If you were getting a driveway asphalted.... ?

... and lived in the northeast where its 35 - 50 degrees for the next week; would you do it now or wait until spring?

Spring: ground is mooshey, softer.

Now: These guys are getting ready for the quiet season, possibly get a better deal now.

150ft. driveway with a 30 ft. wide apron, 1.5 cars long at the top near the garage. $3500.

Decent?

I recently got a quote for $7k for a significantly smaller driveway than that. Also in the northeast. It did include excavation and gravel, but they also wouldn't do it until next year.

$3500 sounds pretty good to me.

Sounds like a killer price to me.

Around here most of the asphalt plants close for the winter.

You can't swing a dead cat here without hitting a civil engineer. Let me go down the hall and ax.

Yeah, I'd get it done at that price. Asphalt isn't like concrete. If they can keep it hot enough for delivery, it will compact just fine when they roll it.

How thick? If it's 2-3 inches in one lift you are probably ok as long as it isn't pouring rain.

Sounds like a deal to me. I paid $4/sq ft.

Here's the general skinny. The ground cannot be frozen or it won't adhere to the substrate. The asphalt has to be above 200° to be compacted. Can't be above 300° or it burns off the liquid.

If this is a decent contractor with adequate equipment and not too far from the plant, I would go for it. But there is little more frustrating that E36 M3ty asphalt or concrete work.

I would wait until late spring, around May or so. I would definitely find out exactly what they plan to do. There's usually quite a bit of prep work that needs to be done before laying asphalt. They could come in, do a quickie grading job and drop some asphalt. In a year or two (maybe less) it's all cracked and falling apart. In this instance, you get what you pay for is something to keep in mind.

That's cheap! But the asphalt plants around here usually close in November.

Damn I wish they'd pave our driveway that cheap. Would be great for practicing launches.

Janel the highway paving and estimating expert says:

It's too cold to pave now. It needs to be 50F or warmer to get a good job. That's why the plants close.

That price is way low. I'm guessing you've got a gypsy. They'll do a crap job and disappear. You should have a warranty and they ll have to do prep work. Go with an established company.

If the ground is soft, the asphalt will fail. Even after it's been put down. You'll need a proper base if you want it to last. Asphalt isn't structural, it'll do what the base does. You can get that work done in the spring. Oil is going to go up next year so it'll probably add $185 to your price (her estimate).

Short version: do it in the spring and get a good company to do it.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

You Coloradans must have strict paving specs. Around here it's 35 degrees and rising for a 3" section. She's right though, the base is just as important, or more so as the pavement.

Keith Tanner wrote: That price is way low. I'm guessing you've got a gypsy.

Legit company, references, trucks with logos, website; suggested by two different friends.

I was thinking this was an overlay. Absolutely a good base is important. Make sure the contractor is including the base.

Base is crush 'n run that I rolled out 30 years ago, added to it and rolled about every 10 years. I figure it's 8 - 10" deep.

Thanks for the help guys. I'll try to take pics.

Dan