At Pavemaster, located in the Tampa Bay area of Florida, we specialize in complete commercial, industrial, and residential asphalt paving services. We are a full-service, fully licensed, locally owned asphalt paving and maintenance company with 13+ years of company history in the paving industry. All our staff is fully trained, highly skilled, and many have been paving commercial and residential properties in the Tampa area for over 20 years.
Asphalt paving is a great way to finish off the look of your home, create professional looking industrial surface areas, or provide high traffic walkways and parking lots for your place of business. First impressions count. When you have a professionally paved entry to you home or business, it makes all the difference in the world.
Because we use high-quality, weather-tested asphalt material for all our installations, we can promise our clients that their asphalt driveway, parking lot, or high traffic surface areas will not only look good and give a great first impression, but they will also be highly durable, and stand up to years of wear and tear from all types of vehicles. Cars, pickup trucks, 18-wheelers, or continuous high-speed roadway traffic are just perfect opportunities for our Pavemaster team of dedicated professionals to shine. And when our asphalt is fully maintained, or repaired, when necessary, it can have an extremely long lifetime.
A Cost Effective Solution
Asphalt is a mixture of various stone and sand materials, all bound together by a petroleum adhesive such as tar. The petroleum base in asphalt makes it a very flexible solution for home or business owners looking to add further curb appeal to their exterior landscape.
And not only is asphalt good looking, but it’s also safe, cost effective, and much easier to repair, maintain, or remove than other types of paving materials, such as concrete or pavers. In addition, the installation and curing time can be completed faster than any other paving materials which means you can back to business in no time.
A Special Kind of Expertise in Florida
It takes a special kind of expertise to successfully lay asphalt paving that stands up to the hot, humid Florida weather. When you live and work in the Tampa Bay area, it can get very hot. The heat and humidity can cause asphalt paving to bubble, crack, or discolor if not laid down properly.
Florida weather elements like rain, UV rays, constant sun exposure, standing water or water intrusion, and of course, stress from heavy traffic, must also be taken into consideration when properly laying asphalt. It takes a thorough knowledge of how extraneous conditions can impact the installation of asphalt. It takes time and expertise.
Improper compaction, faulty grading, lack of repair and maintenance, weak subgrade underneath the asphalt, or poor construction can all cause asphalt to fail. Our Pavemaster crew members have specific experience in all the steps it take to install hot climate asphalt paving, so you can be assured that your project will be cost effective, visually attractive, and almost maintenance free.
Our Process
Our team of asphalt paving professionals understand what the Florida sun, humidity, hurricanes, flooding, and high traffic can do to an asphalt installation. That’s why we carefully prep for every single job. And once we start, our team is then working for you. Each job can have subtle differences. A curve here, a dip there. With or without some kind of border.
Once we determine exactly what you want your finished project to look like, we get to work. First, we remove any old materials and/or debris from the driveway, parking lot or surface area. We then grade and slope the area so that it’s smooth, drains properly, and the dirt is thoroughly compacted. We prepare the subbase by using about 6 to 8 inches of quality crushed gravel to provide a solid, stable foundation that can stand up to soil erosion, traffic, and our Florida heat and humidity. Gravel prevents shifting and settling down the line.
We then roll the gravel to compact it further and apply a binder or base layer consisting of a mix of aggregate and oil. This base is very durable and helps to make the all the layers strong and impenetrable from the elements. We then apply the surface layer of asphalt, a combination of crushed minerals, oil, and a second binder to hold it all together. We roll it again and again, we check for any issues and finally, your asphalt installation is…almost finished.
Maintaining Your Installation
The very last step includes applying sealcoating to your new asphalt. Sealcoating protects and replenishes the moisture seal and is an important part of maintaining your asphalt. It also prevents spills or leaks from seeping into the asphalt and leaving stains or weakening the bond. Sealcoating is the very best way to protect your asphalt from heat damage, spills, oils, grease spots, and it adds to the appearance and longevity of your installation. After it dries and cures, your project is now complete!
Maintaining your brand-new installation is easy. You should plan to reseal your driveway, parking lot, or industrial surface area every 3 to 5 years. If you wait longer than that, especially in central Florida, the asphalt can start to show significant cracks that could fill with water causing the asphalt to separate, and eventually, it could destroy the installation over time. Sealcoating every few years adds a thin layer of asphalt onto the topmost surface and seals any cracks beneath it.
A Step-by-Step Plan for Proper Maintenance
- Proper care and maintenance of your asphalt installation starts with a careful visual inspection on a regular basis. Visual inspections should be integrated into your exterior maintenance routine so that you can address and solve any minor issues or imperfections before they turn into major—and more costly—ones. Understanding how your asphalt is affected by Florida temperature and climate events can help you design a preventative maintenance plan to protect your investment. We’re happy to help you with this step so that you are comfortable with what needs to be accomplished.
- Your preventative maintenance plan should start with regular cleaning. Remove any surface debris, like dirt, palm fronds, leaves, etc. and hose it down on a regular basis. This will help keep your asphalt from staining and continue to give you or your customers ease of access.
- Check for cracks in your asphalt installations. Cracks are not only unsightly and take away from the value of your property, but they can also become hazardous. They can lead to further deterioration and potential accidents or injuries from falls. Depending on the severity of the cracks, they can also drastically weaken the structural integrity of your installation. Significant cracks that are wider than ⅛ to ¼ inch, will require a certified paving contractor to repair them as soon as possible.
- Pooling water is one of the biggest problems affecting the proper maintenance of your asphalt installation. Standing water can quickly form cracks and potholes and undermine the foundation layers of your asphalt. Proper grading of the subbase, including proper drainage to draw water away, are extremely important steps in your installation process.
- Immediately address oil, chemical, or other types of stains on your asphalt. They should be cleaned off as soon as possible. Remember, asphalt is a porous surface and oil, or other stain causing leaks or spills, can quickly seep downward into the surface and subbase layers and cause your asphalt to start to deteriorate.
- Sealcoating, as mentioned above, is the final important step in the process of maintaining the visual appearance and longevity of your asphalt. In the scorching Florida sun, sealcoating every 3 to 5 years will slow down the deterioration process, ensuring you that your asphalt lasts as long as possible.
Whether you need a small driveway or a huge parking lot paved, or a medium sized paving project in between, Pavemaster Asphalt Paving and Repair Services should be your #1 choice in Tampa and the surrounding regions of central Florida!
We provide free estimates, proven quality…and satisfied customers.
Call us (813) 671-7300 today for a FREE estimate.