Terms of Service — Base Layer First
A driveway is decided underground, and so is a paving estimate. What the callback ballpark is, what the measured number promises, what a tear-out can turn up, and which side of the river the truck stays on.
Ballpark on the callback, firm after the measure
The callback gives you a working range worked out from the published per-square-foot rates on the driveway page and the dimensions you described. It is a range and it is called one. The written estimate follows the on-site measure, and it names three things the range cannot: the compacted thickness of the stone base, the thickness of the asphalt lift after compaction, and what happens to water at the edges. Once written, that estimate is the price.
| On the estimate | Why it is named |
|---|---|
| Base thickness, compacted | The line most low bids quietly shave |
| Asphalt lift after compaction | A number measured loose reads thicker than it is |
| Edge and drainage treatment | Water along the mat, not off it, is how edges crumble |
What a tear-out can turn up
A written figure can change for three reasons, each priced and shown to you before the machine rolls again: subgrade soft enough to need more stone than the measure assumed, old concrete or a buried slab under the existing drive, and a drain or culvert crossing the line. Extra square footage, if the drive grows on the day, is charged at the rate already on the estimate. The invoice carries nothing that was not agreed standing on the driveway.
The first week and the first summer
New asphalt in Georgia heat cures slowly. Three to five days off the surface before parking on it, boards under trailer tongues and kickstands, no cranking the wheel while stopped, sprinklers off the mat for the first week. Marks that come from skipping those are wear, not a defect, and are not something a warranty covers. A first sealcoat at the six-to-twelve-month mark is yours to book and is the best money the driveway will ever see.
Georgia side of the river
Augusta, Evans, Martinez, Grovetown and Hephzibah, and the rest of the Georgia side of the metro on request. The Savannah River is the boundary; a job across it gets a no on the first call rather than a maybe.
Asphalt, and only asphalt
No concrete, no brick or stone hardscape, no stamped anything. Where concrete is the better material for your project, you will hear that on the phone and be pointed toward the right trade.
Who is running the machine
The request travels from this page to the paving crew. The crew that measures your driveway is the crew that builds the base and lays the mat, and the pavement is on them. Get their proof of insurance before the trucks arrive; a crew that paves for a living expects to be asked.
The pages and the estimate
The cost guides, the overlay comparison and the town pages explain how asphalt behaves on Augusta's two soils and what the work usually runs. They are reference. The written estimate for your lot is the only promise.
In effect from 15 September 2026.