Site Preparation and Excavation

Site Preparation And Excavation

Ideal Site Preparation Before Paving Asphalt Driveway

When you take a look at a newly laid asphalt driveway or a road, you can hardly imagine what has gone on beneath the surface. An asphalt surface is only as good as the strength of the soil that is holding it from below. Excavation and site preparation for laying an asphalt turf for a driveway or any other purpose is critical. In Plano city in Texas, you can get in touch with Skye Asphalt for all services related to laying a top-class asphalt driveway.

Digging Deeper for Site Preparation

The first step in laying any asphalt surface is to completely remove the existing structure if any. This is where the excavation activity comes in. The professional agency which is involved in the business will have the arrangements in place to reprocess some of these materials which are recycled and used while making a new surface.

Once the excavating process is complete, you may observe that the level may not be uniform. A heavy proof roll is always used to run over the excavated surface. This roll would typically weigh over 70,000 pounds. When such a heavy roll is run over the surface, it does two things. It compacts the ground below making it one strong base. Next, it clearly shows the places where the surface below is not solid enough. The excavation and site preparation team will then dig up that area and check and fill it with some solid stuff. The proof roll will have to be used again to be sure that the surface is ready to accept the asphalt paving

Preparing the Surface for Asphalt Paving

The site preparation work for laying the asphalt surface will start once the leveling has been completed. Sub-base is the terminology used by the trade to describe the part just below the asphalt top. Part of the activity in site preparation has been discussed above and should be done in the right way. The sub-base needs to be stable and compact and whatever is needed to ensure this will be undertaken by the driveway pavers. The surface below the asphalt layer is also important for holding it together during the cold weather when frosting can occur. Uneven areas here can cause cracks in the asphalt driveway much earlier than you would normally expect.

Other Ways of Strengthening the Sub Base

Professional firms in Plano like Skye Asphalt can handle these jobs in a thorough and professional manner. Since the very idea of laying the asphalt driveway is to have a uniform surface, any soft spot found in the sub-base cannot be left unattended. The best way would be to dig up that spot a couple of feet below and build the base from the bottom upward. Leaving it as it is or doing a superficial work can lead to that portion caving in later when vehicles start going over the spot regularly. The experts in this field employ different methods to solve the issue of soft spots in the sub-base.

They mix the clay or soft material found below the surface with some stone aggregate and refill the dug portion to make it solid.

All these are part of the excavation and site preparation routine to be carried out before laying the asphalt turf.

Laying of the Binder Layer

In the final step before the asphalt is poured on the surface, a binder layer is prepared. This is made of large aggregate and a particular oil is mixed with it. All these are meant to ensure that the asphalt grips the surface below and stays that way for years. Within the industry, the understanding is that a concrete driveway has a longer life than the asphalt driveway. All the processes described above in the preparation of the base for the asphalt surface can prove that theory wrong. A very well laid asphalt driveway and one that is maintained well by the user can last for a long time and serve you well. Some minimal driveway repair may be required in-between, but people in Plano have had trouble-free asphalt driveways for over a decade!

It all boils down to a professional service agency leading from the fron

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