contractors are like cantaloupes. You can find one that is REALLY good... and some are REALLY bad... but you need to use a smell test to ferret out the good from the bad, as they mostly look the same on the outside. Very rarely do you hear "that asphalt guy was GREAT"... you normally hear the nightmare stories. Do your due-diligence and check the company out... time well spent. The really good asphalt companies are normally the ones you hear nothing about.
Edited 2/28/2005 11:28 am ET by Rich from Columbus
Would you place asphalt over concete?
That's how the Interstates are built--but that's over unbroken concrete. As the previous post noted, rip it out and use a stable, compated, subgrade.
How thick should the asphalt be?
That depends. Probably 2" thick--that depends upon a lot of local conditions, too. The better the subsurface, the "thinner" the asphalt can be.
It will meet a concrete pad at car port. Should there be a turned down area for added thickness?
The joint at the carport should be an expansion joint, which the paver should install before paving. the area. Asphalt doesn't take to being "built up" on its edges like a concrete pad might--this is why the subsurface in so important. So, the answer is "no," you do not need a "turned down" "grade beam" at the carport (or shouldn't, anyway).
Should it be installed in layers or all at once?
Usually, residential driveways are in two passes, the base coat an the sealer coat. If it's a macadam driveway there will be a couple of more passes for the dressing gravel. (I'm a fan of macadam, personally, it uses less bithuminous product, and has a wider color range, which gives better design flexibility.)
What are the maintenance requirements?
Very few, which is why asphalt is widely used as a finished surface. Any cracks in the surface need to be sealed asap; any voids in the subsurface need filling soone than asap. (Cracks in the asphalt let water in to erode the subsurface, which makes a hole that makes more cracks making a bigger pothole . . . )
What specific questions should I ask contractors to qualify for project?
Ask to see local projects and to talk to previous customers. If the driveways don't look good, or the customers all hate the guy--well, you have to wonder about a contractor who gives out disgruntled cilents as references . . .
There are some questions that are good to ask (of both the contractor & the previous clients). How the handwork--the parts where the machines could not reach--was done, and how well. How to cope with existing structures and work--best driveway in the world not a good trade for a carport hit by the roller. The big question to ask in in the prep work. Asphalt depends upon its subsurface, the paving part generally takes less than half a day. The prep work can take a week. Ask about "haulage" fees, too.
Yep... now that capn mentions it... they do put down a rough coat prior to putting down a finish coat. My bad.
I was thinkin' of a driveway cap (resurface)... oops.
My bad.
You probably never got to drive the paving box, then . . . <g>
Yet another peice of equipment I can only operate in the bottom half of average . . . Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
Would you place asphalt over concete?
No
How thick should the asphalt be?
1 1/2
It will meet a concrete pad at car port. Should there be a turned down area for added thickness?
No
Should it be installed in layers or all at once?
One layer
What are the maintenance requirements?
have to be redone in three years
What specific questions should I ask contractors to qualify for project?
Do you own a paver.
asphalt is not a good choice for driveways. repour with concrete and forget about. asphalt only have a life span of a couple years.
if you are sell'n the house and want to make it look "nice" cap it and run... I hate to make sweep'n statements... but about anyone who will do a driveway in the south... usually has 10 addresses... none of them theirs... and they use to ride around in painted wagons tell'n your future for $5...
asphalt around here TN seems i pay about $40 a ton hot mix... and a ton ain't much but some of these guys can do 200sqft with it when it should do 20-40sf
without concrete or brick or metal edges it just won't last (we have alot of 100 degree days in the south) so it has to be "contained"
if you are keep'n the place rip it out and go back with concrete i bet there won't be but a few hundred dollar difference... and even a jack leg concrete guy won't try to do a 3/4" thick pour... where alot of asphalt guys will...
IF the guy shows up in a brand new 1 ton truck with a drag box and a 1 ton roller... and tells you anything like "we are doing a job down the road and...."
run like hell and check to see if the gold is still in your teeth...
pony
those gypsy asphalt crews are from around here. They was a stories on 60 minutes about them. there is about 15 familes that live on one acre in campers around here. gone in winter back in summer. Most gypsy have dump trucks loaded with chrome pulling a roller on a trailer. will knock on door saying they had some asphalt left over. Run, un like hell. they will take your money.
Initially concrete is more expensive....BUT
Concrete will last longer and have less maintenance time & $$!
No messy black driveway sealer every year! Costs at $2-3 /gal to cover about 50 sq.ft. ...if you do it!
After the "blacktop gypsies" comes the "driveway coating drifters"! They're cousins....sharing resources about fools and suckers.
The tree roots will work on both asphalt or concrete......cut the roots away knowing that they will attempt to grow back plus root removal/surgery may kill the tree.
My drive is through the woods....poured in sections of 1/3 to 1/2 yards so that they flex with the changes. If one area becomes "rooted" out of position or splits then it is not a big deal to repair same.
As far as the transition from drive to garage....the existing concrete at that apron area will have to be removed no matter what materials used or you will build up to a water trap!
...........Iron Helix
Thanx guys
I'm meeting a concrete contractor in the next few days.
Larry