Tools & Materials
Tools: skid steer or compact tractor with a bucket (rental) to move and spread aggregate, a plate compactor or walk-behind roller (rental) for the base and subgrade, string line and stakes, a line level or laser level to set the crown and grade, and a round-point shovel. Placing and compacting the asphalt itself is a paving crew's job — it requires a paver or lute, a hauling truck delivering hot mix on a tight schedule, and a steel-wheel roller working right behind it.
Materials (size the asphalt with the calculator below):
- Crushed stone aggregate base (#57 or dense-grade), 6–8 inches compacted — size with the Gravel Calculator
- Hot-mix asphalt binder course, about 2 inches — size tonnage with the Asphalt Calculator
- Hot-mix asphalt surface course, about 1.5 inches — size tonnage with the Asphalt Calculator
- Tack coat, applied between the binder and surface lifts
Step 1: Plan Grade and Drainage
Set the width first — 10–12 feet for one lane, 14 feet or more if two vehicles pass or you need a turnaround. Stake the edges and run a string line, then plan a crown or a consistent cross-slope so water sheds off the paved surface instead of ponding. Standing water is the single biggest driver of asphalt cracking and potholing, so the drainage plan matters as much as the paving itself. Call 811 for utility locates before any digging.
Step 2: Excavate
Strip topsoil and organic material down to firm mineral subsoil — usually 8–10 inches, enough depth for the aggregate base plus both asphalt lifts. Roots and loam compress under load and telegraph up through the pavement as dips and cracks, so they have to come out before anything is built on top.
Step 3: Compact the Subgrade
Grade the exposed subsoil to the planned slope and run the plate compactor or roller over it until it stops deflecting. A firm, uniform subgrade keeps the pavement from settling unevenly later — every layer above only performs as well as the ground it sits on. Soft spots found now are cheap to fix; soft spots found after paving mean cutting out finished asphalt.
Step 4: Lay and Compact the Aggregate Base
Spread 6–8 inches of crushed stone aggregate (#57 or dense-grade) over the subgrade in lifts, compacting each lift before adding the next rather than compacting the full depth at once. The base spreads vehicle loads across a wider footprint and keeps groundwater from wicking up into the asphalt from below — it is the layer that actually carries the driveway, not the asphalt on top of it.
Step 5: Pave the Binder Course
Place about 2 inches of hot-mix asphalt binder course over the compacted base and compact it while it is still hot — asphalt only compacts properly above a minimum temperature, so the paving crew works fast behind the delivery truck. Binder course is a coarser, more open structural mix that levels out minor irregularities in the base and carries most of the load.
Step 6: Pave the Surface Course
Once the binder course has cooled, apply a thin tack coat so the surface course bonds to it, then place about 1.5 inches of finer hot-mix asphalt surface course, paved or raked to the planned crown so water runs off to both sides. This top lift is denser than the binder course, which is what makes it resist water penetration and everyday wear.
Step 7: Roll, Compact, and Cure
Roll the hot surface course with a steel-wheel roller, working from the edges toward the center in overlapping passes while the mat is still hot enough to compact. Keep vehicles off the new pavement for at least 2–3 days, and avoid turning the wheels sharply while parked for several weeks — asphalt keeps hardening and gaining strength for a long time after it looks finished.
Common Mistakes
- Undersized or skipped aggregate base. A thin or poorly compacted base flexes under load and cracks telegraph up through the asphalt within a season or two.
- Skipping the binder course. Paving one thick surface-course lift instead of two proper lifts is a common shortcut that leads to premature rutting under heavier vehicles.
- No crown or cross-slope. Flat asphalt holds water, and standing water works into cracks and freezes, turning hairline cracks into potholes.
- Paving over unstripped topsoil. Roots and loam under the base guarantee uneven settling no matter how well the asphalt itself is placed.
- Driving on it too soon. Asphalt needs days to firm up and weeks to fully cure — early sharp turns leave permanent scuff marks and can shove the mat out of place.
Cost: DIY vs. Contractor
The honest answer for asphalt, unlike gravel, is that full DIY paving is uncommon. Hot-mix asphalt has to be placed and compacted while hot, which means coordinating a hauling truck on a tight schedule from the plant and a roller working right behind the paver — equipment and logistics most homeowners do not have access to. What you can realistically do yourself is the excavation, subgrade compaction, and aggregate base, then hire a paving crew for the asphalt lifts.
For a typical 12 ft × 100 ft driveway (about 1,200 sq ft), contractor-installed asphalt — base, binder, and surface course — commonly runs $4,500–9,000, with the exact number driven by asphalt tonnage, base depth, and local paving rates. Size the asphalt tonnage with the Asphalt Calculator before you get quotes so you can sanity-check what a crew is proposing, and check current numbers on our Asphalt Prices by State page, since asphalt pricing varies significantly by region and with oil prices. Doing the excavation and base yourself typically saves a meaningful share of the total project cost.
Related Calculators
- Asphalt Calculator — Size binder and surface course tonnage by area and depth
- Gravel Calculator — Size the crushed stone aggregate base in tons
- Asphalt Prices by State — Current asphalt paving prices where you live
Written by Daniel McCarney — AceCalc