Anybody ever laid down brick, tile, etc, over an asphalt driveway? Mine is good and solid with a few small cracks starting. No potholes yet. If I had the $$, I would tear it out and put down a brick one. Another thing about this is that the wonderful city here requires a permit for tearing out and laying down a new one.

So I'm thinking about sealing it good and then laying down pavers or tile on top. The only thing out of the ordinary would be I will need to cut off 1/2-inch or so from the bottom of the garage door. And would have to dig out some asphalt where the driveway hits the sidewalk to match the level.

Any idears, fellers?

Guv Bob wrote:
Anybody ever laid down brick, tile, etc, over an asphalt driveway?
Mine is good and solid with a few small cracks starting. No potholes
yet. If I had the $$, I would tear it out and put down a brick one.
Another thing about this is that the wonderful city here requires a
permit for tearing out and laying down a new one.

So I'm thinking about sealing it good and then laying down pavers or
tile on top. The only thing out of the ordinary would be I will need
to cut off 1/2-inch or so from the bottom of the garage door. And
would have to dig out some asphalt where the driveway hits the
sidewalk to match the level.

Any idears, fellers?

Check out the difference in expansion due to temp changes . I suspect that
asphalt moves a lot more than tile , but that's just a hunch .
Get those cracks sealed up soonest , especially if you live in
frost/freeze country . Or you will have potholes soon .
--
Snag

On Thursday, February 6, 2014 12:54:30 AM UTC-5, Guv Bob wrote:
Anybody ever laid down brick, tile, etc, over an asphalt driveway? Mine is good and solid with a few small cracks starting. No potholes yet. If I had the $$, I would tear it out and put down a brick one. Another thing about this is that the wonderful city here requires a permit for tearing out and laying down a new one.



So I'm thinking about sealing it good and then laying down pavers or tile on top. The only thing out of the ordinary would be I will need to cut off 1/2-inch or so from the bottom of the garage door. And would have to dig out some asphalt where the driveway hits the sidewalk to match the level.



Any idears, fellers?

I've never seen tile used on a driveway. Pavers would seem to be the
best choice. I don't see the need to seal the asphalt. If anything,
you'd want the opposite, so water can drain through the pavers. IDK
what exactly the effect would be of having an impervious surface below
pavers. Could be a problem with water retention, freeze/thaw, etc.

The other problem is you need sand underneath, plus the pavers.
In most applications I would think it would create height problems aligning
with exisiting surface, eg garage, street, etc. And pavers or similar
alternatives aren't going to be cheap. DIY you'd save the labor,
but for a contracted job, those other alternatives are more expensive
than asphalt.

Guv Bob wrote:
Anybody ever laid down brick, tile, etc, over an asphalt driveway? Mine is good and solid with a few small cracks starting. No potholes yet. If I had the $$, I would tear it out and put down a brick one. Another thing about this is that the wonderful city here requires a permit for tearing out and laying down a new one.

So I'm thinking about sealing it good and then laying down pavers or tile on top. The only thing out of the ordinary would be I will need to cut off 1/2-inch or so from the bottom of the garage door. And would have to dig out some asphalt where the driveway hits the sidewalk to match the level.

Any idears, fellers?

Hi,
You can reseal the surface or common sense tells me it is a no, no
for laying down paving tile/blockss on top of asphalt surface for
obvious reason. Here in cold Alberta we mostly have concrete drive ways.
And with the extra prep work some has paving tile drive way.
All of them last very well. The trick is putting in good foundation B4
whatever you do. Excavation, filling with gravel, sand, compacting, etc.
are the requirement. My concrete drive way is more than 20 years old,
nothing wrong yet. I just coat the surface every couple years with
clear sealer in summer time.

So has anybody ever done this?

"Tony Hwang" wrote in message ...
Guv Bob wrote:
Anybody ever laid down brick, tile, etc, over an asphalt driveway? Mine is good and solid with a few small cracks starting. No potholes yet. If I had the $$, I would tear it out and put down a brick one. Another thing about this is that the wonderful city here requires a permit for tearing out and laying down a new one.

So I'm thinking about sealing it good and then laying down pavers or tile on top. The only thing out of the ordinary would be I will need to cut off 1/2-inch or so from the bottom of the garage door. And would have to dig out some asphalt where the driveway hits the sidewalk to match the level.

Any idears, fellers?

Hi,
You can reseal the surface or common sense tells me it is a no, no
for laying down paving tile/blockss on top of asphalt surface for
obvious reason. Here in cold Alberta we mostly have concrete drive ways.
And with the extra prep work some has paving tile drive way.
All of them last very well. The trick is putting in good foundation B4
whatever you do. Excavation, filling with gravel, sand, compacting, etc.
are the requirement. My concrete drive way is more than 20 years old,
nothing wrong yet. I just coat the surface every couple years with
clear sealer in summer time.

Obad idea any cracks in the asphalt with cause pavers or tile to crack. Asphalt moves a lot when freezing and thawing.

seal the driveway, or skim coat a 1 inch layer of new asphalt over your existing driveway..

On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:43:55 -0800 (PST), bob haller
wrote:

Obad idea any cracks in the asphalt with cause pavers or tile to crack. Asphalt moves a lot when freezing and thawing.

seal the driveway, or skim coat a 1 inch layer of new asphalt over your existing driveway..
Which is GUARANTEED to crack up and lift off within 18 months at the
very most..

On Monday, February 10, 2014 10:16:49 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:43:55 -0800 (PST), bob haller

wrote:



Obad idea any cracks in the asphalt with cause pavers or tile to crack. Asphalt moves a lot when freezing and thawing.



seal the driveway, or skim coat a 1 inch layer of new asphalt over your existing driveway..

Which is GUARANTEED to crack up and lift off within 18 months at the

very most..

my neighbor was selling his home, he had his cracked driveway skim coated with a inch of finsh asphalt.....

it lasted at least 15 years thru 2 owners.

tiles and pavers would allow water to get easily into cracks.. doing real harm when freezing.

my asphalt drieway was paved way back around 1985. its showing its age, sealer helps keeps it together.

my old neighbor had a asphalt driveway installed when i was a kid, I am 57 years old.... its still their but is badly cracking tm meehan the owner got too old to maintain it and died a year or so ago...

50 years + for asphalt is a long time

"bob haller" wrote in message ...
On Monday, February 10, 2014 10:16:49 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:43:55 -0800 (PST), bob haller

wrote:



Obad idea any cracks in the asphalt with cause pavers or tile to crack. Asphalt moves a lot when freezing and thawing.



seal the driveway, or skim coat a 1 inch layer of new asphalt over your existing driveway..

Which is GUARANTEED to crack up and lift off within 18 months at the

very most..

my neighbor was selling his home, he had his cracked driveway skim coated with a inch of finsh asphalt.....

it lasted at least 15 years thru 2 owners.

tiles and pavers would allow water to get easily into cracks.. doing real harm when freezing.

my asphalt drieway was paved way back around 1985. its showing its age, sealer helps keeps it together.

my old neighbor had a asphalt driveway installed when i was a kid, I am 57 years old.... its still their but is badly cracking tm meehan the owner got too old to maintain it and died a year or so ago...

50 years + for asphalt is a long time

This one is 52 years old. I had it patched and sealed about 15 years ago and did a good job. Repeated again 5 years ago, but they didn't seal cracks well or use enough slurry and cracks came back quickly. Problem is the cost is so high -- new driveway costs, plus removing and disposing asphalt, city permit and increase in property taxes due to "improvement:".

My thought was to patch and seal, and then lay tile or brick on top loose. One way or another the asphalt top has got to go. In the summer it gets hot as blazes and is on the upwind side of the house.

I'm not worried about water or freeze/thaw. This is So Calif - very little rain and never gets below 40 deg F.

On Wednesday, February 5, 2014 11:54:30 PM UTC-6, Guv Bob wrote:
Anybody ever laid down brick, tile, etc, over an asphalt driveway? Mine is good and solid with a few small cracks starting. No potholes yet. If I had the $$, I would tear it out and put down a brick one. Another thing about this is that the wonderful city here requires a permit for tearing out and laying down a new one. So I'm thinking about sealing it good and then laying down pavers or tile on top. The only thing out of the ordinary would be I will need to cut off 1/2-inch or so from the bottom of the garage door. And would have to dig out some asphalt where the driveway hits the sidewalk to match the level. Any idears, fellers?

You should have told us it was So CA in your original post, itwould have saved a lot of words. I would go for the bricks, just because that is a more common solution, and you might scare off some future buyers with tiles.

On Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:33:20 -0800, "Guv Bob"
wrote:

"bob haller" wrote in message ...
On Monday, February 10, 2014 10:16:49 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:43:55 -0800 (PST), bob haller

wrote:



Obad idea any cracks in the asphalt with cause pavers or tile to crack. Asphalt moves a lot when freezing and thawing.



seal the driveway, or skim coat a 1 inch layer of new asphalt over your existing driveway..

Which is GUARANTEED to crack up and lift off within 18 months at the

very most..

my neighbor was selling his home, he had his cracked driveway skim coated with a inch of finsh asphalt.....

it lasted at least 15 years thru 2 owners.

tiles and pavers would allow water to get easily into cracks.. doing real harm when freezing.

my asphalt drieway was paved way back around 1985. its showing its age, sealer helps keeps it together.

my old neighbor had a asphalt driveway installed when i was a kid, I am 57 years old.... its still their but is badly cracking tm meehan the owner got too old to maintain it and died a year or so ago...

50 years + for asphalt is a long time

This one is 52 years old. I had it patched and sealed about 15 years ago and did a good job. Repeated again 5 years ago, but they didn't seal cracks well or use enough slurry and cracks came back quickly. Problem is the cost is so high -- new driveway costs, plus removing and disposing asphalt, city permit and increase in property taxes due to "improvement:".

My thought was to patch and seal, and then lay tile or brick on top loose. One way or another the asphalt top has got to go. In the summer it gets hot as blazes and is on the upwind side of the house.

I'm not worried about water or freeze/thaw. This is So Calif - very little rain and never gets below 40 deg F.
Around here you are taxed the same if it is a garbage asphalt
driveway or a brand new one - it's asphalt.

cracked asphalt is generally a sign of base failure. so covering it up really doesnt address the real problem

On Wednesday, February 12, 2014 8:57:05 PM UTC-5, wrote:
On Wed, 12 Feb 2014 11:33:20 -0800, "Guv Bob"

wrote:



"bob haller" wrote in message ...

On Monday, February 10, 2014 10:16:49 PM UTC-5, wrote:

On Mon, 10 Feb 2014 16:43:55 -0800 (PST), bob haller



wrote:







Obad idea any cracks in the asphalt with cause pavers or tile to crack. Asphalt moves a lot when freezing and thawing.







seal the driveway, or skim coat a 1 inch layer of new asphalt over your existing driveway..



Which is GUARANTEED to crack up and lift off within 18 months at the



very most..



my neighbor was selling his home, he had his cracked driveway skim coated with a inch of finsh asphalt.....



it lasted at least 15 years thru 2 owners.



tiles and pavers would allow water to get easily into cracks.. doing real harm when freezing.



my asphalt drieway was paved way back around 1985. its showing its age, sealer helps keeps it together.



my old neighbor had a asphalt driveway installed when i was a kid, I am 57 years old.... its still their but is badly cracking tm meehan the owner got too old to maintain it and died a year or so ago...



50 years + for asphalt is a long time



This one is 52 years old. I had it patched and sealed about 15 years ago and did a good job. Repeated again 5 years ago, but they didn't seal cracks well or use enough slurry and cracks came back quickly. Problem is the cost is so high -- new driveway costs, plus removing and disposing asphalt, city permit and increase in property taxes due to "improvement:".



My thought was to patch and seal, and then lay tile or brick on top loose. One way or another the asphalt top has got to go. In the summer it gets hot as blazes and is on the upwind side of the house.



I'm not worried about water or freeze/thaw. This is So Calif - very little rain and never gets below 40 deg F.

Around here you are taxed the same if it is a garbage asphalt

driveway or a brand new one - it's asphalt.

That's how it works here in NJ. They don't change your assessment
for just replacing what's there with the same thing. If they did
a revaluation of the entire municipality, then it might come into
play because it's more subjective and the appraiser might value
a property with a nice new driveway higher than one with a broken
up one.

I'm curious as to the total cost of replacing an asphalt driveway
versus the pavers or tile approach. I never saw a tile driveway.
Around here a new paver driveway would cost a lot more than an
asphalt one. As I said before, if you DIY, you'd save the labor
portion, but paver material isn't cheap either. And unless I
knew for sure it would work, I'd be very concerned about all the
labor of putting pavers down over decaying asphalt, only to have problems
later. Plus as I mentioned earlier, with the height of the pavers,
plus sand, I would think there would be problems making it match
up to existing grade at street, garage, whatever.

"bob haller" wrote in message ...
cracked asphalt is generally a sign of base failure. so covering it up really doesnt address the real problem

There's no problem with the asphalt. A few very small cracks in 50 years. It's level all over.

I did exactly what your asking about. I live in NC. I rented a jack hammer and removed 3' of asphalt from the top and bottom of a 100' driveway. I pit down 3/4" of sand using 3/4" PVC pipe to get it basically level. I used 20 pallets of pavers. I did this 25 years ago. I moved from that house 13 years again but drove by recently and it looks brand new.

writes:

I did exactly what your asking about. I live in NC. I rented a jack
hammer and removed 3' of asphalt from the top and bottom of a 100'

3 feet of asphalt? I'm guessing 3".

driveway. I pit down 3/4" of sand using 3/4" PVC pipe to get it
basically level. I used 20 pallets of pavers. I did this 25 years

Remove 3" then put back 3/4" plus paver?
Sounds like thick pavers.

ago. I moved from that house 13 years again but drove by recently and
it looks brand new.

Always liked the look of pavers...

--
Dan Espen

On Friday, September 26, 2014 12:08:44 AM UTC-4, net cop wrote:
writes:



I did exactly what your asking about. I live in NC. I rented a jack

hammer and removed 3' of asphalt from the top and bottom of a 100'



3 feet of asphalt? I'm guessing 3".



Since he said he removed 3' from the *top and bottom*, I assume he means
that it was an area 3 feet long at the two ends of the driveway.
Otherwise, how does one remove 3 inches from both the top and bottom of a drivway?




driveway. I pit down 3/4" of sand using 3/4" PVC pipe to get it

basically level. I used 20 pallets of pavers. I did this 25 years



Remove 3" then put back 3/4" plus paver?

Sounds like thick pavers.



ago. I moved from that house 13 years again but drove by recently and

it looks brand new.



Always liked the look of pavers...



--

Dan Espen

On Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:08:44 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

writes:

I did exactly what your asking about. I live in NC. I rented a jack
hammer and removed 3' of asphalt from the top and bottom of a 100'

3 feet of asphalt? I'm guessing 3".

driveway. I pit down 3/4" of sand using 3/4" PVC pipe to get it
basically level. I used 20 pallets of pavers. I did this 25 years

Remove 3" then put back 3/4" plus paver?
Sounds like thick pavers.

ago. I moved from that house 13 years again but drove by recently and
it looks brand new.

Always liked the look of pavers...
Removed the asphalt from the top and bottom 3 feet of driveway so the
pavers couls be "tapered" up to the level of the drive and back down
again is what I suspect was meant. Would make sense to me, even though
it would leave the driveway "humped"

writes:

On Fri, 26 Sep 2014 00:08:44 -0400, Dan Espen
wrote:

writes:

I did exactly what your asking about. I live in NC. I rented a jack
hammer and removed 3' of asphalt from the top and bottom of a 100'

3 feet of asphalt? I'm guessing 3".

driveway. I pit down 3/4" of sand using 3/4" PVC pipe to get it
basically level. I used 20 pallets of pavers. I did this 25 years

Remove 3" then put back 3/4" plus paver?
Sounds like thick pavers.

ago. I moved from that house 13 years again but drove by recently and
it looks brand new.

Always liked the look of pavers...
Removed the asphalt from the top and bottom 3 feet of driveway so the
pavers couls be "tapered" up to the level of the drive and back down
again is what I suspect was meant. Would make sense to me, even though
it would leave the driveway "humped"

Good reading, the post does seem to say that.
Doesn't sound like it would look right at all.

--
Dan Espen

wrote in message ...
I did exactly what your asking about. I live in NC. I rented a jack hammer and removed 3' of asphalt from the top and bottom of a 100' driveway. I pit down 3/4" of sand using 3/4" PVC pipe to get it basically level. I used 20 pallets of pavers. I did this 25 years ago. I moved from that house 13 years again but drove by recently and it looks brand new.

Thanks, RB! That's good to hear. I'm hoping to get to it this spring. For meThis is a "one of these daze" projects when I have all the "emergency" fix-it items done. Any chance on your taking a photo of that driveway and posting or emailing? (I grew up in NC and it's 1000 times better than Calif, believe me...)