Most of the anxiety about a paving job comes from not knowing the shape of the day. It is noisy, it is quick once it starts, and almost all the decisions were made before anyone arrived.
How your Edmonton paving day runs from start to finish
The crew arrives early because asphalt has to be laid hot, and the delivery schedule works backwards from that. Expect machinery on site before most people would call it a reasonable hour.
Removal and base work take the bulk of the day. The old surface comes up, the ground underneath is graded and compacted, and any soft areas are dealt with. This is the part that decides how long the result lasts.
Laying itself is fast and it is the part people watch. Hot material is spread, levelled and then compacted while it is still workable, which is why a driveway often finishes in one day, the base is the real work, and curing starts the moment the roller stops.
Laying the mat
Before the day
What to do before your Edmonton paving crew arrives
Move every vehicle out
Including the one you were going to move later. Nothing can stay on the surface and nothing can be parked where the delivery has to reach.
Clear the access route
Gates unlocked, bins moved and overhanging branches noted. Machinery needs more room than a car does to get where it is going.
Shift anything fragile nearby
Pots, ornaments and anything light enough to move. There is vibration from compaction and there is dust from removal.
Plan where to park that night
The surface will not take a vehicle the same evening. Knowing where the car goes saves the one decision people always leave until it is dark.
During and after
What to expect while Edmonton work is underway
It is loud and it smells. Compaction equipment carries noise further than you expect and hot asphalt has a strong smell for a few hours, which is worth mentioning to anyone next door beforehand.
There will be a moment that looks wrong and usually is not. A surface part-laid, an edge not yet cut in or a joint that looks rough all get resolved before the crew finishes, so it is worth asking rather than worrying.
The handover is the part to pay attention to. Return times, what the first season will look like and what is covered all get explained then, and when the first coat is due is a question worth asking before anybody leaves.
Early. Asphalt has to be laid hot so the delivery schedule works backwards from that, and machinery is usually on site before most people would call it a reasonable hour.
Often yes, for a typical residential drive. Larger areas and jobs with significant base repair take longer, and that is said in the quote rather than discovered on the day.
Not for the whole day, but it helps to be there at the start for access and at handover for the return times and what to expect in the first weeks.
Compaction carries further than you expect and hot asphalt smells strongly for a few hours. Both pass the same day, and telling the neighbours in advance is worth doing.
Ask at the time. A part-laid surface, an uncut edge or a rough-looking joint are usually stages rather than faults, and the crew would rather explain than have you worry.
No. Plan somewhere else for the first night at least, with the exact return time given at handover based on the weather rather than a fixed number of hours.
The crew arrived at seven, the old driveway was out by nine, the base was compacted by noon and the asphalt was down by three. Exactly as the guide said.
Rob V.
Leduc
★★★★★
They told me when to move the cars, when I could walk on it and when I could drive on it. All three times held.
Grant B.
Edmonton
★★★★
The guide on their site described the day step by step. The actual day matched it.
Anya V.
Beaumont
★★★★★
Rolled twice, edges hand-tamped, and the crew swept the street before leaving.
