Asphalt Paving Instructions

Instructions for Asphalt Paving

• 1

  Map your designated asphalt paving project. Planning exactly where you will be paving will help you determine slopes, drainage and any other issues you may encounter. Using small flags or markers will help define the path for the asphalt.

• 2

  Choose a base for the asphalt paving project. Asphalt can be applied directly to the top of an existing pathway, but the preferred method calls for either soil or an aggregate base of stone and sand. If the aggregate base is used, the typical ration of base and asphalt is six to eight inches of aggregate under three inches of asphalt. To create a form for the border of your asphalt project, you may use wood blocking or a flexible landscaping border material.

• 3

  Heat the asphalt mixture to 300 degrees. This temperature makes the mixture pliable and easy to work with. It is important that the mixture is spread and placed quickly before it is allowed to cool down and solidify.

• 4

  Tamp the mixture into place. The asphalt can be tamped down by hand or with the use of a plate compactor. Although hand tamping may be the most cost-effective option, the quality of the compaction may not match that of machine compaction. Hand tamping should only be used on smaller projects like repairs and patches. A heavy-duty compactor is necessary for larger projects such as driveways and roads.

• 5

  Give the asphalt 24 hours to solidify and set before driving on it. Driving on the asphalt before it has time to set will create depressions in the surface and can lead to cracking and other damages. These types of damages could effect the integrity of the product and require repair or patches.