Tack coat is a asphalt emulsion similar to what is used in asphalt to bind together the material, just without the aggregate. It acts as an adhesive between the existing layer of asphalt and the new one, as well as barrier to prevent water saturation between the two.

A butt joint is the point where the new asphalt meets either concrete or the existing asphalt. In order to ensure there are smooth transitions and proper slope between such joints, we may have to sawcut and remove portions of the existing asphalt. This gives an ability to address issues with slope that we may have otherwise have not been able to.

There are many factors to determining whether or not your asphalt is a viable candidate for an overlay as opposed to removing and replacing it. The first and most apparent is the consistency (smoothness) of the asphalt, if there are large deviations where the asphalt significantly dips or swells it will not be viable to be overlayed. Another is cracks, surface cracks are acceptable and can often be corrected with an overlay but if the cracks are full depth, then it is not viable as the subbase is still susceptible to water erosion. The reason for not making it viable is if the estimator believes the existing issues will persist in a short span of time.

An asphalt overlay is often cheaper than removing and replacing a driveway because the subbase is not being addressed. This means there are fewer material costs and often less labor hours spent on the job. If done properly, an overlay can extend your asphalts life for another 10-15 years.

If the existing asphalt is insufficient, we simply will not offer this option to a customer. We believe in putting our names on work that we are proud of and believe in and offering something that we don’t believe will last is not in our business practices. If provided it is completely up to the customers cost and budget whether or not they remove the asphalt or simply overlay it.

If the existing asphalt is insufficient, we will not offer this option to a customer. We only put our names on work that we are proud of and believe in; offering something that we don’t believe will last is not in our business practices. If provided it is completely up to the customers cost and budget whether or not they remove the asphalt or simply overlay it.