Driveway paving
A driveway that still looks right in ten years
Most home driveways on the Shore fail in the same three places: the apron at the road where trucks swing in, the edges where nothing supports the asphalt, and any low spot that holds water after a storm. All three are base and grading problems, and all three are fixable before a single load of hot mix shows up.
We have been building driveways out of Federalsburg for three generations. Short town drives, long farm lanes, circle drives, turnarounds for a camper or a boat trailer. Residential and commercial, one crew, one number to call.
The asphalt itself is only part of it. If you want the detail on the mix, the lifts and the rolling, here is how we build a hot mix surface that lasts.
How do you build a driveway that does not crack?
We start by getting the shape right. Water has to leave the driveway, and it has to leave it away from your garage and your foundation. About a quarter inch of fall per foot is enough to move it, and we set that in the dirt and again in the stone before any asphalt is laid.
Then we build the base. Topsoil out, geotextile fabric where the ground is soft, four to six inches of crusher run compacted in lifts, and a proof roll to find the soft spots while they are still cheap to fix. That base work goes under every driveway our paving crew here in Federalsburg builds, long farm lane or short town drive.
Why do driveway edges break off first?
Because there is nothing holding them up. Asphalt has no strength at an unsupported edge, so the first time a truck tire rides over it, a piece breaks away. Once one piece goes, water gets in behind it and the rest follows.
We rake the edges to a taper instead of leaving a square cut, roll them tight, and backfill with soil or stone so the shoulder supports the mat. On lanes where farm equipment runs wide, we build a stone shoulder the full length. It is a small detail that decides how the driveway looks in five years, and it is standard on every job we do. The Asphalt Institute has been publishing the technical side of this work for generations.
Free estimate on your new driveway
Paving driveways across the Eastern Shore for three generations. Two year warranty on every job we finish.
Call (410) 924-4174New driveway or fix the one you have?
If the shape is right and the base is solid, you may not need a new driveway at all. A worn surface with straight cracks and a couple of potholes is usually a candidate for a new layer over the top, which costs a lot less than a full rebuild.
If the drive sinks, holds water, or cracks in a web pattern, the base has failed and a new surface will just crack the same way. We come out, look at it and tell you straight. Where an overlay is the better buy we say so. If the surface in question is a business lot rather than a house drive, paving a lot for truck traffic is a different job again.
Why choose Robert and Son Paving for your driveway?
This is a family business now in its third generation. We live here, our trucks are based here, and we are not hard to find if something needs attention later. That matters more in paving than in almost any other trade.
We carry MHIC #74385 and have held a BBB A+ accreditation since 2018. All our work comes with a two year warranty and every estimate is free. If asphalt is not the right answer for your property, we will say so, and we also build a stone driveway instead when that suits the land and the budget better.
Ask a paving contractor
Straight answers about asphalt paving on the Eastern Shore
How long does it take to pave a driveway?
Most home driveways are a one or two day job once we start. Digging out and building the base is day one, and the asphalt goes down after that. Long lanes, wet ground and drainage work add time, and we give you the real schedule before we begin.
How wide should my driveway be?
Ten to twelve feet suits a single car drive, and sixteen feet or more is better if two vehicles need to pass or park side by side. We also look at the turn in from the road, since a tight apron is what causes drivers to cut the corner and break the edge.
Can you pave a long farm lane?
Yes, we do a lot of them. Long lanes need a wider stone shoulder, room for equipment to pass and real thought about where water runs, since a lane can act like a ditch in a heavy rain. We look at the whole run, not just the part near the house.
Will a new driveway hold a camper or boat trailer?
It will if we build it for that. Tell us what is going to sit on it and where, and we thicken the base and the asphalt in that area. Parking weight in one spot for months is harder on a driveway than driving over it every day.
Do you remove the old driveway?
Yes, when it needs to come out. We break it up, haul it away and rebuild the base before repaving. Sometimes the old surface can stay and act as part of the base, and we will tell you when that is a fair option rather than an excuse to skip work.
Do you pave driveways outside Federalsburg?
We do. Denton, Preston, Hurlock, Trappe, Easton, Cambridge, Salisbury, Sudlersville, Stevensville and Chester are all inside our normal working area, along with the rest of Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Queen Anne's counties.