No pavement can last forever, but you shouldn’t be too quick to assume that you need to reconstruct your pavement from the ground up. Many tired, aging, or damaged pavements can be saved by installing an asphalt overlay, which is a procedure that is sometimes referred to as pavement resurfacing. The process can be divided into the tasks that need to be completed before, during, and after the resurfacing procedure.

What Does a Paving Contractor Do Before an Asphalt Overlay?

If your pavement deteriorated prematurely, your contractor should determine the source of the problem, and this should be addressed before proceeding. Unless the source of the problem is eliminated, the paving overlay will probably fail prematurely as well. The contractor may need to perform a preliminary cleaning to uncover damaged areas. Next, your contractor will perform any needed asphalt crack repair, pothole repair, or patching to help prevent damage patterns from showing up in the asphalt overlay.

The Asphalt Overlaying Process

When the day arrives to install your asphalt overlay, the contractor will see that the following steps are completed.

Close the work area to traffic by erecting barricades, tape, or other control devices.

• Clean the pavement to remove any dirt, gravel, or trash that may have appeared since the preliminary cleaning.
• Use an asphalt milling machine to grind away a predetermined depth of the existing pavement. In most cases, the depth of asphalt removed is between two and three inches.
• If necessary, clean the pavement again to remove any scraps of material that may have escaped during the asphalt milling.
• Normally, commercial paving contractors apply a tack coat next. A tack coat helps ensure a strong bond between the pavement and the paving overlay.
• Next, each course of asphalt will be placed and compacted until the depth of the overlay is equivalent to the depth of pavement that was removed.
• Typically, you will need to keep vehicles off your pavement for at least 24 hours, so your contractor may leave the traffic control devices in place overnight.

What Does a Paving Contractor Do After Installing an Asphalt Overlay?

The contractor should return to inspect the work performed by crew members, and you should go along for the inspection if you can. If you have concerns, now is the time to voice them. If everything seems copacetic, then the contractor should remove the company’s traffic control devices. Your contractor should also advise you on the length of time that you need to wait before you have sealcoating applied to your asphalt overlay. Your contractor can also help you plan and budget for your periodic sealcoating applications and asphalt crack repair.

RDC: Your Source for Residential & Commercial Asphalt Paving Services

We are a well-respected, experienced paving company with an impeccable reputation for quality work, superb customer service, and professionalism. We serve customers throughout Austin, Leander, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, San Marcos, Georgetown, and Round Rock. We offer an extensive list of services, including asphalt resurfacing, parking lot striping, concrete paving, parking lot maintenance, asphalt crack repair, asphalt paving, concrete repair, concrete wheel stops, asphalt milling, driveway paving, and asphalt repair. Reach out and request a free quote by calling 512-920-9155, or you can fill out and submit the online form.