Installing the right type of pavement in your yard requires planning for its placement and with the proper form so it lasts many years. Here are some recommendations to consider when you are planning to install a new asphalt driveway.

Choose Your Site

When you are planning a new asphalt driveway or paved surface, its placement on your property is going to determine its success and how long it lasts. Look at the placement of your pavement next to any trees or large vegetation. The roots from large trees can grow up under your pavement and push it upward, causing cracking damage. So it is best to install your pavement several feet away from the tree's main root spread. You can also be sure to install a good foundation layer of gravel below your pavement, which will help protect your asphalt.

You should also look at the edging of your pavement and install a good protection barrier for the support of the pavement's edges. Because asphalt is a flexible pavement, it has the potential to crack at its edges, so it needs to be installed up against a solid concrete form, such as curbing, or along an apron of gravel or paver stones, for example.

Build a Proper Slope

Standing water on your asphalt pavement is never a good thing, as it will cause damage to your asphalt and its foundation structure. When you notice any water ponding on your pavement, this indicates poor drainage and also a sunken spot on your pavement's surface. A sunken area on your asphalt is usually caused by settling below the pavement in the foundation layers, which needs to be corrected to prevent deterioration of the pavement. So, it is better to hire a professional installation so the base foundation can be installed right and your pavement poured level and without sinking issues.

The driveway pavement also needs to be installed so its entire surface slopes off to one side or to either side with a central ridge. This ridge or slope to the asphalt does not need to be extreme, but only enough so that moisture will flow down and off of the pavement. Water allowed to sit on a level driveway can seep down into the pavement where it will cause interior cracking and failure to the pavement's materials. Moisture during cold weather is at risk of freezing, which causes cracking damage that can be quite extensive over your pavement's surface. However, your professional asphalt paving crew can plan and install a proper slope to your pavement.