Frequently Asked Paving Questions

On a residential driveway in the Ironwood, Hurley, or Ashland area, a professionally applied sealcoat typically lasts 2 to 3 years before it needs to be reapplied. Sun exposure, traffic volume, and how well the surface was cleaned and prepped before sealing all affect that window. We see sealcoats wear faster on south-facing driveways (more UV) and on driveways that see a lot of turning and stationary vehicles (oil drips, hot tires).

The reason to stay on a 2–3 year reapplication schedule isn't cosmetic. Once sealer wears through, water, salt, and UV start beating on the bare asphalt — and that's what shortens pavement life from 20+ years down to 8 or less. Resurfacing or full-depth replacement is dramatically more expensive than a scheduled sealcoat. The homeowner who treats sealcoating as routine maintenance gets the lowest total cost of ownership; the homeowner who treats it as a one-time fix ends up replacing the driveway.

Yes. Commercial and small-industrial parking lots are a regular part of our work across the Gogebic Range and the Wisconsin Northwoods. The specs for a commercial lot are different from a residential driveway — and they have to be, or the lot will rut and fail within a couple of seasons under truck and plow traffic.

For commercial loads we typically specify a thicker crushed-stone base (often 6–10 inches compacted, versus 4 inches on a residential drive), a heavier asphalt lift (3 inches compacted is common for full truck traffic, sometimes more in industrial spots where trailers pivot or where snow is piled), and a hot-mix designed for the load. We've paved and resurfaced retail parking lots in Ironwood, church lots in Hurley, and small industrial yards up into Ashland County — each one spec'd to the traffic it's actually going to carry.

We stand behind our workmanship. Our standard warranty covers defects in the work we performed — primarily base failure, premature raveling, and edge failures that trace back to how the pavement was installed. The warranty period and exact terms depend on the type of work (new installation vs. overlay vs. patching) and the spec of the project, and we lay those out in writing with your estimate.

What's not covered is normal surface wear — sealcoating wearing off on schedule, minor cracking from an unusually hard winter, or damage from snowplows cutting too close to the surface, studded tires, or heavy tracked equipment. We will tell you up front what is and isn't covered so there are no surprises. If you have a concern after the job is done, call us. Most issues resolve with a quick site visit, and if we made the mistake we make it right.

Square footage alone doesn't determine price, which is why phone-only or satellite-only quotes are almost always wrong. The honest cost picture comes from an on-site assessment that accounts for:

• Square footage and shape — irregular shapes cost more per square foot than clean rectangles.
• Existing surface condition — bare ground, old failing asphalt, or sound asphalt we can overlay?
• Base prep — how much subgrade work, gravel, and compaction is needed to support the new pavement.
• Asphalt thickness — a residential drive is typically 2 to 2.5 inches compacted; a commercial lot is 3+ inches.
• Drainage and grading — poor drainage kills pavement, so regrading or adding drainage is part of the real cost.
• Accessibility — tight lots, steep grades, and long hose runs from the asphalt plant all add cost.
• Removal and disposal — if old asphalt has to come out, that's its own line item.

A lowball quote that ignores any of these is almost certainly going to grow on the day the crew shows up. We do an on-site assessment, give you a written quote that reflects the actual job, and stand behind that number.

Here in the Upper Peninsula and the Wisconsin Northwoods, the paving window runs roughly from mid-May through mid-October. Asphalt plants in the region shut down for the winter — they can only run when ambient and ground temperatures are warm enough — so no reputable contractor is installing hot-mix asphalt in January. Frozen or frost-heaving ground also won't compact properly, which means a winter-installed pavement will fail early regardless of how good the crew is.

What to do if you call us in the wrong season: get on the spring schedule now. We'll come out before the ground thaws to scope the work, give you a written quote, and book a firm install date once the plant opens. Paving and sealcoating businesses in this region book fast from late spring onward, so early outreach usually means earlier install. If it's already late fall and too cold for this season, an October or November site visit locks in your spot at the head of next year's queue.