Getting quotes for driveway replacement ?'s

rossl56

I have a one car width driveway. It has a lot of cracks and has been patched many times. I want to expand to a 2 car width. I am going to be contacting people for quotes.

Are there different grades of ashphalt?

Should I request a certain depth/thickness?

Is there any problem doing this in cold weather (I live in NJ)?

Any other tips to make sure I get a good quality job?

FYI, I like doing repair work on my car, so I occassionally use a floor jack and jack stands in the driveway so I need something that can withstand the weight without the jack and stands sinking into the blacktop.

Jeeper1970

I'm no expert on asphalt, but I do know there are different grades, and even the heaviest grades won't keep jacks and jack stands from sinking in them, especially on a hot summer day. Best thing to do is place a piece of plywood under them.

Wildie

I sounds as if the existing drive is at the end of its lifespan. Therefore, it would be best to have it removed, and all the earth removed in the area of the new drive.
Fresh gravel brought in and tamped well!
If possible, perhaps a concrete apron could be put in, in the area that you do car work!
Gasoline and asphalt don't go well together. I speak from experience!

Mr Chips

i would get a quote on concrete just for grins. when oil prices were really high in the summer, concrete was only slightly more than asphalt. not sure how much it's changed in recent months.

i also agree with the prior post, make sure you get a good foundation under the new driveway, or else you are throwing cash away

yesitsconcrete

i am an expert but, according to some, ONLY on my own opinions,,, from your description, i'd have it all replaced incl fail'd base,,, w/o nec annual maintenance, cracks allow wtr into the base whereupon base loses ability to support weight.

if you choose conc, same base replacement's nec,,, especially important is the proper jnt pattern to prevent random cracking.

there's aren't different 'grades' of asphaltic cement concrete (blacktop),,, there AREdifferent size rock used which helps determine regular, medium, or heavy-duty drives,,, also important is the depth of base & compaction - same rules apply to rock sizes.

good luck !

stubborn1

You may be out of luck getting asphalt work done this year. In my area, the asphalt plants close around Thanksgiving. Not sure about NJ, but at some point in the winter it gets too cold for them to stay open.

Regarding different grades of asphalt, there isn't too much variety to chose from. The paver should install two layers of asphalt - a binder course on top of the subgrade, and a wear course on top of the binder course. In a light duty paving section, each layer would be 1 1/2" for a total of 3".

Like the others said, have the old asphalt ripped out, repair any soft areas in the stone base, and install new stone for the additional width of the driveway. A concrete pad would be a good idea if you plan on working on vehicles with jack stands.

__________________
Some advice you receive on the internet can be worth exactly what you paid for it - be careful.