Maintaining your driveway is important to preserve your home's curb appeal and value. When your driveway is full of cracks and holes, you may be tempted to try repaving it yourself to save money. Think twice before taking on this complex DIY project.

Requires Specialized Tools and Materials

To give a definition, asphalt pavement refers to any paved road surfaced with asphalt, according to the National Asphalt Paving Association. That means repaving requires more than just pouring some new asphalt. You need to properly prepare the underlying base and subsurface first. This involves specialty tools like pavement saws, jackhammers, plate compactors, and asphalt rakes. Don't forget a heavy roller to flatten and compress the fresh asphalt. Securing high-quality, commercial-grade asphalt materials can also be a challenge for DIYers.

Requires Physical Strength and Is Dangerous

Successfully laying asphalt involves heavy manual labor. You must break up and remove your old driveway surface using jackhammers and other demolition tools. This is physically taxing work. Then the base layer needs compacting and grading with a plate compactor and rakes. When the hot asphalt is delivered, you have just a short window to rake, spread, and roll it before it hardens. Rushing to pave a large area while manhandling heavy machinery raises safety risks. Leave it to an experienced driveway paver with proper techniques to prevent injuries or accidents.

Needs Professional Knowledge to Last

Without commercial pavers' specialized equipment and know-how, a DIY asphalt patch job is unlikely to stand the test of time. If the base work is inadequate, your driveway could start sinking and cracking again quickly. Using inferior materials or applying them improperly also reduces durability. You'll need to re-do the paving job sooner than if you hired a pro driveway paver to do it right the first time.

Requires Time and Dedication

Repaving a driveway takes days of grueling work even for seasoned pros. Attempting it with no experience will drag out the process much longer. You'll need to do extensive research to know where to start. Sorting out rental equipment takes time too. All those hours researching and laboring could be better spent on other projects and priorities.

Protect your home's value and avoid wasting time, money, and effort by bringing in a professional driveway paver instead of attempting it yourself. Their expertise in delivering high-quality, long-lasting repaving work is worth the investment. Focus your efforts on other more manageable home projects that better suit DIYers. If you need to pave your driveway, call Just Paving Inc for an estimate.