Although a lot of people do not have the various tools or equipment to actually install an asphalt driveway there are many things you can do to get ready the drive for paving work. The driveway without exception will need to have a good 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 is unable 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 available today ground stabilization fabric materials that may be laid under stone sub base materials in wet areas to help solidify the sub base itself. The material is rather expensive but may allow installing a driveway where it could not be possible other wise. If placed directly on the planet earth below the sub base and on the wet area, after the sub base material is properly compacted the bottom will support a great deal more weight without and shifting or movement. Many masonry supply stores carry these materials. It will require two people to roll out and handle the fabric as it generally comes in twelve foot wide rolls. A local excavating contractor could 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 across the edges to carry away surface water or actually replacing a number of the wet earth with stone or other suitable materials. Sub base materials could possibly be small and large stones, DOT item 4 materials, crushed gravel or bank run sand and gravel perhaps. The material must drain well and will be compacted with mechanical compactors. Drainage piping could possibly be twelve inch corrugated piping which when installed can help water quickly pass under a drive or smaller four inch perforated piping run beneath 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 you can move on to the specific asphalt sub base itself. Most homeowner driveways have a four inch base of gravel shale or item 4 installed when the home was built. Over the passing years, car tires break the shale into very small pieces which will not give a great sub base material. Adding new shale or stone can become a yearly maintenance project to keep a smooth driving surface. Because the stone or shale is pressed into the earth you are developing a thicker and thicker sub base. Dependant on whether you want your new drive to complete up higher or perhaps level than the adjoining lawns or gardens is just how much sub base you need to have in the end. A typical residential driveway is ten feet wide with an actual driving surface around eight feet wide. For paving, you will require a solid ten foot surface to obtain a nine foot drive. Ten foot drive, eleven foot surface and so on. You must have at 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 stop the edges from crumbling. Remember also that asphalt and sub base could be up to six inches thick and will require extra topsoil to backup the edge of the sub base and asphalt.
By adding https://huntingtonbeachasphaltpaving.com/ and keeping the top as level as you possibly can, you will curently have the sub base built for the paving man. In lots of areas of the united states a material called blue stone screenings can be acquired. This material is in fact finely crushed granite and will come in three colors. Blue that may turn a darker blue when wet as time passes. Red which will also turn a lighter blue as time passes 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 the plowing damage. A fresh dusting every couple of years maintains the crisp color and in-fills any depressions that may have developed. This makes a brilliant sub-base for finished asphalt.
Well prior to the time and energy to have the driveway paved you should also install several conduits beneath the driveway for future landscape lighting. Dependant on along the drive, a crossing conduit every fifty feet or so should suffice. If a location is quite rocky or wet, add additional conduits now before paving. Adding them later will demand cutting and patching the asphalt and can not merely destroy the driveways appearance but will provide a potential area for surface water infiltration. Conduit is cheap and if you never use it, it is better safe than sorry. Plastic (PVC) conduit is preferable to metal as it will 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 also draw just a little map and take measurements to each end from permanent objects in the yard. After the grass grows back you will have no idea where the conduit ends are located. If you do this far prior to 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 have to cross the brand new asphalt with anything later on..
Call several paving contractors for prices. The nicest guy might not do the nicest job. Make sure you tell each one a similar things you want. If you change the description of the work, you will not get comparable prices. Write down what you want done and then give them a copy. Require a written quote to be sure they included everything on your own lists. Will they pickup all spillage? Are they insured against yard damages to flowers or trees or your home? 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 task. Get a written signed contract and a copy of these insurance policy. Be very careful with down payments. If they insist on one, make sure it is not a significant part of the contract value. Often a down payment 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 amiss move on to someone else. Ask neighbors about his work or stop at someone's house who he has just paved their driveway. Many people are pleased with their new yard and can glad to speak to you. Call the Better Business Bureau and check on the contractor aswell. It may sound like you are a little over cautious but in the end it is your dollars.
When you have selected a contractor ask him/her if you have anything else that can be done to save several bucks on the purchase price. Maybe removing a pre-installed asphalt driveway apron or removing adjacent features such as for example signs or statues or other things that he figured on doing for you personally. If you save fifty bucks on the purchase price, that is fifty dollars towards your next project.