Repairing or Replacing a tired asphalt driveway

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thegogetter222

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Hi guys,
I have a 650' asphalt driveway that is in terrible shape. I've been patching it over the years in sections but I think I'm just pouring money down the drain at this point. A quote came in at $9500 from a reputable local contractor to completely replace it. Concrete quotes are ranging $20-25k. A known problem is we have a very high water table with very poor clay soil. So im not surprised that the base of the current driveway is shot.

Are there any other cheaper options, even to buy a few more years?
 
If it is toast, it is toast. With a water table and poor soil the only way to get it right would be to pull it out along with at least a foot of earth and fill it with a good base and compact that to 90% or better and then asphalt on top of that. The other way is to pull out that foot and poor slurry down and then asphalt on top of that. None of which are cheap by any means but if done right will last you a life time. I would not recomend to do it all in concrete unless you plan on going pretty darn thick to help it from falling apart.

I just did a job by the beach where we hit ground water at 5 feet deep and the soil was no good above that. We slurry backfilled our trench and then placed asphalt. Originall the city had a foot of concrete under 4" of asphalt and the road had been holding up pretty good.
 
The only real way of getting a few more years out of it are to keep doing what you are doing and patch it.
 
When getting quotes on asphalt driveways have them include in the quote how mant yards or meters that they will be using on the driveway and how thick it will be before and after it is rolled down.
 
Yes like Neal said make sure they are bidding on a quality job.
 
With a driveway that long and an asphalt base I would look into (tar and chips).
 
http://garages.about.com/od/buildingagarage/a/Pros-And-Cons-Of-A-Tar-And-Chip-Driveway.htm

http://www.pavingcontractorpa.com/services/tar-chip-driveway.html

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgYnrFt3TqM[/ame]

Around here it’s pretty common on secondary roads and there are a few guys that have smaller versions of the equipment for driveways.

It’s the method they use to seal a new asphalt road many times as it slows down the traffic and provides better traction for winter usage as well. it slows people down because at high speeds the chips will fly up and nick paint.
 
Never heard of it before. Wonder if I have driven on any?
 
I’m sure you have. Around here they mostly use a crushed white stone that really locks together and packs tight. In the video the stone he shows is larger than what I normally see.

If you have ever been in a state park or campground most of the roads are made this way.

The video shows guys pushing the stone around with tools but they really do very little of that the truck that lays the crushed stone can lay down a precise layer and then they go over it with a roller. They would do a 650 foot driveway in a couple hours at the most.
 
thanks guys, exactly the responses I was looking for. Very much appreciated.
 
Your best bet is to keep doing what youre doing. The ideal solution is a full replacement, but patching will hold you off until then just fine.
 
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