Asphalt paving
The part you never see is the part that holds it up
Asphalt fails from underneath. Around here the ground is flat, sandy in spots and wet in others, and the water table sits close to the surface. Pave straight over soft ground and the new surface will dish, crack and pothole inside a couple of winters. That is why we spend most of the job below the asphalt instead of on top of it.
Robert and Son Paving has been laying asphalt on the Eastern Shore for three generations, and we are the third now running the same equipment routes across Caroline, Dorchester and Talbot counties. We work on homes and on commercial property, from a short driveway in town to a quarter mile farm lane.
Every job starts the same way: we walk the site, look at where the water goes, and price it honestly. We do that on every driveway and lot we price, including jobs around Easton and the farms in between.
What actually goes into a new asphalt job?
First the topsoil and any soft material come out. Topsoil holds water and moves, so it has no business under a driveway. We dig down, check the subgrade with a loaded truck, and dig out any wet spot that pumps under the wheels rather than paving over it and hoping.
Then the stone goes in. Four to six inches of crusher run for a home drive, more where trucks turn, spread in lifts and compacted with a roller so it locks together instead of sitting loose. We shape a fall of about a quarter inch per foot while the stone is still open, because that is the last easy chance to fix drainage. After that comes hot mix, raked at the edges and rolled hot. We build it the same way on every job we take, in town or out on the farms, and it is the standard behind everything we do out of Federalsburg.
How thick should asphalt be?
It depends on what drives on it. A normal home driveway carrying cars and pickups gets about two inches of compacted surface over a solid stone base. That is the right number for most of what we do, and going thinner to save money is the most common mistake we get called out to fix.
Anything that carries weight needs more. Delivery trucks, grain trucks, dumpsters, poultry house traffic and equipment trailers all want a binder course under the top course, so you end up around three inches of binder and an inch and a half of surface over a deeper base. Lots and loading areas are a different build altogether and get priced on their own. If you want to read how pavements are sized for traffic, the Federal Highway Administration publishes the research the industry works from.
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A third generation Eastern Shore paving family. Every job backed by a two year warranty.
Call (410) 924-4174Do you need new asphalt, or can the old be saved?
Look at the pattern of the cracks. Straight cracks and a few potholes usually mean the surface is worn but the base under it is still good. Cracking that looks like alligator hide, or areas that sink and hold water after rain, mean the base has given up. You cannot fix a bad base with a new top.
When the base is sound, the cheaper and smarter answer is a fresh layer over the old surface. When the base is gone, we dig it out and start again, which is a new driveway build from the subgrade up. We will tell you which one you have got and we will tell you if the cheaper option is the right one.
Why choose Robert and Son Paving in Federalsburg, MD?
We have been doing this in the same part of Maryland for three generations. Three generations of one family, the same name on the truck, and customers who call us back twenty years later for the next one. That only works if the work holds up.
We hold MHIC #74385, we have been BBB accredited A+ since 2018, and every job we do carries a two year warranty. Estimates are free and we give you one number, in person, after we have looked at the site. We take on residential and commercial work, and if you want a stone look instead of a black surface we also lay a stone chip finish.
Ask a paving contractor
Straight answers about asphalt paving on the Eastern Shore
How long before I can drive on new asphalt?
You can usually drive on it after about 24 to 48 hours, once it has cooled all the way through. Keep heavy trucks off it longer, and for the first few months try not to turn your wheels while the car is standing still, because fresh asphalt marks easily in hot weather.
What time of year is best for asphalt paving in Maryland?
Spring through fall is best. Hot mix has to be laid and rolled while it is hot, so mild ground temperatures give us more working time and a better finished mat. We pave from early spring into late fall on the Shore, and we will not lay asphalt on a frozen or soaked base.
Will you pave over my existing gravel driveway?
Often yes, if the stone is thick enough and well compacted. We check the depth, add crusher run where it is thin, regrade it to drain, then pave. If the gravel is only a skim over dirt, we build a real base first rather than paving over soft ground.
How long does a new asphalt driveway last?
A driveway built on a proper base gives you many years of service. What shortens that life is standing water, a thin or skipped base, and heavy trucks on a section that was never built for them. Keeping water moving off the surface is the single biggest thing you can do.
Do you handle drainage as part of the job?
Yes, and it is part of every estimate. We set the falls during the base stage so water runs off the surface and away from your house or building. Where there is nowhere for it to go, we talk about swales, pipe or a stone shoulder before we pave, not after.
Do you work outside Federalsburg?
Yes. We cover Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot, Queen Anne's, Wicomico and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland, plus Sussex County in Delaware. Salisbury, Easton, Cambridge, Denton, Preston, Hurlock and Trappe are all regular stops for us.