I’m in the process of getting bids to replace the asphalt driveway at my house. Are there guidelines for the preparation and the thickness of each layer? I’m not too familiar with the process and want to make sure it’s not a low end job.
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I remember a good discussion on this in the past. Maybe give the search engine here a try while waiting for responses.
Around here, all blacktop driveways are done with at least 6" of compacted road gravel as a base and then one layer of asphalt about 2" thick.
The base work is especially important. There is also a lot of difference between batches of asphalt. The only way to control that is to deal with a well known reputable supplier. There are a lot of corners cut in the asphalt business!
The mention of corner cutting brings to mind a converation I had with a contractor that I had 20+ years ago when he replaced the driveway at my former house. (I've been trying to get in touch with him to do this driveway...maybe I live too far). I asked him what his specialty was..new homes or redoes like mine. He said definitely not new homes because the general contractors typicaly did not pay enough for a good job and he was unwilling to do substandard work. The big problem with my current driveway which is 21 years old is a depression that has been sinking deeper over the years. My guess is that they left a tree stump when the original driveway wa done and which has slowly rotted. I need to make sure that whoever does the work takes care of that area and uses the correct materials and methods so that I don't have a problem as soon as my check clears.
I hear you on the stump.I removed a badly cracked and heaved concrete drive, widened it and put in a 8 inch gravel base (called #1 clear around here, road base) with a 2 inch beauty gravel top last year.I knew enough to ask the excavator to remove organic soil down to undisturbed soil and we discovered the old garbage pit from the build back in the 70's. Took two dump trucks of pit run to fill that hole to where the #1 could run level. Stumps, off cuts, insulation, flash, shingles...looked like the remains from two or three houses.No coffee cups tho, they didn't have Starbucks or Hortons back then.Thank goodness I live in a small town, finding someone to rush over with a proper compactor/roller and pack it all was easy enough to do. All I had was a walk behind thumper.You could land a 747 on it now...if it was a bit longer.
One of the subs was kind enough to flush his paper coffee cup down one of the toilets...not sure what will be found under the driveway. It didn't get too far and the plumber had to come back and fish it out. I had a summer job working for a masonry contractor and he had me throw all the junk in the hole before they poured the concrete. I didn't realize then what was going to happen years down the road. I live outside of Boston where the 14 billion dollar 'big dig' happened. There are leaks inthe tunnel walls and they're finding all sorts of trash that guys threw in before the concrete was poured.
The quote reads "DIG OUT EXISTING AREA, INSTALL PROCESSED MATERIAL, ROLL AND COMPACT, INSTALL 2 IN. BASE COAT & 2 IN. TOP COAT ASPHALT". Is this good, bad or in the middle?
Doesn't specify how much base will be used.
I had mine done last year and had specified 6" of base, then the first run of asphalt was laid.
Finish coat will be next year after we have run the cars over it for 2 years!
Is a 6" Base standard? In a redo do they typically remove any old base and replace or just start with the existing base?
No, it is not a standard. My experience is the companies selling the paving will do whatever they can get away with!
Where can I get specs to give to the contractor? Do towns have code specs for asphalt driveways?
Not that I know of.
Contact MassDOT. Or just specify in the bid document that you give the contractor that he is to built to MassDOT specs."Put your creed in your deed." Emerson
"When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it." T. Roosevelt
when an asphalt guy says "2"", he means 2" of uncompacted asphalt. after compaction your left with a whopping 1 1/2" of asphalt. the right way to do an asphalt driveway is 4" to 6" of well compacted CA6 (3/4" stone with fines in it), 2" of binder asphalt (binder is an asphalt that has 3/4" aggergate), 2" of surface asphalt, make sure they use "tack" between the two lifts (tack is an asphalt based adhesive). this will give you about 3" total of asphalt. the only problem with this, it's expensive to do it this way. around chicago it will run you about $5 or $6 per foot. you can do concrete for that price.
The quote reads "DIG OUT EXISTING AREA, INSTALL PROCESSED MATERIAL, ROLL AND COMPACT, INSTALL 2 IN. BASE COAT & 2 IN. TOP COAT ASPHALT". Is this good, bad or in the middle?
that sound typical, (processed material = grindings, witch is ok). what price did you get per foot?
Driveway is 25 X 40. $3500 to remove stump, and re-asphalt. $3.50 / foot.
That's about what it costs around here (central NJ).
Jeff
that sounds like a good price (at least around here). I'd keep an eye on them they day they pave. black toppers have a reputation of being con artist and taking short cuts.
you can do concrete for that price.
aha, another vote for DIY concrete <G>
I perferred a concrete drive, but, couldn't get the help, and one person laying concrete is a no,no!
and one person laying concrete is a no,no!
Did 14 yards worth of 4" driveway in one day by myself with no power trowel in 1992 when I was still under 50 YO, still took me nearly a week to recover<G>
....
not even counting the alkalai burn on one knee where the kneepad soaked thru<G>
Did 14 yards worth of 4" driveway in one day by myself with no power trowel in 1992 when I was still under 50 YO, still took me nearly a week to recove>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I have moved enough concrete to know what the outcome would be!>G<
yes you can, around here i can do 4" of concrete and 2" of stone for $5 or $6 a foot and make a good buck. depending on the footage.
Sort of related - make sure you take the day off and watch every single step of the project.
My driveway - had a few changes and several additional things done. The owner of the company was the guy that came out and I discussed all this with. Got the quote and said ok.
BY ACCIDENT I took the day off and thank god. The owner never showed up to the job but his crew did. Right before they started laying the new driveway I had to halt the work because EVERY single additional thing was not done. Every single one. Had to get the guy out there so he could instruct his crew. I lucked out. The driveway came out perfect.
Good tip. I figured it might be a good idea to be around. My wife said 'why'? I'll show her your post.
Around here the preferred base is DGA (Dense Graded Aggregate) or 'quarry process' which compacts better than 3/4" clean stone.
Jeff
Edited 10/13/2009 8:26 am ET by Jeff_Clarke
Jimmiem, here are some question to help you with your project.
1. Is the existing asphalt cracked up or alligatored? Not just cracks, but oval or round areas with cracks radiating throughout an area causing a depressed area in the asphalt surface?
2. Other than the spot where the stump was, are there any other depressions in the surface?
3. Has the surface been maintained with asphalt sealers to fill in the cracks and minimize the ravelling of the aggregate?
If you answer no to #1 and #2 and yes to #3, than you should consider just doing an overlay to the existing asphalt driveway after doing the appropriate repairs to the suspected stump area. In other words, if the gravel base hasn't been compromised, why tear it out? And if you have a good existing surface, don't screw with it. The existing asphalt driveway will only make the bearing capacity greater with an overlay. Just make sure that the contractor does a good tack coat prior to placement of the new asphalt. And an overlay of 1.5" of compacted asphalt will give you driveway that will last another 20+ years.
For the driveway approach and garage aprons, you will have to have these areas dug out to receive new asphalt to match the existing grades. DO NOT allow the contractor to feather asphalt. This is a bad practice. And it will look bad in time.
Regarding the stump area, the contractor should dig out all organic materials and replace with crushed rock material. I am not familiar with the MassDots specs, but you should be able to find a crushed rock material that is equivalent to the base couse material. I would recommend a 5/8" minus crushed rock.
For typical residential driveway, 6" of base and 1.5" of asphalt is the minimum, but this is always dependent upon the load, drainage, and existing soils conditions. If you are driving home a semi truck, had poor drainage and clay soils, I would recommend differently.
For asphalt specs, again refer to MassDot since they are the gorilla in the market. What they spec out is usually the same thing that the cities and county will spec out as well. And asphalt plant will not screw around with a Job Mix Formula for a small contractor.
I don't know MassDots specs, but you should be looking for a mix that is 5/8" maximum on the aggregate size. Too large of an aggregate mix leaves a lot of voids, and doesn't always compact down as well. 3/8" give you a great smooth surface, but isn't as durable over the long term as a 3/4" aggregate.
Best of luck.
I think I can say, and say with pride that we have some legislatures that bring higher prices than any in the world. - Mark Twain
Thank you for your detailed reply. Based on your pointers it looks like a redo is in order. Besides the tree stump depression there are depressions from car tires and humps that may be tree roots. Also, the asphalt continues to the side of the garage where there are steps leading to the house and this area has settled so much that I wound up with an extra step when the stairs were redone a few years ago after settling too much. Needless to say not the builder's finest hour. Live and learn. It's interesting to see the quality of work and materials differences of the houses in the neighborhood that were done by different builders.