Driveway resurfacing
Save the base, replace the surface
Asphalt wears out from the top down long before the stone under it gives up. Sun dries the binder, the surface goes grey and open, small cracks start letting water in. At that stage the driveway still has a good foundation, and putting a new mat over it is the cheapest way to get another long run out of it.
Resurfacing is not a cover up. We clean the surface, fill and seal working cracks, cut the apron and the garage edge so the new layer ties in flush, and patch any spot that has failed before we overlay. Skip those steps and every old crack comes straight back through the new asphalt.
If the driveway is too far gone, we say so. Tearing it out and starting over is sometimes the only honest answer, and it is better to hear that before you spend money on an overlay.
When is resurfacing the right call?
Resurfacing works when the driveway is sitting still. The shape is right, water runs off it, and there are no soft areas that move under a loaded truck. Surface cracks, raveling, faded grey asphalt and a few isolated potholes are all fine to overlay once they have been prepped.
What rules it out is base failure. Cracking in a tight web pattern, edges sinking, a low spot that ponds after every rain, or a section that flexes when you drive over it. Those all mean the stone or the ground below has gone soft, and no new layer will hold. At that point the driveway has to come apart and be rebuilt from the subgrade up. Knowing which of the two you are looking at is most of what a family paving business three generations deep is for.
What happens before the new layer goes down?
Prep decides how long an overlay lasts. We sweep the whole drive clean, kill the vegetation growing in the cracks, and rout and fill the cracks that are working. Failed areas get cut out square, the base is repaired, and the hole is patched and compacted level with the old surface.
We also deal with heights. A new mat raises the driveway an inch and a half or so, which matters at the garage door, at the street and at any walk. We cut those edges down so the transitions stay flush and water is not pushed toward the building. Where the shape itself is wrong, cutting a new profile has to come first, because an overlay follows whatever is underneath it. Treating a surface before it fails is the whole idea behind federal pavement preservation work, and it works the same on a driveway.
Find out if your driveway can be saved
Free on-site look from a third generation paving family. Straight answer, and a two year warranty on the work.
Call (410) 924-4174How long does resurfacing take, and how long does it last?
Most home driveways are a one day job once the prep is done, sometimes two if there is a lot of patching. There is no digging and no hauling out, which is why it goes so much faster than a rebuild and why it costs less.
A well prepped overlay on a good base gives you many years before it needs anything. What shortens it is standing water, heavy trucks on a light section, and skipping the crack work at the start. We do plenty of these around Hurlock and the surrounding farms, and the ones that last are always the ones that were prepped properly. Once the new mat has cured, sealing it before winter is the cheapest way to protect it.
Why choose Robert and Son Paving for resurfacing?
Because we will talk you out of it when it is wrong. Selling an overlay on a failed base is easy money and a callback we do not want. This family has worked in the same few counties for three generations, so our name is on driveways our neighbours use every day.
We hold MHIC #74385, we have carried a BBB A+ accreditation since 2018, and our two year warranty covers resurfacing exactly like it covers new work. Estimates are free. If you want a different look on a sound base, ask us about a stone chip surface as well.
Ask a paving contractor
Straight answers about asphalt paving on the Eastern Shore
How thick is a driveway overlay?
Usually about an inch and a half of compacted asphalt over the prepped surface. That is enough to give you a new wearing course and a smooth finish. Thinner than that will not hold up to traffic, and thicker starts causing height problems at the garage and the street.
Will the old cracks come back through the new asphalt?
They can if the prep is skipped. Cracks move with the weather, and that movement works its way up through a thin layer. We rout and fill the working cracks and patch the failed spots first, which is what keeps them from reflecting through.
Can you resurface only part of my driveway?
Yes, and it makes sense when only one area is worn, such as the parking apron or the turn in from the road. We cut a clean joint so the new work ties into the old surface and drains across it instead of damming water at the seam.
Will resurfacing fix my drainage problem?
It can improve it, since we control the shape of the new layer and can build a better fall into it. What it cannot do is fix a driveway that is sitting too low or draining toward a building. That needs regrading or a rebuild, and we will tell you which one you are looking at.
How soon can I drive on a resurfaced driveway?
About 24 to 48 hours for normal cars, once the mat has cooled through. Avoid parking in the same spot with a hot tire on a very warm day for the first few weeks, and keep heavy trucks off it a while longer.
Do you resurface driveways outside Federalsburg?
Yes. Hurlock, Trappe, Preston, Denton, Easton, Cambridge and Salisbury are all in our normal working area, along with the rest of Caroline, Dorchester, Talbot and Queen Anne's counties.