How to Install a Blacktop Driveway

Many people choose to lay a blacktop driveway on their property for two reasons. They enjoy the clean drive for parking their car, and it is less expensive than concrete. If you want to lay a blacktop driveway, there are a few steps involved.

Instructions

1. Mark out the area for your driveway. Maybe you already have an area that is used to drive up to your house, or perhaps this is a brand-new space. Use marking spray paint or chalk to set out the boundaries.

2. Measure the width and the length of your driveway to get the square footage of blacktop necessary. Call up a couple of local contractors and ask them for an estimate of the price for coming out and laying the hot tar on the square footage you measured.

3. Prepare a bed for the tar. It is easiest to just lay about 6 inches of hot tar right on the dirt, but you can use much less by laying down a 4-inch bed of gravel first. Many quarries will not only deliver the stone, but you can get them to spread it as well. If you have an existing concrete driveway, you will have to have a tack layer applied so the asphalt will stick.

4. Schedule for the contractors to come out and lay the blacktop when the weather has warmed up to 60 to 70 degrees F. They will lay it and probably compact it as well within an hour, so it won't be an all-day project.

5. Stay off the soft tar for at least 24 hours to allow it to cool and harden. You shouldn't have to do anything more for several months. Next year, you will probably want to put on a sealer and fill in any cracks that appear.