5 Things to Look for When Paving your Driveway in Truckee & Tahoe Donner
Paving in the Tahoe Donner region of California poses some challenges. Alpine Paving is owned by brothers Ramon and Rafael Martinez and Dave Wayda. People who know paving know them because they have a combined 60+ years experience paving and managing paving crews in Truckee and the surrounding areas. In fact, prior to starting Alpine, they ran the crews for Shaffer Paving for over 30 years. So we asked them what they would advise people are the 5 most important things to look for when purchasing paving services for a home, rental property or cabin in Truckee and here is what they said:
#1 - Drainage is Everything to Your Driveway’s Longevity
The absolute number one thing to get right on any paving project is drainage. This means understanding how the water moves across the property and driveway and making sure that water sheds properly (both over and under) off of the driveway, through proper grading. Your paving company should test the grade during paving using transits and lasers. If you see standing spots of water on your driveway, you have a drainage problem. It’s most likely why you need to re-pave.
#2 - Don’t Skimp On the Road Base
Asphalt is one component of a successful driveway, and because it’s what we see and looks great when done right, we can think more is better. Driveways are made of 3 layers—the soil or subgrade, a layer of base rock and a layer of Asphalt. If any of these 3 fail, your driveway fails. You need to make sure the subgrade is solid and uniformly compacted—no wet spots or rotting tree roots etc. undermining the area. On top of the solid subgrade, you should lay at least 6 inches of compacted road base. This is one area that is often shorted because of a thicker layer of asphalt but it is the road base that compacts and creates the real foundation for your driveway—DON’T SKIMP ON THIS! In general, 6 inches of base rock is equal in strength to 3 inches of asphalt. If you lay the right amount of base and compact it correctly, 2 inches of asphalt works great.
#3 - Make Sure the Edges are Compacted and the Base Extends Beyond the Asphalt
One of the places that driveways will often start to fail is at the edges. We’ve all seen it—our cousin comes over and parks half on and half off the driveway creating a small crack on the edge. Pretty soon the crack has turned into a half moon and more and more of the driveway starts to erode inward. The subgrade and base should be compacted well at the edges and we recommend that the base rock shoulder extend at least 6 inches past the edge of the asphalt layer, thus supporting the edge.
#4 - Hire a Crew that Knows Your Neighborhood
We like to say experience matters and this is where the rubber meets the road. A local paver will understand regional soil conditions and how the area is plowed etc. and this will change the way they will approach your project. For instance, a local Truckee or Tahoe Donner paving crew will know Glenshire soil can have higher clay content, while Truckee proper is more rocky. Knowing the geology and other facts about your area will help your crew avoid problems that someone who lacks attention to detail would miss.
#5 - Make Sure they Stand Behind Their Work
Companies like us, that guarantee their work, are incentivized to do the job right the first time, so when a reputable company who guarantees their work recommends more base rock or removal of unsuitable subgrade material, at extra expense, you would be wise to consider their advice. It’s cheaper to pave a driveway once every 10–15 years or more then cutting corners and have to re-pave in fewer years.
If you just make sure these five things happen when you pave your driveway, most likely it will last a long time.
