Seal coat, overlay or full replacement — how to tell what your lot needs
Three very different price tags. Here is how a paving contractor decides between them.
Most property owners find out their lot has a problem when a tenant complains about a pothole. By then the question is not whether to spend money, it is how much. The answer comes down to one thing: is the base underneath the asphalt still good?
If the surface is gray and dry but structurally sound, seal coating is the move. Sealer replaces the protective layer that Colorado sun and snowmelt strip away. It will not fix cracks or ruts, but it stops oxidation and water intrusion, and it costs a fraction of anything else.
If the surface is cracked and worn but the base is stable — no rocking, no pumping water, no alligator patterning across large areas — an overlay is the right call. We mill the edges, repair the failed spots, and lay a new mat on top.
If the base has failed, an overlay is money thrown away. New asphalt over a bad base cracks again in one or two winters. That job needs full-depth removal, base repair and replacement.
The honest version of this conversation costs you nothing. We would rather sell you crack fill this year and paving in five years than sell you the wrong job today.
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