Although most people do not have the tools or equipment to actually install an asphalt driveway there are plenty of actions you can take to prepare the drive for paving work. The driveway without exception will need to have a solid base underneath to pave upon. Soft or wet spots will be the most common reason behind failure of the pavement itself. Cracking or alligatoring means the ground struggles to carry the weight of the vehicles driven over it. Severe wet spots will cause the pavement to fail totally and breakup into large chunks and cause the complete driveway to fail.
There are on the market ground stabilization fabric materials that may be laid under stone sub base materials in wet areas to greatly help solidify the sub base itself. The material is rather expensive but may allow installing a driveway where it would not be possible other wise. If placed on the earth below the sub base and on the wet area, after the sub base material is properly compacted the bottom will support considerably more weight without and shifting or movement. Many masonry supply stores carry these materials. It will require two different people to roll out and handle the fabric since it generally will come in twelve foot wide rolls. An area excavating contractor may have some smaller rolls to sell. Give them a go as well.
Our first job is assure there are no wet spots either by installing some under drains, ditching along the edges to transport away surface water or actually replacing a number of the wet earth with stone or other suitable materials. Sub base materials could be small and large stones, DOT item 4 materials, crushed gravel or bank run sand and gravel perhaps. The material needs to drain well and can be compacted with mechanical compactors. Drainage piping could be twelve inch corrugated piping which when installed will help water quickly pass under a drive or smaller four inch perforated piping run under the driveway areas encased in stone to provide constant pathways for water drainage without soaking the soils themselves. Water will always take the path of least resistance so any drainage piping installed will help the ground to dry a lot more quickly than nature would allow by itself.
When you have solved any current or potential water problems it is possible to move on to the actual asphalt sub base itself. Most homeowner driveways have a four inch base of gravel shale or item 4 installed once the home was built. Over the passing years, car tires break the shale down into very small pieces which will not give a great sub base material. Adding new shale or stone may become a yearly maintenance project to keep up a smooth driving surface. As the stone or shale is pressed into the earth you are creating a thicker and thicker sub base. Depending upon whether you want your new drive to finish up higher or simply level than the adjoining lawns or gardens is how much sub base you want to have in the end. An average residential driveway is ten feet wide having an actual driving surface area of about eight feet wide. For paving, you will require a good ten foot surface to acquire a nine foot drive. Ten foot drive, eleven foot surface and so forth. You must have at the very least six inches of sub base beyond the actual finished paved width on both sides. The excess flat area is used to backup the asphalt and prevent the edges from crumbling. Remember also that asphalt and sub base may be just as much as six inches thick and can require extra topsoil to backup the edge of the sub base and asphalt.
By adding sub base material and keeping the top as level as possible, you will curently have the sub base built for the paving man. In many areas of the US a material called blue stone screenings is available. This material is really finely crushed granite and comes in three colors. Blue that may turn a darker blue when wet as time passes. Red which will also turn a lighter blue over time and yellow which stays yellow tinted forever. Once graded, this material becomes as hard as concrete on a driveway. I've seen blue stone screening surfaces snow plowed winter after winter without any plowing damage. A fresh dusting every few years maintains the crisp color and in-fills any depressions that may are suffering from. This makes a brilliant sub-base for finished asphalt.
Well prior to the time to have the driveway paved it's also advisable to install several conduits under the driveway for future landscape lighting. Dependant on along the drive, a crossing conduit every fifty feet roughly should suffice. If a location is very rocky or wet, add additional conduits now before paving. Adding them later will require cutting and patching the asphalt and will not only destroy the driveways appearance but provides a potential area for surface water infiltration. Conduit is cheap and when you never use it, it is best safe than sorry. Plastic (PVC) conduit is better than metal as it can last underground forever. Put caps on both ends in order to avoid any nasty surprises down the road when you uncover them. Clearly mark the ends with stakes but additionally draw just a little map and take measurements to each end from permanent objects in the yard. Once the grass grows back you will have no idea where the conduit ends are located. If you do this far ahead of the actual paving, your car traffic will compact the sub-base and can prevent any future sinking under the asphalt and thereby causing the asphalt to crack. You don't want to cross the brand new asphalt with anything down the road..
Call several paving contractors for prices. The nicest guy might not do the nicest job. Ensure you tell each one a similar things you want. If you change the description of the task, you will not get comparable prices. Jot down what you need done and then provide them with a copy. Ask for a written quote to ensure they included everything on your own lists. Will they pickup all spillage? Are they insured against yard damages to flowers or trees or your house? Just how long is driveway guaranteed? How thick with the rolled asphalt be when done? Loose rolled asphalt 3 inches thick will undoubtedly be only 1 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick when rolled. Ask questions before they do the work. Get yourself a written signed contract and a copy of their insurance policy. Be very careful with down payments. Should they insist on one, make certain it is not a significant portion of the contract value. Many times a deposit is paid and the contractor never shows again. Don't be suckered in by sob stories. Reputable contractors have open accounts at asphalt plants and do not need your money to buy the asphalt. If you sense something is awry move on to another person. Ask neighbors about his work or stop at someone's house who he's got just paved their driveway. https://huntingtonbeachasphaltpaving.com/ are pleased with their new yard and can glad to talk to you. Call the Better Business Bureau and check on the contractor as well. It may appear to be you are a little over cautious but after all it is your hard earned money.
After you have selected a contractor ask him/her if you have anything else you can do to save a few bucks on the purchase price. Maybe removing a pre-installed asphalt driveway apron or removing adjacent features such as signs or statues or other things that that he figured on doing for you. If you save fifty bucks on the purchase price, that is fifty dollars towards your next project.