How Challenging Will a Paving Project Be?
Paving projects cover a wide range of possibilities. For a paving contractor, many are fairly easy. However, some will pose notable challenges. Customers often want to know how much their projects might involve so let's look at what might make a job easy or hard.
Preparing the Ground
Some locations have serious soil problems. You may need to address these before you move forward with hiring a paving contractor. The solution might be as simple as hauling in some heavy rock for fill, but the location could also require full-on civil engineering work. Paving companies typically don't do this sort of work so you may need to hire an engineer to study the location and implement some solutions.
Drainage
Similarly, some locations will have drainage problems. Fortunately, a paving contractor can often just add some slop to the new surface to encourage the water to go away. However, you may face some engineering issues if the water goes under your preferred locations. Oftentimes, culverts or French drains can fix these problems, but that's still preparatory work you'll have to do ahead of a paving contractor showing up.
Connections
Most paved surfaces connect with at least one other paved area. For example, you're probably not going to put in a paved driveway unless it has access to a nearby street.
Whenever you pave in this manner, the connections become a big deal. You may have to comply with local ordinances regarding the types of connections that are allowable. Curbing, for example, is a common problem when you connect a driveway to a municipal street. It is a good idea to talk to your local code enforcement office to learn what the rules are where you'll be paving.
There may also be complexities with connections that involve easements or homeowners associations. Make sure you know who has some say regarding the design of the connection so you don't create disruptions.
Weather
The choice of asphalt is often as important as the larger engineering and compliance issues. Weather drives these decisions. Some kinds of asphalts are loose to allow precipitation to drain through them. Other materials have textured surfaces to improve traction in snowy and icy regions. Likewise, there are different mixtures intended for use in cold or hot settings during the paving process. You should think hard about the type of weather you get in your area before choosing a type of paving material.
For more information, look to a company such as Arrow Black Top & Masonry Inc.
