Asphalt Driveway - $100 per square foot?

Boston, Massachusetts
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Asphalt Driveway - $100 per square foot?

Nikhil Agarwal
Investor · Member since 2021 · 24 posts · 14 votes

Hi everyone, 

I currently have a side lawn and back yard. I want to convert the side lawn into a driveway and add 6 parking spots in the back yard. In total, it looks like I need around 1700 square feet of what's currently a lawn to be converted into an asphalt driveway. 

I'm currently being quoted approx. $100 per square feet by a contractor. I mistakenly budgeted around $15 per square foot based on online articles when I purchased the property. Certainly a lesson learned in getting quotes from contractors rather than relying on websites. I'm about to scrap this project but I wanted to get thoughts here before I do. Am I nuts for thinking it would be closer to $15 per sq ft?

When I spoke with the contractor, he mentioned that the increased cost is because this would be a new driveway where I currently have a lawn and it's not an existing driveway that is being re-surfaced. Specifically, excavation and 4 layers of rocks would need to be added to prepare the land and that is driving the cost to a bit more than $100 per sq ft.

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Ryan Normand
Contractor · AZ · Member since 2022 · 215 posts · 185 votes
2y

$100/sf is laughable. In the industry, that's what we call a "F*** You Price"... In other words, he doesn't want to do it so he's giving you a price so insanely high that you almost have to say no.

I don't do asphalt, but in my area you can get a concrete slab with 4" of compacted ABC for $20/sf or less. And concrete is generally a more durable and expensive paving material than asphalt. There's no reason asphalt should be costing 5x unless there's some insane earthwork you're not telling us about. Get more bids. If they all come back that high just pour concrete.

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  • Tom Fidrych
    Member since 2020 · 241 posts · 179 votes
    2y

    Always get 3 quotes at a minimum. The contractor is correct in that the base for the asphalt has to be prepared. I've seen some ugly driveways in which they didn't prepare the rock layer properly if at all.

    Make sure your other bids confirm and are in line with the number and thickness of base layers. 

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  • Ryan Normand
    Contractor · AZ · Member since 2022 · 215 posts · 185 votes
    2y

    $100/sf is laughable. In the industry, that's what we call a "F*** You Price"... In other words, he doesn't want to do it so he's giving you a price so insanely high that you almost have to say no.

    I don't do asphalt, but in my area you can get a concrete slab with 4" of compacted ABC for $20/sf or less. And concrete is generally a more durable and expensive paving material than asphalt. There's no reason asphalt should be costing 5x unless there's some insane earthwork you're not telling us about. Get more bids. If they all come back that high just pour concrete.

    2Reply
  • Nikhil Agarwal
    OP
    Investor · Member since 2021 · 24 posts · 14 votes
    2y

    You both are spot on. I got a second quote and it’s 14k - 20k (over the phone). He is coming out to the property to confirm what exactly it would be. The second contractor also said it would have been closer to half of that if I was in a different location. He needs to charge me more because he will need to get 2-3 police details and the permitting process takes longer. Also, the city requires a certain base that is slightly more expensive but not by much sounds like.

    Apparently, my city (Boston) is extremely painful to deal with. That likely also explains the crazy quote from the first contractor.

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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    2y
    Quote from @Nikhil Agarwal:

    You both are spot on. I got a second quote and it’s 14k - 20k (over the phone). He is coming out to the property to confirm what exactly it would be. The second contractor also said it would have been closer to half of that if I was in a different location. He needs to charge me more because he will need to get 2-3 police details and the permitting process takes longer. Also, the city requires a certain base that is slightly more expensive but not by much sounds like.

    Apparently, my city (Boston) is extremely painful to deal with. That likely also explains the crazy quote from the first contractor.


    I do concrete driveway and pads for 12 bucks a foot including base rock and that is Oregon which is not cheap.
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  • Chris SeveneyBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
    2y

    @Nikhil Agarwal

    Oh you’re in Boston. Yes police details instead of flagman and if you have 2 then you need the lieutenant s the 3rd and that’s gonna cost you a few grand a day just for them.

    100/st is 170k for a driveway. Yeah insane

    With stone and asphalt should be $15-$20k would be my guess.

    Concrete would be double would be my guess

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