Can You Pour Asphalt Over Concrete

To save time and money many states and municipalities use a road repair technique known as whitetopping the process of pouring concrete over asphalt rather than removing the existing asphalt.

Can you pour asphalt over concrete.

If you ve been thinking about updating your driveway or parking lot you might be wondering if asphalt can be paved right over the top of the concrete. Holes and cracks can simply be filled with new asphalt or be tarred over for greater durability. For example different types of asphalt fabric can be installed to reduce the amount of reflective cracking that can occur in an asphalt overlay on concrete. Concrete is a great base material because it is stable and allows for excellent compaction of the asphalt above.

While it is safe to pave asphalt over concrete there are several reasons why we do not recommend this method. In fact many. It is safe to pave asphalt over concrete. The answer to the extremely common question can i lay new asphalt over old concrete is yes you can but we discourage it.

Asphalt is far easier to maintain than concrete. It just doesn t make fiscal sense to do it as that driveway will need a lot more work in the near future. There are additional things that can be done prior to the overlay to get the maximum life out of it. Concrete however typically needs to be replaced to restore its luster which is expensive and time consuming to do.

Pouring asphalt over concrete is bad for the longevity of your driveway. However if you already have a concrete driveway that you want to replace with asphalt there are some important points to consider. So pouring asphalt over concrete will result in cracks in the asphalt anywhere that the concrete moves beneath it. Homeowners can benefit from this whitetopping technique to reduce labor costs and time when replacing worn asphalt driveways.

Switching from concrete to asphalt the first thing to consider is whether you need to remove the concrete driveway or if you can simply pave over it. The determining factor here is what lies underneath. Alternative driveway treatment if the issue that you are dealing with is an unsightly concrete driveway it may be cheaper and longer lasting to install a concrete overlay.