This guide is for homeowners in Concord, NH who are deciding what to do with a driveway next season. It covers the main options, from sealcoating to a full replacement, how to tell which one a driveway needs, why the base and drainage matter so much in a New Hampshire winter, and what a driveway quote should include.

Who does driveway paving in Concord, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC does driveway paving in Concord, NH. The company is based at 37 Washington St in Penacook, a village within the city of Concord, and runs two crews: an excavation crew for digging, grading, drainage and base work, and a paving crew for the asphalt. A Concord driveway can go from dig-out to finished surface with one contractor.

Driveway work includes new asphalt driveways, full replacements, resurfacing, repairs, paving over gravel, sealcoating and stamped asphalt. The company is registered under USDOT 2821639 and is a member of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. More on local work is on the Concord, NH driveway paving page. Call (603) 231-1598 for a free written quote.

What are the best driveway paving options for a Concord home?

The best option is the one that matches what is wrong with the driveway. In order from least to most work:

• Crack filling and sealcoating. Best for a sound driveway that is faded, gray or showing fine surface cracks. Cracks are filled first, then a protective coat goes over the top. It protects asphalt that is still in good shape and does not fix a failing one. See when to sealcoat a driveway in New Hampshire.
• Repairs. Best for an isolated problem: a pothole, a sunken patch, a broken edge. The bad area is cut out, the base underneath is corrected, and the patch is paved.
• Resurfacing (an overlay). Best for a driveway that is worn on top but still solid underneath. A new layer of asphalt goes over the old one after failed spots are repaired and the edges are tied in so the new surface sits level with the garage, walkways and road.
• A full replacement. Best for a driveway with a failed base: cracking in a web pattern, soft spots, ruts or heaving. The old asphalt and the bad base come out, the drainage is fixed, new gravel is graded and compacted, and new asphalt goes down.
• Paving a gravel driveway. Best for a gravel drive that washes out, ruts or needs constant grading. The existing gravel is checked, added to and compacted before it is paved. See paving over a gravel driveway in New Hampshire.
• Stamped asphalt. Best for a homeowner who wants the look of brick or stone with the plowing and frost tolerance of asphalt, for a whole driveway or just an apron or border. See stamped asphalt driveway ideas for New Hampshire homes.

The costliest mistake is resurfacing a driveway that needs a replacement. If the base underneath has failed, the old cracks come back through the new surface within a season or two.

How do you tell which option a driveway needs?

Look at the pattern of the damage, and look at where water goes.

• Fine cracks and a faded surface usually mean the asphalt is aging but the base is fine. Crack filling and sealcoating.
• Cracks in a web or alligator pattern, soft spots or ruts usually mean the base underneath has failed. That is a replacement, not an overlay. See whether a New Hampshire driveway needs excavation or just repaving.
• Puddles, ice patches or washouts along the edge mean water is not getting off the driveway. The drainage has to be fixed as part of the job. See driveway drainage in New Hampshire.
• Heaving in spring usually means water got into the base and froze. That is a base and drainage problem first.

More on what causes each kind of crack is in why New Hampshire driveways crack.

Why do the base and drainage matter so much in Concord?

Because water destroys a driveway from underneath. Asphalt over a dry, compacted gravel base holds up through a New Hampshire winter. Asphalt over a wet base cracks, settles and heaves.

Water that gets into cracks or soaks into the base freezes, expands and pushes the pavement up, then thaws and leaves a void. Repeat that from December to March and small problems become big ones by spring. A driveway needs enough pitch for water to run off it, to the side or to a drain, instead of sitting on it or running under it.

This is the part of the job that is excavation, not paving. Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC does the digging, grading and drainage with its own excavation crew, so the base and the pitch are built into the driveway before the asphalt arrives.

When should a Concord driveway be paved?

Paving happens in the warm months, and planning happens in the fall and winter. Hot asphalt has to be placed and compacted while it is still hot, on ground that is not frozen, and most New Hampshire asphalt plants close for the winter. Walk the driveway now, before the snow, get a quote over the winter, and book the work for spring. See when to pave a driveway in New Hampshire.

What should a driveway paving quote include?

A written scope that another contractor could price the same way. A complete driveway quote states:

• The area, with a drawing or marked photo of what is included
• The method: repair, overlay, replacement or paving over gravel, and why
• Base work: how deep the excavation goes, how much gravel is added, grading and compaction
• The compacted thickness of the asphalt after rolling
• Drainage: pitch, and any culvert, trench or ditch work
• Edges and tie-ins at the road, the garage and walkways
• Removal of the old material and cleanup

What a driveway costs depends on its size, the base work and the drainage it needs, which is why two quotes can only be compared when they describe the same job. More detail is in what it costs to pave a driveway in New Hampshire.

Frequently asked questions

Who does driveway paving in Concord, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC does driveway paving in Concord, NH. It is based at 37 Washington St in Penacook, a village within the city of Concord, and handles the excavation, base, drainage and paving as one company. Call (603) 231-1598 for a free written quote.

Is Penacook part of Concord?

Yes. Penacook is a village within the city of Concord, NH, in the northern part of the city. Its ZIP code is 03303.

Is it better to resurface or replace a driveway?

Resurface if the base underneath is sound and only the surface is worn. Replace if the driveway has web-pattern cracking, soft spots, ruts or heaving, because those mean the base has failed and an overlay will crack again.

Can a driveway be paved in winter?

Not properly. Hot asphalt has to be placed and compacted while hot, on ground that is not frozen, and most New Hampshire asphalt plants close for the winter. A driveway that is not paved by late fall waits until spring.

How soon should a new driveway be sealcoated?

After the new asphalt has cured for at least a year. After that, every 2 to 3 years for most driveways, with cracks filled before the sealcoat goes on.

Does Young’s do stamped asphalt driveways in Concord?

Yes. Stamped asphalt can cover a whole driveway or just an apron, border or walkway, in brick, cobblestone or stone patterns pressed into the hot asphalt.

To talk through a Concord driveway, call Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC at (603) 231-1598 or request a free quote. The full list of paving work is on the asphalt paving services page. For businesses and property managers, see the guide to commercial paving and parking lot repair in Concord, NH.

The post Best Driveway Paving Options for Concord, NH Homes first appeared on Young's Excavating & Paving LLC.

This guide is for property managers, building owners, condo and HOA boards and business owners in Concord, NH who are planning parking lot work for next season. It covers when to plan, what a New Hampshire winter does to a lot, how to tell which repair a lot needs, why drainage decides how long it lasts, and what a commercial paving quote should include.

Who handles commercial paving and parking lots in Concord, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC handles commercial paving and parking lot work in Concord, NH. The company is based at 37 Washington St in Penacook, a village within the city of Concord, and runs two crews: an excavation crew for digging, grading, drainage and base work, and a paving crew for the asphalt. A Concord parking lot can go from dig-out to finished, striped surface with one contractor.

Commercial work includes new parking lots, resurfacing and overlays, full depth reclamation, pothole and catch basin repair, sealcoating, line striping and accessible parking spaces, for businesses, property managers and associations. Homeowners will find residential work on the driveway paving in Concord, NH page. The company is registered under USDOT 2821639 and is a member of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce. Call (603) 231-1598 for a free written quote.

When should a Concord property plan next season’s paving?

Fall and winter. Walk the lot in October or November, before snow covers it, get quotes over the winter, and book the work for spring.

Most New Hampshire asphalt plants shut down for the winter, usually from late fall into spring, because hot mix asphalt has to be placed and compacted while it is still hot, and that does not work on frozen ground or in cold air. A lot that is not paved by late fall waits until spring. The properties that get early-season dates are usually the ones that had a scope and a price in hand before the season opened.

A fall walk-through is worth doing even if the budget is not set. The cracks, the low spots and the places water sits are all visible now. By January they are under a snowbank, and by April the winter has made them worse.

What does a New Hampshire winter do to a parking lot?

Water gets into cracks, freezes, expands and pries the pavement apart. Repeat that through every freeze and thaw between December and March and small cracks become potholes by spring.

Plows catch raised edges and broken patches and peel them up. Snow piles that melt over the same spot every afternoon keep water on the pavement and in the base. The lots that come through winter in the worst shape are usually the ones that went into it with open cracks and water that had nowhere to go.

The fix before winter is crack filling and dealing with standing water. The fix after winter depends on what the damage looks like, which is the next question.

Does a lot need sealcoating, repair, an overlay or a rebuild?

The pattern of the damage decides it. In order from least to most work:

• Sealcoating is maintenance for a sound lot that is faded, gray or showing fine surface cracks. It protects asphalt that is still in good shape. It does not fix a failing lot. See sealcoating and line striping.
• Repairs fix isolated problems: a pothole, a settled patch, a sunken catch basin. The bad area is cut out, the base underneath is corrected, and the patch is paved.
• An overlay, or resurfacing, adds a new layer of asphalt over a lot that is worn but structurally sound, after failed spots are repaired and edges are milled so the new surface ties in level. The parking lot repairs and resurfacing at Summit Title Services in Bedford is an example.
• Full depth reclamation grinds a failed surface into the gravel underneath, uses it as the new base, then paves over it. It fits a lot cracked in a grid across large areas where the ground underneath is still sound. See full depth reclamation for parking lots.
• A full rebuild removes the pavement and the bad base, fixes the drainage, and builds the lot from new gravel up. It is for lots where water or soft soil has ruined the base.

An overlay on a lot that needs a rebuild is the costliest mistake in commercial paving, because the old cracks come back through the new surface within a season or two. More detail on each method is in the guide to commercial parking lot paving in New Hampshire.

Who repairs parking lots in Concord, NH?

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC repairs commercial parking lots in Concord, NH: potholes, settled patches, sunken catch basins, failed sections cut out and rebuilt down to the gravel base, crack filling, sealcoating and restriping. Because one company handles both the excavation and the paving, a repair that turns out to be a base or drainage problem gets fixed at the base instead of patched over. Call (603) 231-1598 for a free written quote.

Why does drainage decide how long a parking lot lasts?

Because water destroys a lot from underneath. Pavement over a dry, compacted base holds up. Pavement over a wet base cracks, settles and heaves.

A parking lot needs roughly one to two percent of slope so water runs to a catch basin, a swale or an edge instead of sitting in low spots. Catch basins have to sit at the right height, with the pavement shaped so water goes into the grate rather than around it. Where water cannot get out, it soaks into the gravel base, freezes and lifts the pavement. That is frost heave, and in New Hampshire it is behind much of the heaving and cracking that shows up in spring.

This is the part of the job that is excavation, not paving. Grading, drainage, catch basins and base work are done before any asphalt arrives. Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC does that site work with its own excavation crew, so the slope and drainage are built into the base the asphalt follows.

Can a Concord parking lot be paved without closing the business?

Usually, yes. Most commercial lots are done in phases so part of the lot stays open while the rest is worked on.

A typical plan splits the lot into sections, keeps an entrance and enough parking open for customers or residents, and moves traffic as each section is finished. Where it matters, ask whether the work can be scheduled around your busiest hours. Fresh asphalt needs time to cool and harden before cars go on it, so each section stays taped off for a period the paving crew sets, and striping comes after the surface is ready. The phasing plan belongs in the quote, with the order of sections and how access will work each day.

What should a commercial paving quote include?

A written scope that another contractor could price the same way. If two quotes do not describe the same job, the prices cannot be compared. A complete commercial quote states:

• The area in square feet, with a drawing or marked photo of what is included
• The method: repair, overlay, reclaim or full rebuild, and why
• Base work: excavation depth, gravel added, grading and compaction
• Asphalt: one course or a binder and surface course, and the compacted thickness of each
• Drainage: catch basin adjustments or repairs, slopes, and any new drainage
• Edges and tie-ins: saw cuts at the road, milling where new meets old, doorways and curbs
• Line striping and accessible parking spaces
• Phasing and access during the work
• Cleanup and removal of old material
• Who handles any permits needed for work at the street

Thickness is the number most often left vague. The one that matters is the compacted thickness after rolling, and it should be written in the scope.

How do you choose a paving contractor for a commercial lot in Concord?

Look for a contractor that puts the scope in writing, does its own site work, and can show commercial jobs like yours.

• Does the same company do the excavation and the paving? When one company grades the base and another paves it, nobody owns the slope, the drainage and the tie-in heights in between. See excavation and paving with one contractor.
• Is it local? A contractor based near Concord can walk the lot before quoting and come back in spring to look at a catch basin or a seam without a long trip.
• Can it show commercial work? Ask for photos and locations of parking lots, not only driveways. Young’s lists recent jobs on its commercial paving and parking lot projects page.
• Is it insured and registered? Ask for a certificate of insurance, and check the USDOT number of any company running dump trucks and equipment on public roads.
• What do reviews and references say about cleanup, communication and showing up when promised?

Frequently asked questions

Does Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC do commercial paving in Concord, NH?

Yes. The company is based at 37 Washington St in Penacook, a village within the city of Concord, and paves commercial parking lots and driveways across Concord and across Merrimack, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Strafford, Cheshire and Belknap counties.

Is Penacook part of Concord?

Yes. Penacook is a village within the city of Concord, NH, in the northern part of the city. Its ZIP code is 03303.

Can a parking lot be paved in winter?

Not properly. Hot mix asphalt has to be placed and compacted while hot, on a base that is not frozen, and most New Hampshire asphalt plants close for the winter. Cold patch can fill a pothole in an emergency, but it is a temporary fix until spring.

How often should a commercial parking lot be sealcoated?

Every 2 to 3 years for most lots, starting after new asphalt has cured for at least a year. Lots with heavy turning traffic or full sun may need it sooner. Cracks should be filled before the sealcoat goes on.

When should I get a quote for next season?

In the fall or winter. The lot can be walked before snow covers it, and a scope and price in hand by early spring gives the best chance at an early-season date.

What should I send to get a quote?

The property address, photos of the problem areas, an approximate size of the lot, and a note about where water sits after rain. A site visit then sets the scope.

To talk through a Concord parking lot, call Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC at (603) 231-1598 or request a free quote. More on local work is on the Concord, NH paving and excavation page, and the full list of paving work is on the asphalt paving services page.

Homeowners can start with the guide to the best driveway paving options for Concord, NH homes.

In the news:Commercial Paving in Concord, NH: Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC Publishes Parking Lot Planning Guide for Property Managers (AB Newswire, October 12, 2026).

The post Who Handles Commercial Paving and Parking Lots in Concord, NH? A Guide for Property Managers first appeared on Young's Excavating & Paving LLC.

This guide explains full depth reclamation, the process New Hampshire contractors usually call a grind and reclaim, so a property owner or manager knows what it is, when it is the right call, and what a proper scope includes.

What is full depth reclamation?

Full depth reclamation is a way of rebuilding a parking lot by grinding the old asphalt in place and using it as the base for the new pavement.

A reclaiming machine pulverizes the existing asphalt into millings and blends them with the gravel underneath. That mixture is graded to the finished shape, compacted, and paved over with new hot mix asphalt. The old lot is not hauled away. It becomes the structure under the new one.

In New Hampshire the same job is usually written up as a grind and reclaim. The scope on a reclaim reads in a set order. Grind and reclaim the lot, grade and vibratory compact the millings and the existing sub-base, remove millings as needed, prepare the edges and drainage structures, then place and compact the new asphalt.

How is reclaiming different from an overlay or a full rebuild?

An overlay keeps the old pavement and adds a layer on top. A full rebuild removes everything and imports new base. Reclamation sits between them, and it is the right answer when the surface has failed but the ground under it has not.

An overlay is the economical fix for a lot that is sound but worn. Failed spots are cut out and rebuilt, edges are milled, a tack coat goes down and a new lift of asphalt goes over the whole surface. The parking lot repairs and resurfacing at Summit Title Services in Bedford is an example of that job done properly.

A full rebuild is for a lot where the base itself has gone, usually because of water or soft soil. The pavement and the bad material come out, drainage gets fixed, new gravel goes in and gets compacted in lifts, and the lot is paved from scratch.

Reclamation is for the lot in between. The surface is past saving, cracked in a grid, breaking into pieces, patched on top of patches, but the gravel under it is still doing its job. Grinding the old asphalt into that gravel produces a thicker, denser base than the lot had before, without the trucking and imported stone of a full rebuild. The parking lot reclamation and paving at 680 White Mountain Highway in Tamworth shows the process on a strip mall lot of roughly 32,200 square feet.

How do you know a lot needs reclaiming?

The pattern of the damage says what the fix is. Widespread grid cracking, loose broken pavement and patches that keep failing point to reclamation. Isolated settled spots point to repair and overlay.

Cracking in a connected grid across large areas, often called alligator cracking, means the pavement has fatigued and can no longer spread loads. An overlay over that pattern will show the same cracks within a season or two, because the layer underneath is still flexing. When most of the surface looks like that, the surface has to stop being a surface.

A single sunken area with water standing in it is a different problem. That is a localized base failure and it gets cut out and rebuilt, with the rest of the lot overlaid if the rest is sound.

The fastest way to know which lot you have is a walk of it with the contractor, looking at where the cracks are, where water sits after rain, and what the edges are doing.

What happens to the old asphalt?

It is ground into millings and reused on site as part of the new base. Millings that are not needed to hold the finished grade are removed.

Grinding the old surface produces more material than the lot needs once it is mixed with the existing sub-base, because the finished grade has to end at a set height for the new asphalt to tie into roads, curbs, doorways and drains. The extra millings are taken off. What stays is graded and compacted into one uniform layer.

Why does a reclaimed base need grading and vibratory compaction?

Because the millings and gravel are loose after grinding, and asphalt placed on a loose base cracks as the base moves under it.

Grading sets the slope. A parking lot needs roughly one to two percent of fall so water moves to a catch basin, a swale or an edge instead of sitting in a low spot. Compaction with a vibratory roller closes the material up so it is dense and does not settle later. In New Hampshire a dense base that drains is also the main defense against frost heave, since water that cannot collect in the base cannot freeze and lift it.

Grading and compacting the base is site work, not paving. It is the half of the job that decides whether the paving lasts.

What gets done at the edges and drains before paving?

The edges and the drainage structures are prepared so the new asphalt ties in flush and water still leaves the lot.

Where the lot meets a public road, the road edge is saw-cut to give the new asphalt a clean, vertical edge to tie into. Where the new lot meets pavement that is staying, such as an access road or a drive lane, that area is milled down so the new surface finishes level with the old one instead of ending in a lip. Around catch basins, the surface is shaped so water runs into the grate rather than pooling beside it. A tack coat goes on the road joints and the milled surfaces so the new asphalt bonds to them.

Is a reclaimed lot paved in one course or two?

Either, and the scope decides. Some commercial lots get a binder course and a surface course. Others get a single construction course of one mix placed in one lift.

A single course of 3/4-inch hot mix asphalt uses one mix, with stone up to three quarters of an inch, for the full thickness. The larger stone gives it strength under turning and truck traffic and the mix still rolls out to a tight surface. On the Tamworth lot the new pavement was one 2.5-inch construction course of 3/4-inch single course hot mix, vibratory compacted to 2.5 inches. The thickness that matters is the compacted thickness, measured after rolling, and it should be the number written in the scope.

Whichever way a lot is paved, each lift is placed hot and rolled while it is still workable. That window closes fast in cool weather, which is why reclamation and paving in New Hampshire is warm-season work and why timing matters.

Why does it help when one contractor does the reclaim and the paving?

Because reclamation is a site work job and a paving job in one scope, and the base and the surface have to be built to the same numbers.

The grade set in the base is the grade the asphalt follows. Drainage, the tie-in heights at the road and the doors, and the slope in accessible parking spaces are all decided in the reclaimed base and only finished by the asphalt. When one contractor grades and compacts the base and a different one arrives to pave it, nobody owns the part in between. Young's handles excavation and site work as well as asphalt paving, so the base and the surface are decided together.

Who does full depth reclamation for parking lots in New Hampshire?

Young's Excavating & Paving LLC, at 37 Washington Street in Penacook, grinds, reclaims, rebuilds and paves commercial parking lots across Merrimack, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Strafford, Cheshire and Belknap counties, including Concord, Manchester, Nashua, Salem and Bedford, and takes on larger commercial projects beyond those counties by quote. It is one company from dig through pave, so the excavation, the base, the grade and the asphalt come from the same contractor and the drainage and tie-in numbers get built in rather than painted on.

Recent work is on the commercial paving and parking lot projects page, including the parking lot reclamation and paving at 680 White Mountain Highway in Tamworth and the parking lot repairs and resurfacing at Summit Title Services in Bedford. Property managers planning work in the capital can start with the Concord commercial paving guide. To talk through a lot, call (603) 231-1598 or request a free quote. Photos, an approximate square footage and a note about cracking, drainage or recurring problem areas help before a site visit.

The post Full Depth Reclamation: When a New Hampshire Parking Lot Needs a New Base, Not a New Surface first appeared on Young's Excavating & Paving LLC.

The existing asphalt was ground in place and reused as base, the base was graded and compacted, and a new 2.5-inch course of hot mix asphalt went down across approximately 32,200 square feet, about three quarters of an acre. Because the old surface became the new base, the lot was rebuilt from the ground up without a full dig-out.

View commercial paving and excavation work

Project overview

• Property: Strip mall, 680 White Mountain Highway, Tamworth, NH 03886
• Location: Tamworth, New Hampshire
• Project completed: June 2026
• Project type: Parking lot grind and reclaim, base preparation and new asphalt paving
• Approximate area: 32,200 square feet
• New asphalt: One 2.5-inch course of 3/4-inch hot mix asphalt, vibratory compacted, 2.5 inches total compacted thickness
• Work performed: Grind and reclaim, grading and vibratory compaction of millings and existing sub-base, removal of excess millings, saw-cut road edge, milling at the rear access road, catch basin preparation, tack coat on joints and milled surfaces, paving, edge tamping and compaction

What does it mean to grind and reclaim a parking lot?

Grinding and reclaiming means the old asphalt is pulverized where it sits and turned into the base for the new pavement instead of being hauled away. Our guide to full depth reclamation for parking lots covers when it is the right call.

A reclaiming machine grinds the existing surface into millings, which are then mixed with the gravel that was already under the lot. The result is graded to the finished shape and compacted with a vibratory roller until it is a dense, uniform base. Millings that are not needed to reach grade are removed. The same process is often called full depth reclamation.

At 680 White Mountain Highway, Young's ground and reclaimed the full parking lot, graded and vibratory compacted the millings and the existing sub-base, and removed millings as needed to hold the finished grade.

When does a parking lot need reclaiming instead of an overlay?

A lot is reclaimed when the old pavement can no longer be trusted as a foundation for new asphalt.

An overlay bonds a new layer to an existing surface, so it only works when that surface is sound. Pavement that has cracked in a grid across wide areas, broken up into loose pieces, or settled in many places will carry those problems straight up through a new layer, usually within a season or two.

Reclaiming resets the lot. The cracked surface stops being a surface and becomes aggregate in a fresh, compacted base, so the new asphalt is placed on structure rather than on old failures. It also avoids the cost of excavating the whole lot, trucking the material off and importing all new gravel.

Why are the millings graded and compacted before paving?

Because the millings are the base now, and asphalt only performs as well as the base under it.

Asphalt is a flexible surface. It spreads the weight of a vehicle down into the layers beneath it. If those layers are loose or uneven, the asphalt flexes until it cracks. Grading sets the slope so water leaves the lot, and vibratory compaction closes the material up so it does not move once traffic and frost get at it.

On this project the millings and the existing sub-base were graded and vibratory compacted as one layer before any new asphalt arrived.

Why saw-cut the edge where the lot meets the road?

A saw-cut gives the new asphalt a clean, vertical edge to tie into, so the joint at the road is straight, tight and flush.

Where a parking lot meets a public road, the new pavement has to finish level with pavement that is staying put. A ragged or feathered edge there cracks, catches plows and lets water into the joint. Saw-cutting the road edge at 680 White Mountain Highway created a clean tie-in point before the new course went down.

Why mill the area leading to the rear access road?

Milling grinds the existing pavement down where the new asphalt has to meet it, so the new surface ties in without a raised lip.

The rear access road at this property was staying in place. The area leading to it was milled so the new 2.5-inch course could finish flush with the existing pavement at the transition, instead of ending in a step that would catch plow blades and collect water.

Why are catch basins prepared before a lot is paved?

Because a catch basin only works if water can reach it, and paving changes the surface around it.

A catch basin is the drain in a parking lot. The pavement immediately around it has to slope toward the grate and finish at the right height, or water pools beside the basin instead of going into it. Standing water is the start of most pavement failures, especially through a New Hampshire winter.

At 680 White Mountain Highway the areas around the catch basins were prepared for proper water flow before the new asphalt was placed.

What is a single course of 3/4-inch hot mix asphalt?

It is one layer of asphalt placed in a single lift, using a mix whose largest stone is three quarters of an inch, rather than two separate layers of different mixes.

Many commercial lots are paved in two lifts, a coarser binder course and a finer surface course. A single construction course uses one mix for the full thickness. The 3/4-inch stone gives the layer strength under turning and truck traffic, and the mix still closes up to a tight surface when it is rolled.

On this project the new pavement was one 2.5-inch construction course of 3/4-inch single course hot mix asphalt, vibratory compacted to a total compacted thickness of 2.5 inches. The 2.5 inches is the thickness after rolling, not before.

Why is a tack coat applied to road joints and milled surfaces?

A tack coat is a thin bonding layer that makes the new asphalt grip what is under it instead of sitting on top as a separate skin.

It matters most where new asphalt meets old. At the saw-cut road joint and on the milled transition to the rear access road, the tack coat secures the bond so the joint does not open up and let water in. On this project the tack coat was applied to the road joints and the milled surfaces before the new course was placed.

Why are the edges tamped and compacted?

Because the edge of a parking lot is the weakest part of it, and an edge that is not compacted breaks away first.

A roller cannot reach the last few inches of an unsupported edge the way it reaches the middle of the lot. Tamping the edges and following with vibratory compaction closes up the asphalt there so it does not ravel under plows and wheel loads. At 680 White Mountain Highway the edges were tamped and vibratory compacted as the final step.

Why does the same contractor doing both halves matter?

A reclaimed lot is a site work job and a paving job in one scope, and on this project one company answered for both.

Grinding, grading and compacting the base is the excavation side of the work. Placing and rolling the asphalt is the paving side. When one contractor sets the base and a different one arrives later to pave it, nobody owns the part in between, and that is where lots fail.

Young's handles excavation and site work as well as asphalt paving, so what is under the pavement and what is on top of it are decided together. At 680 White Mountain Highway the reclaim, the grading, the drainage preparation and the paving were completed as one scope of work.

The completed parking lot in Tamworth

The finished job left the strip mall with a new, compacted base built from its own old pavement and a new 2.5-inch asphalt surface across roughly 32,200 square feet, tied in flush at the road and the rear access road and draining to its catch basins.

Who does parking lot reclamation and paving in New Hampshire?

Young's Excavating & Paving LLC, at 37 Washington Street in Penacook, handles commercial paving, excavation, grading and site work across six New Hampshire counties: Merrimack, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Strafford, Cheshire and Belknap. Larger commercial projects beyond those counties, like this one in Tamworth, are taken on by quote. The office number is (603) 231-1598 and the federal carrier registration is USDOT 2821639.

Commercial projects can mean a full grind and reclaim like this one, an overlay where the existing pavement is sound, repairs to failed areas, site preparation, grading, drainage work or pavement maintenance. Which of those applies depends on the condition of the existing pavement, the base beneath it, how the property is accessed and where water goes. The parking lot repairs and resurfacing at Summit Title Services in Bedford show the overlay side of that decision.

Request a commercial paving quote

To discuss a parking lot or a commercial paving project, call Young's Excavating & Paving LLC at (603) 231-1598 or request a free quote online.

Photographs, an approximate square footage and a description of any cracking, settlement, recurring potholes, drainage problems or access requirements help the team understand the property before scheduling a site visit.

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What each one actually is

Pavers are individual units set on a sand bed over a compacted gravel base, with sand swept into the joints and an edge restraint holding the field together. Natural stone is the same idea with cut or irregular stone units, often set on a thicker base or, for patios, sometimes on concrete. Stamped asphalt is one continuous hot-mix asphalt surface with a brick or stone pattern pressed into it while hot and a colored polymer coating applied on top; how that is done step by step is in our stamped asphalt installation guide.

Frost heave and winter movement

New Hampshire ground moves every winter. Pavers and stone move with it, unit by unit, which is why an older paver driveway shows dips at the tire tracks, humps where a root or a wet spot lifted a section, and joints that have opened. That movement is repairable (lift, re-bed, re-set) but it is ongoing. A stamped asphalt surface is flexible and continuous, so it rides the frost as a sheet. Small movement shows as a hairline crack that gets filled, not as a loose unit. In both cases the base is what limits the movement, which is why the excavation and drainage under the surface matter more than the surface itself. Our driveway drainage guide covers what a good base and pitch look like.

Plowing and sanding

A plow blade catches the edge of a lifted paver or a raised stone and pulls it. Stamped asphalt has no edges to catch, so it plows like any paved driveway; a rubber-edged blade is easier on the color coating but a steel blade set correctly is fine. Sand and salt are fine on all three once cured. Pavers with polymeric sand joints and sealed stone need their joints and sealer redone on a schedule; stamped asphalt needs its color coat renewed on a schedule. Neither is maintenance-free.

Weeds, ants and joints

Every joint in a paver or stone surface is a place for sand to wash out, weeds to seed and ants to dig. Polymeric sand and sealing slow that down. Stamped asphalt has no joints; the pattern lines are impressions in one surface, so there is nowhere for anything to grow.

Look and color

Natural stone wins on looks if the budget allows it; nothing copies granite or bluestone perfectly. Good pavers come close and offer the most color and shape choice. Stamped asphalt gives a convincing brick, cobble or slate read from the street and from the porch, and it can be laid out with a contrasting border or apron. Up close the pattern is uniform in a way that stone is not, and the color is a coating rather than the material itself, which is also what makes it renewable.

Cost, in order

For the same area with the same base work, natural stone is the most expensive, pavers next, stamped asphalt the least. The gap widens on large areas because stamped asphalt is machine-paved and then stamped, while pavers and stone are set by hand unit by unit. It narrows on small features such as a short walkway, where setup time matters more than area. The base is priced the same way for all three, and it is a mistake to save on it for any of them. We quote stamped work with the excavation, paving and stamping shown separately so the comparison is honest.

Repairs

A damaged paver is lifted and replaced; a matching unit may or may not still be made. A cracked stone is replaced with a close match. A damaged section of stamped asphalt is cut out, repaved, reheated, stamped and re-coated; the pattern and color match because the templates and coatings are standard. Utility work is the usual reason for a repair, and this is where the continuous surface is easier to put back.

Where each one is the right answer

Choose natural stone for a front walk or entry where the material is the point and the area is small. Choose pavers for a patio or a walk where you want a particular color or shape and the surface will not be plowed. Choose stamped asphalt for a driveway, an apron at the road, a long walk that gets plowed, or a large area where a brick or stone look is wanted at a driveway price. Many of the projects in our stamped driveway ideas guide combine them: a stamped apron and border on the driveway with a stone step at the door.

Frequently asked questions

Does stamped asphalt look fake? From the street and the porch it reads as brick or stone. At arm’s length the regular pattern gives it away, as it does with most pavers. Borders and two-color layouts read more naturally than a full single-pattern field.

Can I put stamped asphalt over my existing driveway? If the existing asphalt is sound and drains, yes; it is reheated and stamped in place. If it is failing, the base is fixed first.

Which lasts longest? Well-based natural stone, then pavers, then asphalt, in raw material terms. In practice all three last as long as the base and drainage under them, and a stamped surface with its coating renewed on schedule outlasts a paver driveway that is never re-set.

Young’s Excavating & Paving LLC installs stamped and decorative asphalt and builds driveway bases across Merrimack, Hillsborough, Rockingham, Strafford, Cheshire and Belknap counties from Penacook (Concord), NH. USDOT 2821639. See the stamped asphalt service page or call (603) 231-1598 for a written quote.

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