How can you make sure the driveway you built will last for years? The strength and durability of the final pavement depend entirely on the quality of the base beneath it.
Preparing for a residential driveway project is similar in many ways to working on larger commercial jobs like parking lots. But that doesn’t mean they’re completely interchangeable. When paving a driveway for an individual homeowner, there are a few critical factors that need extra attention to ensure a durable asphalt surface—and, just as importantly, a happy customer.
The first and most important factor is the type of installation you’re working on. Driveway projects usually fall into one of three categories:
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Complete New Install – This involves full preparation, including dirt work, grading, a sturdy base, and asphalt paving.
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New Overlay – This applies to existing gravel driveways with minimal grading, proper compaction, and an asphalt overlay.
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Resurfacing – This can involve milling and repaving the existing asphalt or, in some cases, placing a new surface layer directly on top of the old one.
No matter which type of driveway you’re installing, one key to long-term success is proper compaction at every stage of the process:
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The dirt foundation
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The base layer
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The asphalt surface
Each of these steps plays a crucial role in ensuring the driveway remains smooth, strong, and resistant to wear over time.
Getting Down to Business
In the historic city of Fredericksburg, Virginia, the soil is a dense, reddish clay that requires a skilled hand to work with, especially under varying conditions. Driveways By Us, a family-owned asphalt company, has built its reputation by mastering this craft. Over the years, their success has come largely through word-of-mouth and the lasting quality of their work.
Operations Manager Jennifer Edgerton described the first steps of a new driveway installation for a home nearly 200 years old.
“This ground has been a mix of dirt and loose gravel for centuries,” she explained. “But the foundation here is solid. We’re cutting out the shape, bringing in gravel and fines, and compacting it properly. Since the new garage sits high, we need to build up the base and ensure proper drainage before laying the asphalt.”
A tracked skid-steer with an angled bucket was used to carve out the driveway and grade the soil. The gravel mix, which included a high percentage of fines, was spread to fill in gaps and create a compact, stable base. Workers used lutes, rakes, and shovels for fine-tuning, ensuring the grading matched the project’s specifications before the rollers came in for compaction.
A Solid Foundation
For compaction, Driveways By Us relies on a pair of Dynapac tandem rollers—the CC1000 and CC950. Their process starts with the CC1000, which has a max operational weight of 3,900 lbs. and a 39-inch compaction width. They then follow up with the CC950, which weighs in at 3,100 lbs. and has a 35-inch compaction width, to smooth out any roller lines.
Michael Edgerton, founder of Driveways By Us, has trusted Dynapac rollers for decades—ever since he started in the 1980s with his first asphalt truck, a converted milk truck.
“They’re just incredibly reliable,” he said. “We work at a fast pace—two or three driveways a day—so we can’t afford breakdowns. Dynapac rollers have never let us down, and when one reaches its limit, we replace it with another Dynapac. It’s that simple.”
Mastering the Art of Compaction
Michael Edgerton’s youngest son, Jesse, has been on job sites since he was a kid. Long before he could legally drive a car, he was already operating the rollers. As he hopped onto the CC1000, he throttled up and explained the next step in the process.
“This is called 21-A, and it’s got a lot of fines that help fill the gaps between the bigger stones,” Jesse said. “That way, when you roll it, everything locks in tight underneath. A solid base is key, and compaction makes all the difference. Once this pass is done, it’ll have a smooth, almost blacktop-like appearance—but, you know, gravel.”
Jesse emphasized that while asphalt gets the attention, the real foundation of a long-lasting driveway starts beneath the surface.
“The guys who mostly do commercial jobs don’t deal with this as much,” he explained. “We do both, so we know—on commercial sites, the base work is already there. But when you’re building a new driveway, it’s all on you. If you don’t get the base right, the asphalt won’t hold up.”
Prepping for Asphalt
After compacting the base, one important step before laying asphalt is cleaning the roller drums. When working with fines-heavy material, dust and debris can accumulate, leaving marks on the final mat. Taking just a few minutes to rinse both the inside and outside of the drums with moderate-pressure water prevents streaks.
“If you don’t clean them off, it’ll leave streaks all over the mat,” Jesse said. “It’s not gonna look good to the customer, and those marks can be tough to remove.”
Michael also took the time to lightly mist the compacted base to control dust before the asphalt arrived. On a scorching 95-degree summer day in Virginia, combined with high humidity, anything to reduce airborne dust made the job more manageable.
As the first asphalt truck backed in, Andy Edgerton explained how they ensure flush edges where the new driveway meets the road, garage, or drainage areas.
“We usually give it about three inches, the thickness of the blacktop,” Andy said. “That way, we can match it up perfectly to the road, garage, or wherever we need to tie in.”
Following standard practice, they laid down three-and-three-quarters inches of hot mix asphalt, accounting for compaction shrinkage. Since residential clients expect a smooth, uniform finish, it was crucial to minimize unnecessary roller movements that could leave marks on the mat.
“Less is more with these rollers,” Jesse advised. “You don’t want to crank the wheel all the way, then fight to bring it back. Small adjustments are best. It’s not like driving a car—if you oversteer, your front line might look fine, but by the time you come back, you’re two feet off. That’s how you end up missing spots.”
The Final Touches
After Jesse made an initial pass with the CC1000, he let the mat cool slightly before using the CC950 for finish rolling. The goal was to eliminate roller marks without shifting the asphalt too much.
Once the final compaction was complete, Michael Edgerton grabbed a hose and lightly sprayed down the new asphalt. As steam rose into the hot air, the process seemed counterintuitive—but he explained its importance.
“I tell our clients to do this for a few days before they start driving or parking on it,” he said. “Even more so when it’s this hot for days in a row. It helps cool the asphalt down and sets it hard in place.”
With generations of experience behind them, the Edgertons know that the key to a long-lasting driveway isn’t just in laying asphalt—it’s in the preparation, compaction, and attention to detail at every step.
