# Depth of Asphalt Driveway



## Vic99 (Mar 31, 2011)

Decided to hire someone to grade and install an asphalt driveway.

What do you think is reasonable, not overkill,  for the gravel base and the binder/finish coats?  I plan on driving 2000 Sierra with a 1/3 of a cord of freshly cut hardwood on it from time to time.

First quote was for 4-6" of gravel, then compact, then 2" binder coat, and 1.5" of finish coats.  So far other guys that have been scheduled to come out and quote have blown me off.

Thanks


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## Vic99 (Mar 31, 2011)

And there is no preexisting driveway . . . . just slowly eroding soil.


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## rombi (Mar 31, 2011)

Not sure this year with the cost of asphalt cement going up but last year a friend of mine was at a $1 a square foot just for the asphalt but that was only 2 inches total.


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## nate379 (Mar 31, 2011)

That is really cheap.  I did mine 2 years ago and it was $2.65 a sq ft.

As far as base and asphalt, sounds about right.  They do 1 layer here though, 2-3" thick.  A little 1/2 ton truck isn't driving on it isn't going to mess it up.

I do recommend where you park all the time, like in front of the garage, to go with concrete.


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## gpcollen1 (Mar 31, 2011)

That sounds like the right way to do it.  Just make sure they give the base a little time for rain to tighten it up.  My driveway is on a slope, left to right. so the put the base in in two lifts and let the rain tighten it up in between.  A small truck is not going to make a dent in a properly installed driveway..u.


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## midwestcoast (Mar 31, 2011)

If compacted properly the asphalt shouldn't need rain to tighten it up, or need to sit overnight before you can park on it. It should be ready to use almost right away.


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## mayhem (Mar 31, 2011)

To my mind, the right base is however much it takes before the underlying soil under it all stops compacting and absorbing it when you drive a dump truck over it.  My unpaved driveway is about a foot and a half thick due to silty soil underneath the driveway itself.  I've probably dumped a dozen yards of grvel on top of it over the last 8 years when the top layer gets muddy every spring, it just keeps packing down and down.



> I do recommend where you park all the time, like in front of the garage, to go with concrete.



Excellent advice.  Asphalt never truly hardens, it staly slightly plastic for its entire life and in the heat of the summer it is more so.  I had a brand new paved drveway put in at my first house and within a year I had 4 nice divots where I used to park my 94 Taurus SHO...which is a good half a ton lighter than a half ton pickup truck.


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## ironpony (Mar 31, 2011)

remove all organics and dirt down to about 8-10 inches
place #2 limesone 4-5" deep  vibratory compact
add 3-4" 304 limestone and vibratory compact
place 2.5"base ashphalt roll
place 1.5" top coat roll 
stay off 24 hours


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## Highbeam (Mar 31, 2011)

In my town, we build alleys that get garbage truck traffic with only 3" of asphalt. You don't need more than 3" for a driveway. No less than 4" of crushed rock on top of a firm and unyielding subgrade.


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## thinkxingu (Mar 31, 2011)

No need for concrete, just move around when parking.
Make sure there's a slight slope to it for runoff in the right direction (our neighbor's driveway empties into his garage).
Have them mark it off before doing the work--we came home to ours, finished, but the widths of the walkways were a bit thinner than we wanted (hadn't really thought about it).

S


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## nate379 (Apr 1, 2011)

Mark it out yourself before the work is done, then there is no question.  I pounded in stakes every 10-15ft and painted lines for the curves.


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## fishingpol (Apr 1, 2011)

That sounds right for depth.  Asphalt guys will be coming out of the woodwork in the next couple of weeks.  Here is a quick link for MA. highway standards.

http://www.mass.gov/Ehed/docs/dhcd/ph/dcguidestandard/paving.pdf


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## peakbagger (Apr 1, 2011)

A real good thing to consider is installing geotextile under the gravel. A lot of New England has clay soils and even if you put gravel on top of it, the clay eventually works its way up into the gravel turning it into silty clay. If you install the right geotextile it keeps the clay from migrating up and it spreads the load from heavy objects. I had it installed under my driveway years ago, but when it was paved, the paving contractor changed the alignment slightly. Its real obvious where the geotextile stops in spots as the pavement moves aorund a lot more. Geotextle can replace a real deep gravel bed. I also works great under crushed rock or stone dust, I know of quite a few people who were going to pave but found that the geotextile with stone dust worked just as well.


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## semipro (Apr 1, 2011)

thinkxingu said:
			
		

> No need for concrete, just move around when parking.S



That may be true where you and Vic live (and may make sense for his application) but in hotter climates even short term parking on hot asphalt can damage it.


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## semipro (Apr 1, 2011)

peakbagger said:
			
		

> A real good thing to consider is installing geotextile under the gravel. A lot of New England has clay soils and even if you put gravel on top of it, the clay eventually works its way up into the gravel turning it into silty clay. If you install the right geotextile it keeps the clay from migrating up and it spreads the load from heavy objects. I had it installed under my driveway years ago, but when it was paved, the paving contractor changed the alignment slightly. Its real obvious where the geotextile stops in spots as the pavement moves aorund a lot more. Geotextle can replace a real deep gravel bed. I also works great under crushed rock or stone dust, I know of quite a few people who were going to pave but foudn that the geotextile with stone dust worked just as well.



Good advice, especially if on a slope.  The amount of settling and natural particle size gradation that can occur under pavement or structural slabs is often underestimated.  If it occurred uniformly if probably wouldn't be a problem.  It never occurs uniformly.


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## peakbagger (Apr 1, 2011)

Up in northern New England most of the concrete highways have been ripped out and replaced with asphalt. The state of Maine closed down a 40 mile section of interstate over two years to rip out concrete and replace with asphalt. No matter how well the roads are built, the frost raises heck with concrete. I do agree that asphalt definitely is more prone to damage in hot weather. I have some wooden pads I keep around for kick stands and other point loads.


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## nate379 (Apr 1, 2011)

It's an issue here as well.  I have divots all over my driveway to prove it.



			
				Semipro said:
			
		

> thinkxingu said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## gpcollen1 (Apr 4, 2011)

midwestcoast said:
			
		

> If compacted properly the asphalt shouldn't need rain to tighten it up, or need to sit overnight before you can park on it. It should be ready to use almost right away.



By base i meant the processed stone - not the black top base, which he called binder coat.


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