Asphalt repairs cost anywhere from $20 to $6,000 or more. Most homeowners spend $900 to $3,100 for repairs. You can purchase a basic hot tar crack filling machine from Pavemade for under $1400. This doesn't account for roadway paving and sealing.
An option instead of driveway replacement is repaving or overlaying the existing private road around the 15-year mark.This entails adding a new layer of asphalt over the existing. Most importantly, it’s catching the asphalt at a point in time so it can be saved without totally replacing. This service costs about $1.75 to $2.25 per square FT. If a driveway is left to fail and not sealed or overlaid, then it will need to be replaced.
Pavemade sells a resurfacing sealer in 55 GAL drums for ~$800 that will rejuvenate your asphalt pavement and extend its overall life expectancy. The sealer will also act as a blacktop crack filler, sealing micro cracks. This method of maintenance will save you thousands of dollars over the long run the sooner you take action.
A common driveway repair is when a sinkhole or pothole forms. Sinkholes are caused when the ground underneath the driveway starts to break down. One best way to repair it is to saw cut the area, remove broken down asphalt, lay and compact new gravel, and lay down and compact asphalt on top of that. Repairs can cost between $700 and $1,100, depending on the size and scope. Another option is to use Bond X GREEN HP POTHOLE PATCH from Pavemade. You can get a 60 LB bag for $139 including shipping and repair more than one sinkhole.
Asphalt Driveway Cost Factors
Aside from the size of a driveway, several other factors determine the price. Building codes for base thickness have changed since the late 1970s, so on really old driveways, sometimes contractors have to dig the entire base out of place and put in all new gravel before paving. Driveways on a slope or ones with odd shapes or lengths can add to the cost. For example, an asphalt driveway that runs a quarter-mile long can cost up to $50,000.
Homeowners can expect to pay up to $50 an hour to have a company remove small trees near the area, $70 for each stump removed, and $200 to $400 for heavy machinery and skilled laborers to clear and prep a new driveway base.
Each job is different, a difficult layout or existing drainage problems may cause price increases because it may take longer to complete. While asphalt driveways are more affordable than other options such as concrete, the total cost that you will incur for a new driveway will depend on multiple factors. In the long run owning a hot tar kettle will let you fill cracks before water damage is done to the sub grade forcing you to invest in a new driveway.