Paving

[grimm]

Anyone know a good paving company? i'm in the process of buying a house and the driveway is less then desirable and are looking to get a re-paving estimate and a patching estimate. The house is located i Levittown.

Please let me know. Thanks

[The Captain]

If you were closer to bucks/montco, My dad owns and operates a paving company. We've been doing it for 25 years and imho are the best around. I'll ask him if he knows any good guys around there, but if you give me an approx. dimension and what you're looking to get done...(resurface, complete tear out, etc etc) I can get you a pretty rough estimate of how much you'd be looking at. Be careful deciding on who you go with, cheaper is never better. Our driveways last 15-20 years because we do it right the first time. If you have any questions, ask away. Personally, I've been doing residential driveways for approx. 6 years.

[grimm]

well i'm not the very best at sizing things up but...
I'd say it's 10'x25' with a side area.

The main part is a single car width and about 2 cars deep, then the side area, is a single car wide and maybe a car and a half deep?

here are some pics for reference:
http://cdlstudios.com/ourhome/album/slides/IMG_0474.jpg
this is about how long it is, don't know if you can judge based on the walkway size.
http://cdlstudios.com/ourhome/album/slides/IMG_0479.jpg
http://cdlstudios.com/ourhome/album/slides/IMG_0477.jpg

I'm looking to get estimates so i can get a credit from the seller to fix it. I'd rather them rip out the old and re-pave it fresh. since it's already got 2 layers.

[The Captain]

I'll forward this to my dad and get you a quote tonight. It definitely looks like a tear out is in order. Not sure the situation with stone, as i can't tell how deep the stone is from the picture, but 3-4in of stone is usually necessary. Then you need a 2in base and 2in top layer on top of that. That would be the way to properly do it. If you let the home owner do it, I wouldn't be surprised if they resurfaced the main and just put a layer of top coat on the other. It would look good for about a year or two but wouldn't last much longer than that. Just a fyi, the price of asphalt, per ton, has gone up drastically in the past few years. A job like that is probably in the $3500.00 range, but I don't do the estimating, so don't quote me on that.

[grimm]

Thanks, I'm very interested in what he might have to say and to compare it with others. Does he have a web site by chance?

Also the paved portion already has 2 layers. the rock area is held up by a retaining wall. that is about 6-8" tall? 2 4"x4" posts high (from what i can remember)

We are hoping for a re-fund/credit instead of them actually doing the work before they leave for the same reason you mention. Is there a huge difference in price between asphalt and concrete? How about life expectancy's of concrete vs asphalt? Basically why would you go with one over the other besides look?

[The Captain]

haha, i'm supposed to do a website for him, but I never get the free time. There would definitely be a difference in the price between Asphalt and concrete. Concrete is much more "exacting" as you can tell every imperfection and level difference. We do concrete also (actually we prefer it) so i'll ask him about this too. For a long lasting concrete driveway, the key is to have proper expansion joints so that you keep it from cracking as it expands with temperature and a fairly thick (about 4 inch) so that cracking also doesn't occur. Also, proper drainage under the concrete is necessary so that rain water doesn't wash away pockets underneath, which can cause sinking and cracking. It's really involved, but can last a very long time if done properly. I would recommend asphalt because I feel concrete is kind of overkill, but I'll get you prices on each. If you have any more questions, please ask. It never hurts to be an informed buyer.

PM me your address if you want. I'm actually gonna be home this weekend, so if i get some free time, i might be able to drive out and check it out if you're interested.

[grimm]

pm sent..


thanks for all the info. and look forward to hearing what your dad has to say.

[The Captain]

Alright, I talked to the pops. He said to tear out the existing 2 driveways, prep and pave, it'd be around $3,500. I also asked if it were concrete, and he said 10-15k. That's just a really rough estimate, but you can expect those types of prices.

I also asked him if he knows any reputable pavers in that area and he said it's a lot of "characters" out there. So I'd call around if I were you and ask for references. If they stand by their work, they'd have no problem giving you the addresses of a few recently done and a few year-2year old driveways they've done. Also, beware of warranties. There are a few contractors around here that give 10 year warranties, but will find any way around fulfilling their side of the bargain. Again, a good contractor will stand by their work and if there is a fault on their side, should fix it pro bono.

[grimm]

thanks again!! is there anyway to get the estimate in writing to show the seller. currently we just need the info to finalize the negotiation, and need to show some quotes?

[The Captain]

Sure, I'll write you up one. Do you have a fax number or I could just scan it and email you a copy.

[grimm]

I'll PM you the info. Truly appreciate this.