Although most people do not have the various tools or equipment to really install an asphalt driveway there are many things you can do to prepare 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 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 available today 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 fairly expensive but may allow installing a driveway where it would not be possible other wise. If placed on the planet earth below the sub base and on the wet area, after the sub base material is properly compacted the ground will support a great deal 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 comes in twelve foot wide rolls. A local excavating contractor could have some smaller rolls to market. Give them a try as well.
Our first job is assure you can find no wet spots either by installing some under drains, ditching along the edges to carry away surface water or actually replacing some 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 will be compacted with mechanical compactors. Drainage piping could be twelve inch corrugated piping which when installed can 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 road of least resistance so any drainage piping installed will help the bottom to dry a lot more quickly than nature allows by itself.
Once you have solved any current or potential water problems it is possible to 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. On 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 a smooth driving surface. Because the stone or shale is pressed in to the earth you are developing a thicker and thicker sub base. Depending upon whether you want your new drive to complete up higher or simply level than the adjoining lawns or gardens is just how much sub base you would like to have in the end. paver stones near me is ten feet wide having an actual driving surface of about eight feet wide. For paving, you will need a solid ten foot surface to acquire a nine foot drive. Ten foot drive, eleven foot surface and so forth. You need to have at least six inches of sub base beyond the actual finished paved width on both sides. The extra flat area can be used to backup the asphalt and prevent 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 sub base material and keeping the surface as level as you possibly can, you will curently have the sub base built for the paving man. In many areas of the US a material called blue stone screenings can be acquired. This material is really finely crushed granite and comes in three colors. Blue that will turn a darker blue when wet as time passes. Red that may 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 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 and energy to have the driveway paved it's also advisable to install several conduits beneath the driveway for future landscape lighting. Depending upon along the drive, a crossing conduit every fifty feet roughly should suffice. If an area is very rocky or wet, add additional conduits now before paving. Adding them later will require cutting and patching the asphalt and will 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 better than metal as it can last underground forever. Put caps on both ends in order to avoid any nasty surprises later on once 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 should have no idea where in fact the conduit ends can be found. If you do this far prior to the actual paving, your car traffic will compact the sub-base and will prevent any future sinking beneath the asphalt and thereby evoking the asphalt to crack. You don't want to cross the new asphalt with anything later on..
Call several paving contractors for prices. The nicest guy may not do the nicest job. Make sure 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 would like done and then provide them with a copy. Require a written quote to make certain they included everything on your 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 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 careful with down payments. If they insist on one, make certain it is not a significant part 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 get the asphalt. If you sense something is awry move on to someone else. Ask neighbors about his work or visit someone's house who he has just paved their driveway. Most people are proud of their new yard and will glad to talk to you. Call the Better Business Bureau and check up on the contractor aswell. It may sound like you are a little over cautious but in the end it is your dollars.
After you have selected a contractor ask him/her when there is anything else that can be done to save several bucks on the price. Maybe removing a pre-installed asphalt driveway apron or removing adjacent features such as for example signs or statues or whatever else he figured on doing for you personally. In the event that you save fifty bucks on the purchase price, that is fifty dollars towards your next project.