Asphalt Paving in Arlington Heights, IL

Asphalt paving in Arlington Heights is mostly renewal work, because the village was built fast and built a long time ago. Arlington Heights had 8,768 residents in 1950. Farms and greenhouses gave way to subdivisions after World War II, and by 1970 the population had reached 65,058. Census estimates put the median year built for local housing at 1974, with more than half of today's homes built in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Many of those driveways have been patched, sealed and overlaid for decades, and a large share are now due for a real decision.

Overlay, repair or replace?

That decision depends on what is underneath. If the surface is gray and has a handful of straight cracks but feels solid under your feet, the base is probably sound, and maintenance or a resurfacing overlay is good value. If you see sunken areas, ruts where the tires run, a web of alligator cracking or edges breaking into the lawn, the base has failed. New asphalt over a failed base cracks again in the same places, so replacement is the better spend.

The Chicago-area climate

The village's record low is minus 26 and its record high is 105, the average January high is below freezing, and about 38 inches of precipitation fall each year. Water that soaks into a crack freezes, expands and pries it wider through the winter, then softens the base in spring. Asphalt that drains well, sits on a compacted base and has its cracks sealed before winter handles that cycle much better.

How we build a driveway

Cost guides describe a common residential build as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel. We remove the old surface, dig out any soft subgrade, place and compact crushed stone, grade it so water runs toward the street or yard and away from the garage, then place hot-mix asphalt and roll it while it is hot. The depths go on your quote.

Get a Free Estimate

Village rules for driveways

Arlington Heights treats driveway replacement as permitted work through the Building & Life Safety Department. The Village's driveway handout calls for a contractor's proposal and a plat of survey, and it sets limits that matter when you are planning: a one- or two-car driveway between 9 and 22 feet wide, a 22-foot apron with up to 3 feet of flare on each side, a 3-foot side setback on lots 70 feet or wider, and no more than half the front yard paved. The approach and sidewalk crossing in the parkway are concrete under the Village standard, and there is a base inspection before paving and a final inspection after. Oversize driveways from years past can usually be replaced in kind, but not enlarged. We confirm the current rules for your property before quoting.

What a typical replacement includes

• Site visit: measurements, slope, drainage, garage slab and apron
• Permit application with the proposal and plat of survey
• Removal of the old asphalt, hauled to a recycler
• Excavating soft spots, placing and compacting crushed stone
• Paving and rolling to the stated thickness
• Edges shaped and backfilled, site cleaned, care instructions

Parking lots and associations

The village has thousands of condo and townhome units, offices along the I-90 and Route 53 corridors and a busy downtown. Lots there need patching, crack sealing, sealcoating, overlays and restriping on a regular cycle. We phase the work so residents and customers still have places to park.

Arlington Heights is home base. We also work in Mount Prospect, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Prospect Heights, Buffalo Grove, Wheeling, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates, Streamwood, Park Ridge, Niles, Glenview, Northbrook, Long Grove, Lake Zurich, Vernon Hills and Barrington. Most of these communities issue their own driveway permits with their own width, setback and inspection rules, and their housing ranges from 1950s ranches to 1990s subdivisions. Each town page covers what is specific to that place.