Asphalt Overlay vs Replacement

[B1GEast]

Driveway not looking so good. I know that oil prices directly affect the price of asphalt, but neighbor patching his up and the contractor approached me.

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

2. 2 inch overlay

He said either way I went the end result would look the same.

1. Should I hold off until oil prices come down

2. Has anyone ever done a resurfacing? If do were you satisfied?

He also said the resurfacing would last about 7 years or so before I would start to notice any changes

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

 

[Hoophound]

Driveway not looking so good. I know that oil prices directly affect the price of asphalt, but neighbor patching his up and the contractor approached me.

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

2. 2 inch overlay

He said either way I went the end result would look the same.

1. Should I hold off until oil prices come down

2. Has anyone ever done a resurfacing? If do were you satisfied?

He also said the resurfacing would last about 7 years or so before I would start to notice any changes

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

I'd do the overlay if your driveway is in decent shape. 7 years is a long time. If your driveway is a disaster, then replace it.

I don't expect construction materials to decline in price too much. Only lumber seems to go up and down dramatically with the market. Most stuff just goes up and stays up.

 

[storrsroars]

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

I typically patch mine but it's getting to point where I need to consider a resurface.

To me, answer seems simple - if resurfacing lasts 7 years, looks as good, and is 50% less, than resurfacing twice gets you 14 years for the same money as a full replacement. Will that last beyond 14 years? Do you think you'll sell before then?

 

[CL82]

About 20 years ago I did a full replacement. It is still in decent shape, though had it has a few cracks now. It will likely need to be redone over the next five years. I don’t know if that’s useful information to you.

For what it’s worth, some of this is going to be dependent upon your situation. Is your driveway on an incline because that adds stress to it. Same thing if you park in your driveway. Until I bought cars for my kids, my driveway was in great shape. Most of the problems that it developed are underneath where they park. For whatever that’s worth.

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

Our last house had overlay done and it was listed as a “new driveway.” It was in terrible shape within 18 mos

 

[ClifSpliffy]

as always, all things construction revolve around one word - water. where is it and what is its impact?
if ur drive has obvious signs of water/drainage issues (cratering, mini canyons/gulches, etc.) then rip up, fix those properly, then put a new one in.
if not and the whole thing is stable but ugly, then patch it/overlay.
it'll look prettier than a pie delivered with sausage chunks as compared to one with sausage flakes.

 

[8893]

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

I mean, do we really need to go beyond this?

Just picture, for a moment, her response if/when the thing starts to degrade after 18 months.

 

[Hoophound]

Our last house had overlay done and it was listed as a “new driveway.” It was in terrible shape within 18 mos

There is a common scam where guys drive around with a truck full of crap asphalt. They stop at houses and say "we have extra asphalt from a big job, want your driveway done for cheap?" They then do a terrible job with junk product and disappear. The driveway crumbles in no time.

 

[8893]

There is a common scam where guys drive around with a truck full of crap asphalt. They stop at houses and say "we have extra asphalt from a big job, want your driveway done for cheap?" They then do a terrible job with junk product and disappear. The driveway crumbles in no time.

Good point. That happened in our neighborhood, with a different contractor, right around the time we were doing our driveway. The guy got like three or four people to sign up and we heard nothing but horror stories.

@B1GEast , get three quotes for the job from three different contractors. Ask around and see who others used and what their experience was.

 

[EastConn'er]

Not sure where you live but I had mine done today. Neighbor? Hmm

 

[ClifSpliffy]

'paving with clif,' part deux deux.
anytime major repair/rebuild enters the drive conversation, it's a good time to see iffn an electric/solar powered snow and ice melt underlay grid deployment is appropriate.
bliss. and depending on ur winter management system (deere 410 or local kid with a shovel) it can be considered an 'investment' if ur cash outlay for that is significant. or the 'too lazy to shovel' one.
some folks even cheap out with just heated driving lanes.

 

[CONN78SEJ]

About 20 years ago I did a full replacement. It is still in decent shape, though had it has a few cracks now. It will likely need to be redone over the next five years. I don’t know if that’s useful information to you.

For what it’s worth, some of this is going to be dependent upon your situation. Is your driveway on an incline because that adds stress to it. Same thing if you park in your driveway. Until I bought cars for my kids, my driveway was in great shape. Most of the problems that it developed are underneath where they park. For whatever that’s worth.

I was going to say, a full replacement should last 20 years.

 

[Mister P]

Driveway not looking so good. I know that oil prices directly affect the price of asphalt, but neighbor patching his up and the contractor approached me.

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

2. 2 inch overlay

He said either way I went the end result would look the same.

1. Should I hold off until oil prices come down

2. Has anyone ever done a resurfacing? If do were you satisfied?

He also said the resurfacing would last about 7 years or so before I would start to notice any changes

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

ClifSpliffy is correct. If your driveway is deteriorating because of a bad subgrade then water is probably the reason why it’s falling apart. The freezing and thawing during the winter months exacerbates the problem.
You can tell by popping up some of the asphalt and digging down to see how bad the subgrade is.

You will need:
1. Firm,dry and compacted subgrade
2. Compacted stone base
3. Asphalt rolled in tightly.

The nicest,smoothest looking driveway will fail if it’s installed on top of a bad subgrade.

 

[NJHusky]

There is a common scam where guys drive around with a truck full of crap asphalt. They stop at houses and say "we have extra asphalt from a big job, want your driveway done for cheap?" They then do a terrible job with junk product and disappear. The driveway crumbles in no time.

Yup. Happened to my father in law. His driveway did need some work but not a complete redo

 

[NJHusky]

The nicest,smoothest looking driveway will fail if it’s installed on top of a bad subgrade.

Best surface has sufficient aggregate. Shouldn’t be too smooth

 

[TRest]

A somewhat related query: My driveway is still holding up after 30 years, developing some light surface cracks though. I have never had it sealed, it gets a ton of sunlight in winter so normally snow/ice melt right off. Should I ever bother with sealing or maybe just buy some filler/product to seal the cracks?

 

[SubbaBub]

If there is alligator cracking or single line cracks that have opened up, replace it.

If there are divots, depressions or bumps, replace it

If it is just beginning to show fine cracks but still level, seal it.

I can't think of a legit reason I'd blow the money for a simple driveway overlay. Unless you just want your driveway to be 2 inches higher. It will still crack within a few years.

 

[lavuuk153]

I'm definitely not an expert, but I just did an overlay on my patio. The only reason I didn't have it fully replaced is because the cost isn't worth it because I'm planning on selling the house in the near future so it doesn't matter to me if it looks good 5 years or even 2 years from now as long as it looks good now. Do with that what you will

 

[alphasigko]

Driveway not looking so good. I know that oil prices directly affect the price of asphalt, but neighbor patching his up and the contractor approached me.

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

2. 2 inch overlay

He said either way I went the end result would look the same.

1. Should I hold off until oil prices come down

2. Has anyone ever done a resurfacing? If do were you satisfied?

He also said the resurfacing would last about 7 years or so before I would start to notice any changes

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

It depends on how many cracks or spallaing areas there are completely thru the existing asphalt... If minimal then overlay w/select full thickness repair of the damaged areas. If the damaged areas are excessive, then replace. Suggest finding and hiring a competent pavement engineer to do a visual inspection.

 

[Dove]

What was the price for the total replacement? How long is the d/w?

 

[Slick]

Driveway not looking so good. I know that oil prices directly affect the price of asphalt, but neighbor patching his up and the contractor approached me.

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

2. 2 inch overlay

He said either way I went the end result would look the same.

1. Should I hold off until oil prices come down

2. Has anyone ever done a resurfacing? If do were you satisfied?

He also said the resurfacing would last about 7 years or so before I would start to notice any changes

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

Make sure you get reliable paving company. You need 3 inches of asphalt on top of graded material

 

[B1GEast]

What was the price for the total replacement? How long is the d/w?

50 x 20 less than $10k

 

[ClifSpliffy]

Driveway not looking so good. I know that oil prices directly affect the price of asphalt, but neighbor patching his up and the contractor approached me.

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

2. 2 inch overlay

He said either way I went the end result would look the same.

1. Should I hold off until oil prices come down

2. Has anyone ever done a resurfacing? If do were you satisfied?

He also said the resurfacing would last about 7 years or so before I would start to notice any changes

The price for resurfacing was more than 50 percent lower than full replacement

ya know, upon further review yet without photos, are you sure that you even need to buy any asphalt and the expensive asphalt put'er downer people?


this is mostly how we roll, knowhaimsayin?
and oh, coming from Bridgeport, i learned to say the word as 'ash-phalt.'
apparently, the Darien types turned that into 'as-phalt.'

 

[ClifSpliffy]

50 by 20? 50 by 20?!?!?!
sorry bud, but that's 'toddler' territory.
everbuddy sits around way too much, get off the couch! lol.
that chubby older guy in the vid nailed the whole job in khaki's and what looks like wingtips. im usually covered in the stuff.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

He provided two options. 1 full replacement, which is what my other half wants.

I mean, do we really need to go beyond this?

Just picture, for a moment, her response if/when the thing starts to degrade after 18 months.

Obviously nothing about driveways, but all I had to do was put "couch" and "@Fishy" into the Search...

Death storm

:( Power is out all over town here in NJ

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