Overlays, milling and millings
Kitchener Asphalt Paving Pros resurfaces driveways, parking lots and lanes that are worn on top but still solid underneath. We have laid overlays across Waterloo Region since 2013, on everything from greyed-out 1990s driveways in Pioneer Park to plaza lots in Cambridge and Guelph.
An overlay is a new 40 to 50 mm layer of HL3 hot mix bonded to the old asphalt. Where heights matter at garage floors, curbs and door thresholds, we mill the old surface first so the new one meets them flush.
Resurfacing costs less than a full replacement and takes half a day to a day, but it only lasts on a sound base, so this page starts with how we tell. For rural lanes and parking pads we also supply and compact recycled asphalt millings.
What we resurface
We resurface three kinds of pavement, each with its own method and price. All three keep the existing base in place.
A new HL3 surface on residential driveways that are oxidized, rough or lightly cracked. Most are finished in half a day to a day at $3.00 to $4.50 per sq ft.
Starting from gravel instead? That is a new install, covered under asphalt driveway paving.
Plaza, condo and office lots are milled and repaved in phases so the property stays open, at $2.75 to $4.50 per sq ft. Our parking lot paving team books a line painting contractor to restripe once the surface cools.
Reclaimed asphalt millings graded and rolled on farm lanes, parking pads and work yards at $1.50 to $3.00 per sq ft, a step up from gravel at a fraction of hot mix cost.
Resurface or replace
Yes, if the base is sound and the damage is limited to the surface: greying, loose stones, hairline or isolated cracks and a few patchable soft spots. If the asphalt is sinking, heaving or broken into connected blocks, the base has failed and an overlay will crack in the same pattern.
We check each point below on the assessment, with test holes where the surface gives any doubt.
| Factor | Resurface | Replace |
|---|---|---|
| Base condition | Firm, no sinking or frost heave | Soft, sinking, heaving or pumping water |
| Crack type | Hairline, single or block cracks that can be sealed | Alligator cracking in the wheel paths |
| Area damaged | A few soft spots that can be patched first | Widespread failure across the surface |
| Age and build | Mid-life asphalt on a proper granular base | Near the end of its 15 to 25 years on thin stone |
| Drainage | Water already runs away from the house | Water runs toward the house or garage |
| Heights | Room to add 40 to 50 mm, or tie-ins can be milled | Already level with door thresholds along long runs |
If most of your answers fall in the right-hand column, our asphalt removal and replacement page explains how a base rebuild works and what it costs.
Our process
An overlay lasts only as long as its bond to the layer below, and cheap overlays fail at exactly this step. A new layer that is not stuck down slides, bulges and peels under turning tires.
We sweep and wash the surface and let it dry, because asphalt will not bond to dust, moss or oil. Cracks are filled with hot-pour rubberized sealant and failed spots are cut out and patched full depth.
The cold planer cuts keyed edges at the garage, street and walkways, or mills the whole surface on a full mill and overlay job.
SS-1 asphalt emulsion is sprayed in a thin, even film and left to break from brown to black before paving. Skipping tack is the main cause of overlays that slip and delaminate.
HL3 is laid 40 to 50 mm compacted and rolled right behind the paver. A thin lift loses heat fast, so rolling starts while the mix is well above 85 C, especially on cool fall days.
Honest limits
Reflective cracking is when the cracks in the old asphalt reappear through the new overlay, often after one or two winters. The old pavement keeps moving at each crack as it freezes and thaws, and the thin new layer above has to move with it.
No prep removes the risk entirely, but these steps reduce it a lot:
Our 1-year labour warranty covers the overlay we place, but not cracks reflecting up from a base we did not build. We say so on the quote, so you can weigh an overlay against a replacement with clear eyes.
Millings
Asphalt millings are old asphalt ground into a gravel-like aggregate, also called reclaimed asphalt pavement or RAP. Graded and rolled, they bind into a firmer, less dusty surface than gravel for $1.50 to $3.00 per sq ft.
We supply, spread, grade and compact millings on long farm lanes in Woolwich and Wellesley, on parking pads beside sheds and on work yards.
Millings are compacted, not hot-laid, so they never become a sealed asphalt surface. Our private road and laneway paving page compares millings with a full hot mix lane.
Pricing
Resurfacing a driveway in Kitchener costs $3.00 to $4.50 per sq ft before HST, against $5.50 to $8.50 for a peel and pave replacement. A typical double driveway overlay comes to about $2,500 to $4,500.
| Option | Price per sq ft | Double driveway, 800 to 1,000 sq ft | Life it buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driveway overlay | $3.00 to $4.50 | $2,500 to $4,500 | Adds 8 to 15 years |
| Peel and pave replacement | $5.50 to $8.50 | $4,800 to $8,000 | 15 to 25 years |
| Commercial mill and overlay | $2.75 to $4.50 | Priced by lot area | Adds 8 to 15 years |
| Recycled millings lane | $1.50 to $3.00 | Priced by lane length | Regrade and top up as needed |
On a sound base, the cost per year is close: a 900 sq ft overlay at the midpoint price, lasting about 11 years, works out near $300 a year, and a replacement lasting 20 years near $315. On a failing base the overlay may last a few winters, which makes it the expensive choice.
Crack repair, full-depth patches and milling at tie-ins are part of the overlay price and itemized on the quote.
FAQ
These four come up on nearly every resurfacing assessment in Kitchener and Guelph.
A well-prepared overlay on a sound base adds 8 to 15 years. Where it lands in that range depends on crack prep before paving, drainage and sealing every 2 to 3 years afterward.
Only after the potholes are cut out and patched full depth, because an overlay bridging a hole will sink into it. If potholes are scattered across the whole driveway, the base has usually failed and replacement is the better spend.
No, not when we mill the tie-ins. We grind a keyed strip at the garage slab so the new asphalt finishes flush with it, and do the same at the street and front walk.
Yes. We deliver millings, spread and grade them with a crown for drainage, and compact them with a vibratory roller. It is a common choice for long lanes in rural Woolwich, Wellesley and Wilmot.
Free assessment
We will tell you honestly whether your pavement is a resurfacing job or a replacement, with test holes if there is any doubt. Call 548-457-2043 or send the form, and every overlay we place carries our 1-year labour warranty in writing.