Blacktop Paving recommendation (Wilmington: how much, house, contractor) - Delaware (DE) - City-Data Forum

nuts2uiam · 02-28-2018, 04:01 PM

Our driveway is approximately 15 years old and asphalt. The previous owners applied the sealer in excess and it is now a mess with cracks and crumbles and tire depressions. I asked in my community and the one recommendation I got from two neighbors was for a company in Wilmington and they will not come here to Rehoboth for a single job. The drive way is approximately 20ft x 31ft. I am sure I am going to have to have it dug out and start from scratch. Does anyone have a recommendations for a contractor? Thanks.

NJBoy3 · 02-28-2018, 06:39 PM

My neighbors in NJ are primarily using concrete instead of asphalt for replacement. A lot of asphalt around here is county road spec. Does not hold up well. I would at least look into concrete. Especially if you can find a reputable company.

pete lynch · 03-01-2018, 03:00 AM

nuts2uiam, I sent you a PM.

rdlr · 03-01-2018, 04:12 AM

nuts.....I'm sending you a DM with our "go to" asphalt guy's number.

nuts2uiam · 03-01-2018, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBoy3

My neighbors in NJ are primarily using concrete instead of asphalt for replacement. A lot of asphalt around here is county road spec. Does not hold up well. I would at least look into concrete. Especially if you can find a reputable company.

We can't do concrete. We get virtually no sun on that side of the house and the blacktop will melt faster. The concrete will hold the cold and any snow that we get will hug that driveway. Our front door walkway is a sheet of ice unless we can get it down to the concrete after it snows. While we use the garage entrance for the most part, when we have company after it snows we tell them to be very careful.

rdlr · 03-01-2018, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuts2uiam

We can't do concrete. We get virtually no sun on that side of the house and the blacktop will melt faster. The concrete will hold the cold and any snow that we get will hug that driveway. Our front door walkway is a sheet of ice unless we can get it down to the concrete after it snows. While we use the garage entrance for the most part, when we have company after it snows we tell them to be very careful.

I'm not an expert, but I know the concrete driveways I've seen are pitted, cracked, and damaged from the use of rock salt used during snowfalls.Our asphalt driveway hasn't done that.

NJBoy3 · 03-01-2018, 07:20 AM

Concrete can't be salted for the first 2 years. It takes two years to cure. At least that is what I understand. Keep in mind all new developments use concrete.

Kind of sad but there was a large reputable/responsible asphalt company that wanted to build a small state of the art asphalt plant in my town but the environmentalists chased them out. We were left with an old facility that primarily supplies the city and county for roads. Thus all we get is road spec which does not hold up. The nearest quality asphalt manufacturer is 45 minutes away.

It is also my understanding there are different grades of concrete. Depending on how much weight you want to hold.

rdlr · 03-01-2018, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBoy3

Keep in mind all new developments use concrete.

NJBoy....I, respectfully, disagree with that. Most new developments/subdivisions I visit in Kent County and Sussex County have asphalt driveways. It seems that most developments located in towns have concrete driveways. But there's no rule of thumb, and I'm only speaking in general terms, regarding my day to day experiences.

nuts2uiam · 03-01-2018, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NJBoy3

Concrete can't be salted for the first 2 years. It takes two years to cure. At least that is what I understand. Keep in mind all new developments use concrete.

Kind of sad but there was a large reputable/responsible asphalt company that wanted to build a small state of the art asphalt plant in my town but the environmentalists chased them out. We were left with an old facility that primarily supplies the city and county for roads. Thus all we get is road spec which does not hold up. The nearest quality asphalt manufacturer is 45 minutes away.

It is also my understanding there are different grades of concrete. Depending on how much weight you want to hold.

I don't use rock salt because of the erosion factor and I have a dog and don't want the salt on his paws. That aside, unless the concrete is heated, it still makes no difference to us.

jjdeadhead · 03-05-2018, 08:30 AM

Sorry I can't recommend anyone since I am in the process of building down there, but still living in NJ. But my input to material is we built our current home 21 years ago and that builder recommended concrete. It did cost approx. 2x the costs of blacktop. We have had ZERO costs in 21 years. We did not use salt on it ever, and it is on the north side of the home. It doesn't require the constant maintenance I see my neighbors going through, my neighbors they say they wished they had used concrete. I am using concrete on the home we are building now.