Replacing a driveway: Wait a couple weeks befor putting the new blacktop?

[Ray K.]

Is it better to have the old one removed and the new one laid the same day, with proper rolling/compacting, or should there be a several week "settling" delay before the new blacktop is put down?

On contractor said he would strip the old blacktop, roll the existing stone, add new stone to the required depth, roll it again, and then wait two weeks before putting the blacktop on. During those two weeks, he wants me to use the weight of my 3,000 lb Camry to further compact the base. It seems to me his roller would do a far better, and more uniform, job than a car running pretty much along the same two "tracks" for the length of the driveway.

The soil is mostly much clay.

Thanks for the advice.

Ray

[R. Doornbosch]

My Dad did a brick driver 12 years ago that is absolutely massive 500'000 + bricks when he did it he had us kids spend two days watering and packing down the driveway with a vibrating packer (What ever), when the truck driver delivered the bricks (With a massive rig) he pulled right onto the packed gravel and left little more than tire tread marks 1/8" deep. If you really want it done right I'd rent the packer myself and use a little elbow grease.

[R. Doornbosch]

By the way, after all these years the only spot on that drive way that has even sunk 6" is where we pulled out a bunch of small evergreen bushes.

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

I would recoommend that you wait at least two weeks, if not a month, and during that time, flood the area every day with water - lots of water. It's not the surface that needs compacting. It's the unknown voids that may be lurking. No amount of compacting or steamrollering will detect and correct some of these anomolies. Ya gotta do the time. Yes, you could skip this waiting, but it is possible that your driveway will fail prematurely, or develop dips, as a result. Not in all cases, certainly, but enough cases that this is a pretty standard procedure. With what you are spending, do you want any problems 5 years from now?

BB

[gina]

I'd give it a couple weeks and THEN have them pack it again. When they did mine, they layed the new gravel and rolled it. Then they left it for a couple weeks, rolled it again and blacktopped it. I trusted these guys because they mostly do highways. (although that doesn't say much in some places!) Two years later and I only have one little spot that puddles, the drive is about 200' long. Hope this helps.

Gina

[ng_reader]

I know that I have to repave my asphalt driveway soon. Is there a rule of thumb to go by? I know I called some guy while I was sitting in traffic from my cell phone (I was sitting behind his truck at a lite) and he suggested about $10 a square (foot).

Anyone else come to a finding like that?

Region has something to do with it, me being in the Northeast (philly) likely adds some premium to other areas, (but less than some - Boston, LA)

And lastly - all this talk of taking up. Don't you typically just throw 2" of blacktop on top of existing? If this post is ignorant, feel free to ignore...

Mr Curious

[BinaryBillTheSailor]

There is no "typical". Sometimes a driveway is just a little worn and wavy, and the homeowner will opt to cap it with a layer to smooth it out. It's cheap, fast, and if you are planning to sell in a few years, probably adequate. More often, the original driveway is pretty far gone by the time someone is ready to fix it, at which point it's usually better to remove the old and start over. There is also a "thickness factor" to consider. The original driveway was put in at a height that meets up level with other things, such as doorways, sidewalks, steps and garages. Adding a cap can also really screw up drainage.

When I bought my present house, the driveway was "okay", but I needed to widen it. Rather than just splice on additional width, I removed the whole thing, had several drainage issues addressed, and a whole new driveway. It cost a lot more, but I have a driveway that fits properly, drains perfectly, and still looks like new 10 years later. No seam from adding on, which would be a potential point of failure. Not a ripple or dip anywhere. I'm in New England. Other climates may yield different results.

BB

[Ray K.]

The estimate for my 1500 sq. ft. driveway (100' long) is $3500, here in central New Jersey. This includes ripping out the old one and putting 9" of stone underneath a 3" (after rolling) blacktop. $10 a square foot is the rate for paver bricks.

[ng_reader]

OK, I'll go with that.

I really *wasn't* thinking of ripping out. I just have cracks and what-not. It's still relatively flat.

I'd have to guess $10 a square for pavers might be material only for pavers - *can't* be installed cost. ?

But I appreciate the info. Just because you use the Internet, I'm going to have to assume your savvy enough to get a fair cost. And it can't be plus or minus 10% because of region.

-mrc-