Wolf Paving Blog

At Wolf Paving, many different types of asphalt can be mixed and created for any type of paving project. Wolf Paving creates special cold mix asphalt, specifically used for pothole repair.

As a homeowner, you understand the importance of maintaining your property, including your driveway. Taking care of your driveway isn’t always the easiest thing. You have to know when to seal coat it or when to have it repaved. But when is the right time? And how do you go about maintaining and repairing a driveway?

If you’re looking into a new driveway or parking lot, you’ll need to decide whether asphalt or concrete is the better choice. Both materials are good choices and offer certain advantages. We believe that asphalt, properly installed and maintained, is the best option for most driveways and parking lots.

The first impression your business makes matters, and many customers’ first impression will come from your parking lot.  Is it in disrepair, with have cracks and potholes?  Does it look dull?  Are there low areas collecting scummy water?  If your parking lot needs attention, your customers’ confidence in your business could be negatively affected. 

Here at Wolf Paving, we care about ensuring our work is the very best it can be and that it lasts as long as possible. To achieve the best results, we carefully consider every aspect of a paving project, literally from the ground up. What kind of soils exist at the site? If paving has been done before, what materials were used and are they re-usable in the current project? We ask these questions because we know an excellent base is required for an excellent result. A weak base could result in the pavement above it shifting, cracking, or even sinking. 

How do you keep roads and parking lots in good condition cost-effectively?  We’ve already talked about many of our routine maintenance suggestions, such as filling in cracks and sealcoating, but sometimes a surface is too damaged for these small actions – in these cases, it would take more money and time to repair than it would to perform a full rehabilitation.  But asphalt pulverizing offers a very economical way to fully rehabilitate a road or lot with minimal traffic disruption. It’s also a great way to save on paving materials. 

Perpetual pavement is a flexible but strong asphalt pavement that doesn't exhibit structural damage even when very high traffic flows over long periods of time. They’re made up of multiple layers of durable asphalt. The bottom layer is designed to be strong but flexible to resist strains that could cause cracks to form from the bottom up. A similar intermediate layer adds additional structural protection, and the final layer, made of rut-resistant hot-mix asphalt (HMA), requires only minimal maintenance. 

One interesting part of the asphalt process that you might not be aware of happens before any asphalt is laid.  It’s called asphalt milling.

Have you ever felt like the terminology of a subject strands you in an unknown land?  Take asphalt -- if you’re just learning about it, terminology can be a barrier.  Those in the industry don’t think twice about terms like “hot-mix” or “sealcoating,” but for the layman, these can be confusing.

Ever wonder how asphalt is made? Watch our latest video of the asphalt manufacturing process, taken at our Sun Prairie Asphalt Manufacturing Plant.