Asphalt Paving: What Is the Recommended Thickness?

When you are planning a backyard cookout for 30 guests, you may wonder how much food you need to buy. You want to buy enough so that no one goes hungry, but you do not want to buy so much that you waste money on food that will end up in the garbage or compost pile. Getting it right requires you to answer a variety of questions. What is on your menu? Are most of your guests adult bodybuilders, kindergarteners, senior citizens, or a mixture of all ages? Do you need to provide a variety of dishes to meet special dietary preferences or requirements? Determining the correct thickness of asphalt paving is a little like deciding how much food to buy for your cookout. It depends on what and who you will be serving.

What and Who Will Your Asphalt Paving Serve?

Do you want your asphalt paving company to build a residential driveway to serve three passenger vehicles? An asphalt depth of two or three inches may be enough, but you probably want a thicker pavement if you will also be parking your RV on it. Do you want to build a parking lot that will serve a combination of passenger vehicles and 18-wheelers? You probably need at least five inches of asphalt, and you may need as much as seven or eight inches. Are you building a lot that will be dedicated to your employees? Most parking lot paving contractors will recommend an asphalt depth of four to six inches. Are you having your asphalt paving company install an overlay? The thickness will typically be between two and three inches. Is your new pavement going to be used exclusively by pedestrians? You may not need a thickness of more than two inches or so.

Does the Depth of the Base Layer Affect the Thickness of Asphalt Paving?

Although it is possible to install asphalt on a soil subgrade, most asphalt paving OC utilizes an aggregate base beneath the asphalt layers. The rule of thumb is that you can decrease the asphalt thickness by one inch for every three inches of base thickness. However, there are exceptions, most of which involve the stability of the ground on which the pavement is to be installed. Therefore, site and soil evaluations are critical when performing Orange County paving services.

If the Company Providing My Asphalt Paving Services Gets the Asphalt Thickness Wrong, What Will Happen?

It depends on whether your paving company makes the asphalt layers too thick or too thin. If they make it too thick, you will be spending more than you should, and it is also a waste of natural resources. If they make it too thin, you need to be prepared to budget extra funds for your paving maintenance and repairs. You will start to see signs of pavement distress during your pavement’s early life, including cracks, potholes, and alligatored asphalt. Even the best parking lot maintenance will not completely offset the premature demise of your pavement. However, this does not mean that you should neglect your routine paving maintenance. Sealcoating, crack filling or sealing, and asphalt patching can help you delay the expense of reconstructing your pavement, but you would need to consult your asphalt paving company for an estimate of how much time you can buy through effective paving maintenance.

For Superior Orange County Paving Services, Trust Peterson Grading & Paving

Peterson Grading serves Orange County with an extensive range of asphalt paving services, including installations, asphalt sealcoating, shot blasting, crack repairs, parking lot maintenance programs, line removal, concrete repairs, parking lot striping, pavement markings and removals, parking lot signage, and warehouse striping. We are known for providing exemplary service and exceptional work at competitive rates. If you would like a free quote, you can email Ryan@GradePave.com, submit the online request form, or call 949-402-6979.