1.  How long should I stay off my new driveway?

 We recommend that you not walk on your new driveway until the next day.  This will help prevent any tracking or damage caused by heels.  Vehicles shouldn't be driven on for 3 to 5 days.  This time frame is dependent on weather.  Cooler days and nights will allow you to get on your driveway much sooner then days that are above 80 degrees and sunny.

2.  Why do you recommend not driving on the new driveway?

You driveway is made with a combination of liquid asphalt sand and stone.  Because a major ingredient in this mixture is a liquid at warm temperatures the driveway will stay "soft" until the heat is released from the surface and cured properly.

3.  When should I seal my new driveway?
We recommend that you allow your driveway to go through a winter before sealing.  Then seal every 2 to 3 years or as needed.

4.  What should I do around the edges of my new driveway?
Loam and seed should be brought flush with the surface of your driveway to support the edges and also prevent erosion.  If you have an area that you may drive off the edge, we recommend placing gravel flush with the new surface.

5.  Can I snowplow my new driveway?
Yes, snowplows will rarely damage a driveway.  They may leave small scratches on the surface which will disappear over time.

6.  What is the difference between "Binder" and "Surface"?
A paving project usually consists of two layers of pavement, binder and surface.

Binder is a larger stone mix of asphalt.  Used as the strength layer in the two step process.

Surface or finish is a smaller mix of asphalt that when laid gives you a smoother look.

7.  Why do some people recommend binder one year then surface the next?
This allows your driveway to go through a freeze/thaw cycle and do any settling that could occur in a new driveway installation.  This may also be beneficial if you have additional construction or yard work to complete.

8.  When should I overlay my driveway?
A driveway overlay is a cost effective way of rehabilitating your existing paved driveway.  This must be done before the driveway has rutted, cracked or deteriorated.  If the driveway abuts a garage there has to be small lip to meet the pavement to.  If not water may back up into the garage.

9.  Why can't you give me a quote over the phone?
Every driveway is different.  The location, size, walkways, and type all factor in the cost of the driveway.

10. Who calls dig-safe?
We call dig safe on driveways that need to be excavated.

11. Why do I have a bump/lip at the end of my driveway?

This forces the street water to run by the end of the driveway and not into the driveway.  The City of Portland requires this as part of their ordinances.

12. Will the new pavement stick to my shoes?
Yes, that is the biggest reason why we want you to stay off the driveway until the next morning.  The driveway may still leave a small residue on your shoes until the petroleum in the asphalt is gone from the top of the pavement.  This is nothing that will effect the driveway but may stain your flooring.  When you stop seeing the rainbow in the puddles after it rains the driveway has had time to cure.

13. Are you going to use recycled asphalt?
Asphalt recycling is the wave of the future.  Most new asphalt pavement produced has a certain amount of "old" asphalt pavement introduced into each batch.We may also use a mixture of recycled asphalt and gravel to grade the surface.  This creates a very hard surface to pave on.

14. Why can I drive on a road immediately after being paved and not my driveway?
A city or town road is something that people expect to be able to use.  It is not practical for the municipality to prevent citizens from using a street just because it is freshly paved.  Most vehicles stay moving on the newly paved surface so very few surface marks appear in these locations.  In intersection and other areas where vehicles change directions or speed marks may occur.  Since traffic will continue to use this road they will actually knead the mark out of the surface on hot days.

We recommend that you stay off your new driveway to insure that the appearance stays satisfactory.  A vehicle may be driven on a driveway very soon after the pavement is placed but marks may appear in the surface.  Since you do not have the traffic of a city street to remove these marks they may remain indefinitely.

15. Why doesn't a municipality seal the streets?
 This type of treatment isn't practical for a traveled roadway.  The traffic will remove the seal coat to fast for it to be effective.  You will notice that many large commercial parking lots have been seal coated and the entrance from the street has been worn off.  Your driveway probable doesn't have this type of traffic so the seal coat will last much longer.

16. What is a "one shot" 3" driveway?
 Some paving companies push the 3" surface one shot driveway.  This allows the paving contractor to sell a "thicker" driveway then a 1.5" Binder and 1" surface job.  There are two factors that affect the price of a paving job, labor and material. 

A one shot driveway cuts down on the cost of labor by allowing the paving contractor to pave once and not twice.  This is not the best route of action because of the thickness of the pavement.  The State Department of Transportation only allows a maximum of 3" of laid asphalt.  The limit of thickness is limited by compaction.  The State has found that even the biggest of the big compaction devices cannot successfully compact asphalt at more then 3".  As you may know the road paving contractors use much heavier and larger paving machinery.  This allows them to complete production work like highways.  Driveway contractors use smaller more maneuverable equipment for finesse work like driveways.  The smaller equipment works very well compacting layers of up to 2" thick.  A pavement layer thicker then 2" is not sufficiently compacted which will affect the life of the driveway.

A driveway contractor is also buying less material (pavement) in a 3" less compacted driveway then in a driveway that was installed using 2 – 1 ½" compacted lifts.  The material that they are buying is also a surface mix used as the final course to "finish" the driveway.  The binder course gives more strength to the overall driveway structure.