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jeff8541

Asphalt Driveway: Problems Already!

jeff8541
15 years ago

I just had an asphalt driveway installed 5 days ago on 9/6/08. This morning I noticed an area with cracks and split buldges, like something is pushing up from below. The pavement there is still kind of soft to the touch. The buldges are about the size of a half golf-ball and I can see plant material.

The old driveway was gravel, but mostly dirt/grass. The contractor scraped the old existing surface, levelled it with a steam roller, then laid 2.5" of asphalt. Is this a sign of shoddy construction, or are moles trying to destroy my new driveway? I think I have moles as there are several mounds of dirt that keep popping up all over the yard. I live at 9,000' in Colorado if that makes any difference. Should I have the contractor come back out to fix it? Seems like they'd have to completely re do that section rather than just patch it.

Thanks for any advice.

Comments (14)

  • lucy
    15 years ago

    Good luck finding the "contractor". I bet you found him when he came to the door with a card, because he was "on your street"? Those people are notorious and you should never, ever hire them for anything. Only when YOU make the call to reputable companies (and get the best of at least 3 estimates) can you choose who will do the work, who can produce references for you to check beforehand, and who enter into a written contract so that (theoretically at least) you have some way to find them again if there are problems. Of course just putting a layer of (probably badly mixed) asphalt over dirt won't be good for anything. You need proper pavers, who will put down gravel, and possibly sand, and build up the paving on top of it - and there may be more to it (don't know the whole procedure) but what you got was a mess, not a paving job.

  • jeff8541
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Actually, right after I read the above statement, the company that paved my driveway called me. They came out a couple days later and looked over the problems. What we discovered is that there are plants actually pushing up through the asphalt! I couldn't believe this, but it is true. In every dome/crack there is a fresh baby plant! The guy told me that he couldn't believe it either, but has been doing this for 10 years and its common. They even sprayed weed killer on the ground before placing the asphalt.
    What he said is that when they scrape the ground it exposes seeds, then, the warm asphalt on top promotes growth. Even though we could drive on the surface after 48 hours, he told me that it takes ~60 days for the asphalt to completely cure.
    He finally told me that I need to get weed killer, spray int the cracks and then flatten down the dome/cracks as best I could. After winter, they will be back next spring to fix the damage. We have a 1-yr. warranty on the driveway.
    So, good news and I learned something in the process. Anyone else heard of sprouting plants pushing through 2.5" of asphalt before? Amazing!

  • joed
    15 years ago

    A proper asphalt drive has 9-10 inches of compact gravel base. You got a cheap job and you got what you paid for.

  • davidandkasie
    15 years ago

    an asphalt drive should be laid HOT. if it is at proper temp it would scorch any seeds. you got ripped. i guarantee you that next spring this guy and his company will be nowhere to be found. and it sounds like they used cold patch for the asphalt instead of the proper mix.

    BTW, concrete drives are 2.5-3" thick MINIMUM, softer asphalt should be at least 4" and both MUST be done on a proper base. if you are somewhere with a frost line, i bet your drive heaves like crazy over the winter.

  • jeff8541
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    You guarantee me? Wow, y'all are a bunch of clairvoyants or experts I guess. Can I see into your crystal ball too?

    Anyway, the company is local and got an A- with the BBB (I'm sure I could've done worse). I already had a base; the old gravel driveway that they re-levelled and compacted. I found nothing consistant in web searches on the minimum thickness for asphalt. They all mentioned that it is dependent on the thickness of the base, and measurements ranged fom 1.5" to 6". I already live on a solid granite mountain with very little soil, so I don't think I'm in that much trouble. Time will tell.

  • davidandkasie
    15 years ago

    if you are already having issues, then yes you will be in trouble the more time passes. at least you did use a known company. maybe he will honor the warranty come spring, who knows.

    there is no way plants should be breaking thru teh surface this soon. maybe in a few years when it starts to crack some, but not right now. i still say it was done improperly.

  • ADVANTAGEHOWARD_YAHOO_COM
    14 years ago

    I HAD ASPHALT DRIVE PUT 1MONTH AGO. THE PROBLEM IS THE ASPHALT WON'T DRY WHEN YOU PARK ON IT TIRE DEPRESSIONS ARE LEFT. WHEN YOU DRIVE ON THE DRIVE IT MOVES LIKE A SPONGE. TURNING THE TIRES MAKE FRESH OIL COME TO THE SURFACE. I USED A CONTRACTOR IN BUSINESS FOR 20 YEARS HE SAYS MUST BE BAD ASPHALT HE WILL REMOVE AND REPLACE. ANYONE SEEN THIS HAPPEN!! ANY OTHER HELP BESIDE REMOVING DRIVE?

  • ActionClaw (Northern Ohio zone:5a/5b)
    10 years ago

    HOWARD

    "What the Sam Hill you yelling for, George?"

  • millworkman
    10 years ago

    you heard him yelling from 4 years?

  • HU-209703838
    3 years ago

    I just had my driveway paved 4 days ago. I see bigger rocks that don’t seem to have enough tar. company ran out of asphalt and had to get more. Now in that spot it looks like a big patch




  • HU-209703838
    3 years ago

    Any help would be great

  • shivece
    3 years ago

    Asphalt is a mix of black goo, different sizes/kinds of sand/gravel and air (voids). Big asphalt paving companies (where many little paving companies buy their asphalt) have a laboratory where they develop, test and monitor the specs/mix designs for significant paving jobs like interstate and state highways and more sophisticated local areas. All asphalt should be laid over a substantial gravel base. A correct base with good drainage is the most important part of a long lasting job. And the expensive part many residential customers don’t want to pay for. The worst mix design for longevity is the pretty “driveway” mix with lots of shiny, black asphalt and less sand/gravel/voids. That kind of mix needs to be on a significant gravel base more than any other mix.

  • jrb451
    3 years ago

    I have a couple of spots like that on my overlay from two years ago. And. they've grown. I had a neighbor that used this same company a few years back experience the same thing. They called the contractor out to take a look. His son looked at the father and said "This must have been the batch from X".

    I'm guessing it's a mixing issue. It appears as if the binding mixture is pulling away from the aggregate. I'm looking into some type of sealant treatment but, from the reviews, that seems to be a crap shoot.

    Good luck.