Asphalt surfacing is a more expensive option than chip-seal but does provide a heavy-duty and long-lasting pavement solution. The depths in which it is laid varies, depending on if it is a commercial or residential project. On a typical commercial hardstand area or residential subdivision project, the pavement design would call for 25mm-60mm of asphalt on a grade 5 membrane seal (single coat chip seal) this helps it to adhere to the constructed pavement. Often on these sized jobs, we would use our asphalt paving machine that spreads the asphalt out in an even mat from 2.6 – 5.0metre wide runs. On a residential driveway depending on the size, we would either hand-lay the asphalt or use the paving machine.
Driveway pavement designs can also vary between 25mm-40mm depending on the client’s requirements.
As with the chipseal, asphalt can be used to overlay old or failing chip seal or existing asphalt pavements. This uses the same method to lay the asphalt at varying depths, but only after the existing pavement failures are either dugout and reconstructed or using asphalt to patch any potholes or low areas. This is a very cost-effective option, as you don’t have the cost of a full reconstruction of the existing pavement.
