FAQs

The main difference is that resurfacing or rehabilitation is a structural repair that will extend the useful life of your asphalt surface. It entails the patching (if necessary) and resurfacing of the entire surface with a new overlay of one and a half inches to three inches of hot bituminous asphalt, in our professional experience.

Sealcoating is not a structural repair and may be likened to painting your house. The sealcoat protects and extends the life of your asphalt, but does nothing to correct structural flaws. Sealcoating, accordingly, is substantially less expensive than resurfacing your drive. Our asphalt contractors will be happy to answer any questions you have about the process.

Essentially all asphalt is black. When the aggregates (stone) are mixed together with hot asphalt cement, the mass of the material becomes black. Over time, as the asphalt oxidizes, the coating on the aggregates breaks down and the color of the aggregate starts to show through. This can lead to a ‘grayish’ color if the asphalt plant uses a light color aggregate. We look forward to assisting you with asphalt paving.

Your new asphalt surface can take more than 30 days to cure, depending on temperature variations from night to day. In general, however, you should be able to drive on the surface after two to three days if you are careful. Our asphalt contractors will be happy to tell you more information.

Tire scuff marks are caused when you turn your car’s steering wheel while the car is stationary. If it is a hot day and the asphalt has not completely cured, the surface will get a blemish, like grinding your heel into a soft substance. Over time, most of this will become less noticeable. When you need asphalt paving, our team will be happy to tell you how to prevent scuff marks.

A critical aspect of producing a long-lasting asphalt paving job is the achievement of the proper compaction of your surface. In our professional experience, 90% compaction is ideal. Sometimes, the rollers leave "streaks" or marks on the drive. These are temporary and will become less noticeable over several months.

The edges or "shoulders" of your drive are one of the most vulnerable areas of the drive. If you put a lot of weight on the edge, say by driving your car or lawn mower right to the edge, there is the possibility that the edge will crack or break off if it is not properly supported.

We try to help the situation by creating a "beveled edge" on the side of the drive with a 45° angle to defuse the pressure. You can help by installing seeded topsoil against the finished height of the asphalt once the job is completed. Contact us today if you're in need of reliable asphalt paving.

Much like the repair of rot in a piece of wood on your house exterior, it is significantly cheaper to repair deteriorated areas before they start to spread than to wait and rehabilitate the entire drive. In our professional experience, a dollar spent on repairs in the first half of a driveway’s life will cost four to five dollars to repair at a later date. Contact us when you need asphalt paving, and we'd be happy to address any issues.

This is generally a function of the amount of direct sunlight and traffic that an area gets. As a rule of thumb, a surface should not need sealcoating more than every three or four years, in our professional experience. Once a driveway has been sealcoated too many times, it becomes very smooth and slick when it rains. Reach out to our asphalt contractors if you have any questions about sealcoating.

No. As asphalt contractors, we get many calls for this, but as Henry Ford said, ”You can have it in any color you want, as long as it is black.”

Recently, a more environmentally friendly light grey sealer (less heat retention) has been under development for commercial uses, but this is very expensive and has not been utilized very extensively.

Color aside, we believe that this is primarily a question of personal taste, but there are two primary differences. Asphalt paving offers a flexible surface that has the ability to flex with use and slight movements of the base. Concrete relies on its own internal strength to absorb loads and bridge weaknesses in the sub-base. Concrete costs significantly more than an asphalt surface of comparable strength.

According to The Spruce, an asphalt driveway can last 15 to 20 years. Call Advance Paving Co INC today!