If you’re bringing in paving services, you may have a lot of questions about what to expect. According to Today's Homeowner, the average person in the United States pays somewhere between $3,600 and $5,400 to have their driveway paved by professionals. Each project can be a bit different, and various localized factors can impact how it’s completed. That said, let's take a look at the general process for paving a new driveway.

Understanding the Lay of the Land

In our experience, before ground is broken, a paving company will likely inspect your land, check out existing driveways (if applicable), and then chat with you to see what you’re looking for. Property owners can ask about budgets, timelines, and other important questions. This helps set proper expectations for both the landowners and paving services.

Demolishing and Prepping the Land

Our experts indicate that if a driveway is already in place and set to be replaced, it’ll have to be removed first. This can be quite an intensive process. Even if the land doesn’t have a driveway on it currently, a fair bit of prep work may be needed, such as removing stones or plants. After that, GPS and other advanced technologies may be used to map out the forthcoming driveway surface. The land will also have to be graded to ensure that there is proper drainage.

Laying Down the Foundation

A strong driveway needs to be built on a strong base. In fact, in some ways, we believe that the sub-base may be the most important part of an asphalt driveway, helping to protect it from changing temperatures and providing a stable foundation to ensure long-term durability. On top of the subbase, you’ll put down another base course of aggregates and binders. We've seen that if the subbase or base is poorly constructed, a person may have to install a new driveway sooner rather than later.

Installing the Surface Course

Once the subbase and base course are laid down, it’s finally time to install the surface layer. This is the part you’ll see and drive or walk on day in and day out. We tell customers that this layer will usually use a fine aggregate, a liquid binder, and sand. After that, the surface can be compacted and smoothed out.

As you can see, paving services have a lot of work cut out for them. It takes a lot of skill and the right equipment to do a good job. If you’re looking to have a new driveway installed, feel free to reach out to O. Cooper Asphalt Paving. We'll get the process done the right way.