You had your asphalt pavement installed by a conscientious, experienced contractor, and the results were spectacular. To protect your pavement and enhance its appearance, you have had sealcoating applied every two years, removed fluids that vehicles have leaked while they were parked or driving on your pavement, and kept heavyweight trucks away from it. When cracks or other pavement breaks developed, you had them repaired immediately. Despite your best efforts, however, your pavement has suffered the ravages of weather, use, and time, and it no longer reflects the image that you want your company to project. You are considering asking for quotes to tear out and rebuild the pavement. Before you assume that you have no other option, you might want to see if your pavement is suitable for a procedure known as asphalt resurfacing with edge milling.

What Is Asphalt Resurfacing?

Resurfacing, which is also known as an overlay installation, is a cost-effective solution that can make your existing pavement look and function like a new one. Typically, when installing asphalt overlays, contractors grind away a couple of inches of the existing asphalt, then they place new asphalt and compact it.

How Do Contractors Grind Away an Existing Pavement for Asphalt Resurfacing?

When paving Atlanta pavements with asphalt overlays, most contractors use a milling machine to grind away the pavement. These machines are highly versatile, extremely accurate, and very fast. There are different types of milling machines; some can be set to remove all layers of the pavement, including the foundation, while others can be set to remove just a few millimeters.

What Is Edge Milling?

If you look at your pavement, you will find manhole covers, curbs, transitions, drain grates, gutters, and other features. Imagine what would happen if a paving contractor Atlanta simply placed an additional layer of asphalt directly on top of the existing pavement. Nothing would be at the proper elevation; manhole covers would be recessed into the pavement, transitions would be bumpy and potentially dangerous, gutters could lose part of their capacity, and your curbs could lose a substantial amount of height. Edge milling is a specific process for lowering the edges of pavement next to curbs and other features so that they will be at the proper elevation after the overlay is installed.

Is Resurfacing Considered Asphalt Maintenance?

Different contractors can categorize resurfacing as one of their paving services, restorative maintenance, or parking lot repair. Most contractors in the Atlanta area consider it one of their paving services.

Can All Asphalt Pavements Be Resurfaced?

Thanks to milling, the same asphalt pavement can be resurfaced many times without affecting the elevation of transitions, curbs, and other features. However, the pavement needs to have a stable foundation, and any needed parking lot repair must be performed prior to resurfacing. Although it is technically possible to repair the foundation and the pavement, the expense of preparing the existing pavement and installing an overlay might make resurfacing less cost-effective than a reconstruction. Only your contractor can evaluate your particular pavement to determine the advisability of resurfacing the pavement instead of rebuilding it.

The Surface Masters Can Help You Decide Between Resurfacing and Reconstruction

We are a well-respected company with extensive experience in paving Atlanta properties. Our paving services include asphalt milling and resurfacing, parking lot repair, sealcoating, pavement marking, asphalt paving and repair, parking lot striping, concrete flatwork and curbing, and concrete repair. The Surface Masters delivers high-quality paving work and superior customer service at competitive prices. Request your free quote by calling 770-250-6392, filling out our online form, or emailing Info@TheSurfaceMasters.com.