The base decides everything. Really.
A three-inch mat of beautiful hot mix sitting on a bad base is going to fail. Same mat on a properly dug, shaped, and compacted base can last decades. We've seen it both ways, and four generations of driveways and lots will teach you exactly where corners get cut and where they don't. Since BC Paving is the crew that would have to come back and fix it, we don't cut them.
Why base work matters extra in Colorado
Front Range soils are a mixed bag: clay, cobble, decomposed granite on some slopes, soft fill in others. Drop asphalt on an unprepped base and you're rolling the dice on which spots will heave first. Add the freeze-thaw cycle to that equation and a skipped dig-out becomes a sunken patch by year two. A proper base job starts with knowing what's actually under your surface before any aggregate goes down.
What BC Paving base work includes
- Excavation and dig-out of soft, saturated, or failed material
- Import and placement of the right sub-base aggregate for your soil
- Proper lift thickness with compaction between each lift, not a single dumped load
- Shaping to finished grade with drainage built in from the ground up
- Final proof-rolling so you know the base is ready to pave, no guessing
- Coordination with excavators, concrete crews, and utility trades already on site
When you need base work
Failed sections of existing parking lots, driveway edges where the base has washed out from runoff, new construction where the previous grade was never right, properties with soft or unstable fill, and any project where you want a surface that actually holds up. If you're not sure whether your base is sound, we'll come out to your property and tell you what we see.
Want to see the work?
Base jobs aren't glamorous, but they're what the final surface is riding on. We share progress shots of dig-outs, lifts, and proof-rolls on our Facebook page along with the finished driveways and lots.
