Frequently Asked Questions

National guides put new asphalt driveways at about $5 to $12 or more per square foot (HomeGuide) and $7 to $15 (Angi), and commercial lots at about $2 to $4.50 per square foot (HomeAdvisor). A 400-square-foot driveway falls around $2,000 to $4,800 in HomeGuide's figures. Removal, base repair on clay and access change the total.

Spring and fall are easiest, with warm ground and less extreme heat. Summer paving works with early starts. Winters are mild enough that paving is often possible on dry, warmer days.

A common residential build is 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted stone. On soft clay or for heavy trucks, more base and asphalt are needed.

Asphalt costs less up front and is easier to patch; concrete costs more and lasts longer, about 30 to 40 years against 15 to 30 for asphalt in HomeGuide's figures. On moving clay, both crack if the base is poor.

HomeGuide recommends waiting 3 to 6 months after paving so the asphalt can cure. Seal in dry weather between about 50 and 95 degrees.

Usually a thin base or wet clay underneath. Clay that swells and shrinks moves the pavement, and a thin base cannot bridge it. Rebuilding the base is the lasting fix.

Most residential driveways take one to three days. Rain delays base work, because compacting wet clay does not hold.

Often, yes. Sound gravel is regraded and compacted as part of the base, with new stone added where it has thinned.

Not if it is thick enough and allowed to cure. Avoid turning wheels in place and heavy point loads during the first hot season.

Cost guides give asphalt driveways about 15 to 30 years. A good base, drainage and sealing on schedule push toward the long end.

HomeGuide lists recycled asphalt at about $4 to $9 per square foot. It can work for rural drives; we explain the trade-offs at the estimate.

HomeAdvisor puts it at about every 15 to 20 years, with sealing and crack repair in between.

Yes. We pave in sections and keep an entrance open.

Often, yes. Concrete resists the point loads and heat better than asphalt in those spots.

Yes, to the 2010 ADA Standards when striping the new surface.

HomeAdvisor puts new asphalt lots at about $2 to $4.50 per square foot, or about $10,000 for 10 spaces and $75,000 for 100.

HomeGuide estimates 20 to 30 percent versus replacement, as long as failed areas are repaired first.

Each overlay adds height. After one or two, milling or removal is usually needed to keep the surface level with the slab and street.

Sometimes, but joints in the concrete tend to show through. We check first.

Only if low spots are corrected before the new layer.

Over a sound base with sealing on schedule, many years. Over a failing base, it can crack within a year or two.

HomeGuide gives every 2 to 10 years. Strong sun pushes toward the shorter end. If it is gray and stone shows, it is time.

No. We fill cracks first; sealer is too thin.

Yes, in the morning when the surface is below about 95 degrees, as long as no rain is coming.

Rain on fresh sealer can wash it off. We reschedule rather than risk it.

HomeGuide puts it at about $1 to $2 per square foot, or about $400 to $800 for a 400-square-foot driveway.

The base below is still wet or broken. A saw-cut repair that rebuilds the base is the lasting fix.

If damage is limited, repair is usually the better value. If it covers most of the surface, replacement may cost less over time.

Usually once the hot asphalt has cooled, often within hours.

Yes. Combining several repairs into one visit makes the most of minimum charges.

No. Bagged cold patch is a stopgap; hot or saw-cut patches are the lasting repair.

When lines are hard to see, and after every seal coat.

Sometimes, within stall and aisle size limits and the accessible spaces required.

No. We stripe in sections and at off-hours.

Yes, to the 2010 ADA Standards.

HomeGuide lists about $500 to $1,200 for 30 to 50 stalls, with mobilization of $150 to $350.