Driveway Replacement in Arlington Heights, IL

Driveway replacement means removing the old asphalt entirely, correcting the base underneath and paving a new surface. It is the right move when the base has failed, and in a village where most homes date from the 1950s through the 1980s, a lot of bases have. Patching and sealing a failed driveway buys a season at most; rebuilding it buys decades.

Signs it is time

• The apron has sunk below the street or sidewalk and holds water
• Tire paths have rutted, or the middle has settled into a dish
• Cracks form a tight web rather than a few straight lines
• Edges crumble into the lawn no matter how often they are patched
• Several overlays have raised the surface above the garage floor

Rebuilding the base

Once the old asphalt is out, we can see what is underneath. Soft or wet subgrade is excavated and replaced with crushed stone. The stone is placed in layers and compacted, then graded so water runs toward the street or yard and away from the garage. Cost guides describe 6 to 8 inches of compacted base under a typical residential driveway and more for heavier vehicles. The depth we plan for your driveway goes on the quote.

Paving

Hot-mix asphalt is spread, raked along edges and transitions and rolled while it is hot enough to compact. A typical residential driveway gets 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt. Edges are tapered and backfilled with soil so they are supported. Where the driveway meets the garage, we set the height so the slab and blacktop meet flush.

The Village permit

In Arlington Heights, residential driveway replacement needs a permit. The Village asks for a contractor's proposal and a plat of survey, reviews the plan in roughly ten business days and inspects the base before paving and the finished work after. Its driveway handout sets width limits (9 to 22 feet for one- and two-car garages, up to 32 feet near a three-car garage, tapering to 22), a 50 percent cap on front-yard paving and a 3-foot side setback on lots 70 feet or wider. The concrete approach and sidewalk crossing in the parkway follow the Village standard. We build the schedule around these steps.

Removing built-up layers

Many older driveways have been overlaid more than once, leaving the surface above the garage slab or the sidewalk. Full replacement resets those heights so water drains away from the house and nothing trips a snowblower.

Afterward

Park elsewhere for a few days, and a little longer during a heat wave. For the first few weeks, avoid turning wheels while stopped and keep kickstands and trailer jacks off the new surface. Plan the first sealcoat after it has cured for several months.