How a new asphalt driveway goes in
- Measure and mark. We measure the area, mark the edges, and note where water stands after a storm and where it should go instead.
- Take out the old surface. Broken asphalt, cracked concrete, shell or gravel comes out and is hauled away, down to firm ground.
- Grade for fall. The subgrade is shaped so the finished driveway sheds water away from the slab and toward the street or a drain, never back at the house.
- Build the base. Crushed stone goes down in layers, each one compacted, until it is firm enough that a loaded truck barely marks it.
- Lay the asphalt. Hot-mix is spread to an even depth and rolled while it is hot, usually two to three inches thick after compaction for a home driveway.
- Finish the edges. The apron is tied into the street, the top edge is feathered or butted cleanly to the garage slab, and the sides are tamped so they do not crumble.
Driveway installation on flat lots and clay ground
Most Baton Rouge lots have very little natural slope, so a driveway has to be built with its own. A few inches of fall over the length of the drive is the difference between rain running off in minutes and a puddle that sits by the garage door all afternoon and slowly soaks the base. On clay ground we often dig deeper and put down more stone, because clay moves with the seasons and a thin base moves with it. Where the drive crosses an open roadside ditch, we look at the culvert under the apron too; a crushed or undersized pipe backs water up under new asphalt.
Live oaks are the other local problem. A big oak near the drive can lift and crack pavement within a few years. We will tell you on the walk-through if roots are in the path, and what the options are, from routing the edge around them to cutting and bridging.
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A blacktop driveway or another surface
Asphalt is not the only choice, and for some homes it is not the best one. Concrete costs more up front and handles oil and heavy point loads better; asphalt is quicker to install, easier to repair and easier to resurface later. A long rural drive may be better served by tar and chip or a compacted millings base. The concrete vs asphalt guide, the tar and chip page and the millings page lay out the trade-offs honestly.
Driveway contractors in Baton Rouge: what a written price should show
Before you compare quotes, make sure each one names the same things: the square footage, how much old material comes out and where it goes, the depth of new stone base, the compacted thickness of the asphalt, how the apron meets the street, and how water will leave the drive. Ours lists each of those as its own line. The asphalt driveway cost guide explains what moves each number.
Residential paving outside the city
Besides Baton Rouge we pave new driveways in Denham Springs, Prairieville, Gonzales, Zachary and Central, where newer subdivisions and longer rural drives make up much of the work. A long country drive is priced the same way as a city one, by area, base and thickness, with drainage looked at first.