Did you know that the number one recycled material in the country is asphalt? It’s true and a paving company in St. Paul can tell you this and many other facts about asphalt, its uses and applications.

The paving company in St. Paul produces asphalt from a mixture of recycled foundry sand, gravel, stone or foundry slag, recycled black top and tar all of which are blended and mixed together in a 350 degree heat. When blacktop is first loaded on the truck for delivery to the work site, the time frame for delivery and application is about one hour, after an hour the blacktop begins to harden and the surface will not be smooth. Because of this time frame the best time to have blacktop laid is in the summer time when the suns heat keeps the fresh pavement pliable for a longer period of time, and the hotter the asphalt when applied, the better the outcome.

Blacktop should never be applied over an existing concrete surface. If your driveway is concrete and you want the paving company in St. Paul to replace it with blacktop, then they will have to remove the old concrete so that the new asphalt can be laid over a properly prepared sub base. The thickest that blacktop should be laid in one pass is 3”, if the job calls for 4” of asphalt the application should be a binder coat 2 ½” thick and then a finish coat 1 ½” thick. A 4” thickness is commercial grade and may not be needed for a driveway but it is the normal thickness for parking lots and city streets.

If the blacktop is being applied over an existing blacktop surface, the paving company in St. Paul will first apply a tack coat, this coat is especially important on a steep grade. If the tack coat is neglected the new asphalt coating may begin to separate and slide back causing separation between the old and new coats. When the surface is being rolled, an all wheel drive roller is needed on a drive with a sharp incline so that it does not slip and begin to push the new coat downhill.

There are three kinds of blacktop used by a paving company in St. Paul. The binder, which is used for the base and is made from larger aggregate, because of the larger stones used in the mix it is also used on steep grades as the top coat to provide better grip for the car tires. What is called 3/8 driveway grade is what goes over a stone base or an old blacktop driveway and extra fine is used as the surface of tennis courts and sidewalks.

Looking for paving company in St.Paul? Whatever your blacktop application, Classic 360 can do the job. Classic 360 have all the necessary men and machines to do a perfect job, first time, every time.