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The condition of your parking lot or driveway sends a message to customers. A well-paved, crack- and pothole-free driving surface says you’re concerned about appearances. It also says you’re thinking about customer safety, and that you want to protect their vehicle from damage when they visit your business.
Historically, asphalt has proven to be an excellent paving material. Cost wise, asphalt provides excellent performance equal to other more expensive options.
Ramsey Asphalt chooses only the finest materials and has been providing service since 1999. Our equipment is state of the art, plus we are staffed by experienced and well trained asphalt pavement crews. Paving is provided for roads, streets, commercial properties, and even residential driveways.
With a properly installed asphalt surface, using good product, customers can expect the asphalt surface to last 30 or more years. With proper maintenance, many projects can last 40 to 50 years.
All our work is covered with a 3 year limited warranty.
On some occasions, it is possible to apply a new layer of asphalt over an old layer. A qualified asphalt paving professional will need to inspect the site to make that determination. Unfortunately, overlays are often done on pavement surfaces that should be repaired or replaced entirely. At Ramsey Asphalt, we will only overlay when we are sure that option the best choice for the integrity and durability of the surface.
One crew prepares the base to make sure the sub-grade drains properly, then it’s built to the required specifications to support the anticipated load bearing needs. A second crew arrives with the paving equipment and product. Asphalt is placed in one, two, or 3 layers, depending on the required specifications.
Product type for each unique paving project is determined by one of our asphalt paving professionals. Inspection of the site will indicate the best match for the anticipated usage. On most Municipal and new Commercial sites, the specification for the product is provided by the architect or engineering firm. We then formulate the product to match the noted specifications.
Cold mix is used mostly in off-season situations, or where a quick fix is needed. Hot mix is used during prime season.
Old asphalt is returned to our yard at our recycle facility. At one time, old asphalt was used primarily to build temporary roadways in landfill sites. Now, all recycled asphalt and “crushed reclaim” is a valuable product. Used in various amounts and formulations, reclaimed asphalt is found in many of the asphalt mixes used by Ramsey Asphalt. Municipal projects all require a percentage of recycled asphalt in the product. The addition of reclaimed asphalt to custom mixes has been found to improve asphalt mixes, extending longevity and enhancing performance.
Porous asphalt allows water to pass-through the asphalt to a specially prepared gravel base. Permeable pavement provides a method to reduce runoff over impervious surfaces that allows for the management and treatment of stormwater on-site while creating a usable area.
It is best to have asphalt maintenance done professionally. Many do-it-yourself products are available, but are not up to the standards used by our team of asphalt paving professionals. There is also a skill level required to apply certain products. Applied incorrectly, any repair solution or sealing ‘cure’ can actually cause damage.
There are many things you can do to keep your asphalt paving looking great. Killing weeds along the edges, treating any oil or gas spills, filling any open cracks, and keeping the pavement sealed will greatly extend the life of any asphalt surface.
Leave the garage door open and remove any vehicles.
We will need full access to the site with garage doors open. We contact Diggers Hotline before starting any project.
Nothing specific is required. It is best to wait at least 24 hours before driving on the new surface. We often advise that you wait longer during hot weather. Following installation, be sure to follow a regular preventative maintenance plan, including sealcoating and crack filling, to keep your asphalt looking its best.
Normally, 24-hours is all that is required to use your new asphalt surface. In very warm weather, we recommend staying off the fresh asphalt for 1 – 2 days, as the surface cools
Some asphalt repair work can be completed in the winter/cooler months. Usually a temporary repair is done with a proper repair done in prime weather conditions.
When your asphalt pavement is brand new the surface is very black. Sometimes, you may be able to notice roller marks and some areas where hand work was done may be more visible. After a short time of usage, however, the surface will blend together and have a very smooth appearance.
Concrete is a great choice for pavement. Although it will cost more than asphalt initially, it has a long lifespan of 30-40 years. Concrete can handle heavier loads and won’t create pits from static vehicles. It offers low maintenance and can be colored and scored.
A concrete driveway will last between 30-40 years when installed correctly and maintained.
Ramsey Asphalt can help with curb and gutter repair. For other types of repairs, Ramsey partners with other companies that offer services such as mud jacking that can re-level uneven surfaces.
It is recommended to put a fresh coat of concrete sealer on every 2 years to protect it from surface damage, corrosion and staining. Make sure to power wash the area before applying the sealer.
At Ramsey Asphalt we handle the project from start-to-finish including the removal of any existing material as well as any other prep work that needs to be done.
After concrete pavement is put down, it is recommended that vehicles need to be kept off of the concrete for at least 7 days. Concrete can be walked on 24 hours after it has been poured.
We would not recommend paving concrete during the winter. The product can be temperamental and brittle during the cold months.
The time it takes to lay concrete will depend on the size of the job. Most residential driveways can be poured in a single day.
There are over 20 types of concrete. The two most common types are Standard Concrete which is prepared for delivery at a concrete plant instead of mixed on the construction site, which guarantees the quality of the concrete.
Cement is an ingredient of concrete. Cement blends with water to create a paste, which is then combined with gravel and sand to create concrete.
As concrete hardens and dries it shrinks, this is caused by the evaporation of excess mixing water. The wetter the mix, the greater shrinkage will be. Too much shrinkage can cause cracking. Cracks can also be caused by the concrete drying too fast, a lack of control joints, a concrete mix not being strong enough or laying the concrete in the cold months.
Concrete is recyclable. Ramsey Asphalt can remove existing concrete, crush it and then recycle it to use as a base course for asphalt paving projects.
Tar and chip paving, also referred to as chip sealing, is very similar to asphalt. It is a combination of hot liquid asphalt cement (liquid A/C or hot tar) as a binder and gravel as the main structural component. Unlike asphalt, which is premixed at an asphalt plant, the components of tar and chip are delivered separately and mixed on the job-site. Tar and chip is nothing new. It has been used for over 100 years, all over the world with great success, to pave and resurface roads, parking lots, residential driveways, and more. Tar and chip is used by county and DOT road crews on road paving projects in virtually every state in the United States
The prep work for tar and chip is almost identical to asphalt paving. After the prep is complete, a coat of liquid A/C is applied to the existing surface by using a computer controlled distributor truck equipped with spray bars. The spray bars apply an exact and consistent amount of liquid A/C, heated to the right temperature. Next, a clean crushed chip stone is spread using a spreader box attached to the dump truck transporting the gravel. The stone adheres to the hot liquid asphalt. Finally, a roller is used to embed the stone into the tar. The entire process is repeated on jobs where multiple courses are required.
This is a very difficult question to answer because it depends on two factors:
Let’s assume we are talking about the point where a paved surface is in bad enough condition that repairs are no longer a viable option. Traffic conditions are pretty typical at that site. The life expectancy for an asphalt paving job is probably around 12 years and, in that time, repairs such as patchwork, crack sealing, and seal coating will be required. For tar and chip, probably around eight years, with patching and isolated re-tar and chipping will be required during that time. Typically, tar and chip paving will last about two-thirds as long as asphalt paving would.
Why use tar and chip instead of asphalt?
We offer 7 different chip seal colors for both commercial and residential projects. These colors include California Gold, Rocky Canyon Gold, Navajo, Montecito Blend, Coastal Grey, Central Valley Blue and Black.
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We're happy to answer any asphalt paving, chip seal or concrete
questions you have. Please don't hesitate to contact us.
