Resurfacing is the option most people do not know they have. If the base under your pavement is still sound, and the problem is a worn, cracked, faded surface, then a new layer over the top gives you a new driveway or lot for a fraction of what tearing it out and rebuilding costs. The whole question is whether your base qualifies — and that is a thing to be assessed, not assumed.
Widespread cracking with a solid foundation is a resurfacing candidate. Pavement that is pumping, sinking or moving underfoot is not — an overlay on a failed base just cracks through in the same places within a year or two.
Potholes patched, bad sections cut out, cracks sealed. Paving over a defect hides it for one season and telegraphs it back through the new surface after that.
Where the new surface meets garages, aprons, kerbs and existing drives, the level has to work. An overlay that leaves a lip at the garage door, or that raises the grade so water now runs the wrong way, has created a new problem.
Same mix, same rolling, same standard as a new install. Resurfaced properly, you cannot tell it was an overlay.
We take asphalt resurfacing work across Charlottesville and the eight counties around it — Albemarle, Louisa, Fluvanna, Nelson, Greene, Orange, Madison, Culpeper. That is 56 communities, from in-town driveways to private roads a long way off the state route.
If the surface has widespread cracking, potholes or general wear but the ground beneath it is stable, resurfacing — adding a new layer of asphalt — is usually the cost-effective route. If the foundation itself is severely damaged, a full replacement may be the only thing that will last. We offer free assessments to work out which one you actually have.
Meaningfully, because you are not paying to remove the old pavement, rebuild the base or haul material away. The exact figure depends on the size, the access and how much repair the existing surface needs first, which is why the assessment comes before the number.
They can, if they are not dealt with first — that is called reflective cracking, and it is the most common reason a cheap overlay disappoints. Sealing and repairing before the overlay goes down is what keeps the old crack pattern from reappearing in the new surface.
Most jobs are two of these together — seal the cracks and then seal the surface, patch the holes and then overlay. Doing them in the right order is most of what makes them last.
Tell us what you are looking at and we will come out, assess it and give you a number. Monday–Saturday, 7:00 am – 6:00 pm. Closed Sunday.