30 July 2021
 Categories: , Blog

A new asphalt driveway on your property can immediately provide an increase in your property value and give you a stable and smooth place to drive over and park. The following information can provide you with some information to help with your upcoming driveway pavement project.

Remove the Topsoil

Your yard contains soil that consists of soft topsoil that is not preferable to install your asphalt driveway directly on. The soft topsoil will allow for the asphalt rock and other pavement materials to compress down into the soil, making it unstable and prone to erosion and settling. Be sure you remove this top layer and find a location where you can move it, such as on another area of your property that needs new topsoil for landscaping or soil grading for improved water runoff and drainage. Use a soil scraper to remove the soil in large areas, which you can rent from a local equipment supplier. Then, compact the existing material to build a solid layer for your new pavement base.

Removing the topsoil is also going to provide your yard with space for the layer of asphalt driveway materials. A solid and well-built driveway should include a base layer of crushed rock or gravel to allow good structure and moisture drainage. This layer will be several inches thick and should be the asphalt covering, which will also be a couple of inches thick.

Consider the Type of Asphalt

When you are ready to arrange for your asphalt delivery and installation, look at the different types of asphalt materials available. There are several different grades of asphalt mixture, which all use different sizes of aggregate. For more heavy-duty asphalt driveways that will receive a heavy amount of vehicle traffic from trucks, you should look at a coarser aggregate, which will be more durable. And when you use recycled asphalt in your mixture, it helps bind the materials together better and gives you a long-lasting surface.

For a residential driveway, it is a good option to go with a finer asphalt mixture, which is made up of smaller particles of aggregate. This will give your driveway a smoother finish for a better quality that will look more attractive on your property.

Asphalt millings are another recommendation for a longer rural driveway on your property when your budget does not allow for a full asphalt installation. Asphalt millings will reuse and recycle these materials and provide your driveway with a stable material you can compact into place or allow it to settle and compact over time. Contact a residential asphalt paving contractor for available options and the type of driveway you are looking for.