Overview: Driveway Paving Contractors
Paving a driveway is mostly an earthwork job with a black surface on top. The old surface comes off, the ground is shaped so water runs somewhere sensible, crushed stone goes down and gets rolled in layers, then asphalt is laid hot and compacted while it still is. The same companies patch potholes, fill cracks, overlay a tired surface and sealcoat.
Asphalt is flexible, which means it does whatever the material under it does. A thin mat over a shallow or badly compacted subbase will look perfect for one summer and start breaking up the second. Pitch matters just as much: water that stands on a driveway or runs under the edge of it gets into the stone and the surface goes soft from below. Edges need soil or stone packed against them, because an unsupported edge crumbles the first time a wheel rides over it.
The oldest scam in this trade knocks on your door with leftover material from a job down the road and wants cash today. Real paving is scheduled, measured and written down.
Use the state and city lists below to find paving companies covering your area.
Frequently asked questions
What decides how long a driveway lasts?
The base, the drainage and the compaction, in that order. Asphalt thickness matters, but a generous mat over poor stone fails early anyway. Water is the whole story: it needs to run off the surface and drain out of the base rather than sitting in it. Ask how deep the stone goes and how many passes the roller makes, not just how thick the asphalt will be.
Overlay the old surface or take it out?
An overlay is a new layer bonded over the old one, and it works when the failures are on the surface: raveling, minor cracks, a dull worn look. It does not work over alligator cracking or soft spots, because those are the base failing and the new layer will crack in the same pattern. Watch the level too, since an overlay raises the driveway against the garage floor and any door sill.
Is sealcoating worth the money?
It protects the surface from sunlight and fuel spills and makes the driveway look new again. It is not structural. Sealing a driveway too often builds up a layer that cracks and peels, and sealing over crumbling asphalt hides a problem rather than fixing it. Wait a full season after new paving, fill cracks before sealing, and take a repeat visit each year as a sales pitch rather than maintenance.
Why are the edges of my driveway crumbling?
Because nothing is holding them up. Asphalt has no strength at an unsupported edge, so wheels that ride off the side break it away piece by piece. The fix is soil or stone packed hard against the edge, level with the surface, and grass grown into it. On a driveway that gets turned on constantly, a wider apron or a concrete edge is cheaper than repaving the sides twice.
How should potholes and cracks be repaired?
Fill cracks while they are narrow, because every open crack is a route into the base. A real pothole repair is cut square to full depth, cleaned out, and filled with hot mix that gets compacted. The cold patch shovelled in and driven over is a stopgap and behaves like one. If potholes keep coming back in the same spot, the base under it is wet and patching will not hold.
Do I need permission for a new driveway?
Usually yes, where it meets the public road. Cutting a new curb or building an apron needs a permit from the city, or from the state highway department if the road is theirs, and they will have rules about width, sight lines and drainage. Resurfacing an existing driveway on your own property normally does not. Ask who is pulling the permit and put it in the contract.
