All across Texas, many homeowners, local governments, and businesses choose asphalt to construct their pavements. Although there is a time and place for concrete, asphalt pavements are faster and less expensive to install, and they can provide many years of service if properly maintained. These factors contribute to the popularity of asphalt for constructing parking lots, residential driveways, rural roads, and many other types of pavements. Asphalt’s versatility has led some people to wonder whether there are differences between residential and commercial paving projects. There are some differences, but they are not as significant as many people assume, and there are also similarities.

What Are the Similarities Between Residential and Commercial Paving Projects?

Whether they are completing residential, commercial, or municipal paving projects, asphalt contractors follow many of the same steps.

1. A representative of the paving company will visit the site to identify any special challenges, including the suitability of the soil, and to determine the customer’s preferences.
2. Paving contractors will engineer a pavement design that will support the type of traffic that the client expects to use the pavement. This includes both the weight and volume of the vehicles.
3. The contractor will select the asphalt paving mix that is the best match to satisfy the engineering requirements and the customer’s desires.
4. The paving company will grade the site and set the slope. If an aggregate foundation is part of the design, it will be constructed and compacted.
5. Multiple courses of asphalt will be placed, worked, and compacted.
6. The contractor will advise the customer on the type and frequency of paving maintenance services that may be required to protect their new pavement.

What Are the Differences Between Residential and Commercial Paving Projects?

Experienced contractors know that every paving project has the potential to be different from the last, but the differences are typically minor. When comparing commercial and residential paving, the primary differences involve the project’s size and complexity, the pavement’s drainage, and the depth of the pavement.

1. Commercial and municipal paving projects almost always involve installing pavements that are much larger than residential pavements. This adds a layer of complexity to the project, including the proper spacing of the asphalt trucks, the scheduling of the appropriate crew members, and the timing of the work. It also requires the paving company to ensure that it has the right equipment and a sufficient number of the necessary pieces.
2. Asphalt pavements must have proper drainage to keep them healthy and prevent potential hazards to people and their vehicles. A typical residential driveway is small enough that a contractor can ensure adequate drainage by simply establishing the slope of the pavement. However, parking lot paving contractors must normally take additional steps. They may need to install catch basins, curb and gutter systems, swales, or other features.
3. The depth of the pavement must normally be thicker for commercial projects than for residential projects. When asphalt contractors speak of depth, they are including the subgrade, base layers, and asphalt courses. Because most residential driveways do not need to support heavy trucks, the pavements do not need as much depth as a commercial pavement. Although the thickness of the asphalt courses may also be increased, most commercial projects require ensuring the sufficiency of the soil, which may require amending it, and then installing thicker base layers.

RDC Paving provides commercial paving and residential paving in the Austin metropolitan area with a wide variety of services. We offer asphalt paving, asphalt overlays, asphalt repairs, asphalt milling, asphalt crack repairs, asphalt driveway paving, parking lot maintenance, asphalt sealcoating, and parking lot striping. We also offer concrete repairs, and we install concrete driveways, concrete parking lots, concrete ADA features, concrete curbs, concrete ramps, and concrete sidewalks. We are known for our exemplary customer services, exceptional craftsmanship, and professional project management. If you would like to request a free job quote, submit the online form, email Ryan@RDCPaving.com, or call 512-920-9155.