Homeowners in Bowling Green, KY often look at a damaged driveway and wonder how to fix a surface that is completely failed without paying for a total tear-out. Residents across Warren County already know that local clay soil and intense summer heat can wreak havoc on pavement. Pavement starts cracking, edges crumble, and before you know it, you are looking at a bumpy mess. That is usually when Asphalt Milling comes into the conversation.
What is Asphalt Milling?
Asphalt Milling is basically shaving off the damaged top layer of your old Asphalt using a specialized machine with a rotating drum. Instead of hauling away the entire base and starting from scratch, an Asphalt Milling machine takes off just the top couple of inches. This leaves a textured, stable foundation that is primed and ready for a brand-new layer of hot-mix Asphalt. Neighborly Asphalt Co uses Asphalt Milling techniques all the time because Asphalt Milling saves money and cuts down on massive disposal headaches in Bowling Green, KY.
Before the Project Starts
Preparation is mostly about getting your property ready for heavy equipment. Property owners can easily handle clearing out vehicles, patio furniture, and kids toys from the driveway themselves. Make sure to turn off any automatic sprinkler systems that might spray the work zone. What you should not try to do is mark utility lines or guess at drainage slopes. Leave the technical prep to professionals who understand local grading requirements so water does not pool toward your garage foundation during heavy Kentucky thunderstorms.
During the Milling Process
When the machine shows up, things get loud and dusty fast. The Asphalt Milling rig grinds down the pavement while a conveyor belt loads the old material into a dump truck. You will need to stay well back from the equipment for safety reasons. While watching the machine work might make you want to grab a shovel and help level the edges, do not. The weight and precision required to operate these rigs safely means this is strictly a professional job. Neighborly Asphalt Co handles the heavy lifting, edge cleanups, and sweeping so the subbase remains completely undisturbed.
After the Milling is Done
Once the top layer is stripped away during Asphalt Milling, you will be left with a rough, gravel-like surface temporarily. Homeowners often ask if they can just drive on the milled surface as-is. While you can technically drive on millings for a short window, leaving Asphalt Milling millings exposed too long is not ideal, especially if we get a heavy downpour that washes away the fine particles. You will want the new Asphalt overlay applied promptly. Your main job here is keeping foot traffic away while the new hot-mix goes down and curing begins, and giving the fresh surface a few days to fully harden before parking heavy vehicles on it again.