Asphalt Paving in Palmdale, CA

Asphalt paving in Palmdale has to hold up to a climate that swings hard in both directions. Palmdale's official weather station averages about 35 afternoons a year at 100 degrees or hotter, and about 52 mornings a year at or below freezing. The city's record high is 126 degrees, set on August 5, 1990, and its record low is 3 degrees. Rain is scarce, about 5.9 inches a year spread over roughly 27 days. That mix punishes pavement in a different way than a wet climate does. The sun dries the binder out, the cold nights open cracks, and the occasional heavy storm finds every edge that was never shaped to drain.

Sun is the slow enemy

Asphalt is stone held together by a petroleum binder. Ultraviolet light and heat oxidize that binder over time, and the surface turns from black to gray, loses its flexibility and starts to ravel, shedding small stones. In the Antelope Valley, where the sun is out most of the year, that happens faster than it would on the coast. A new driveway that is never sealed can look tired within a few seasons. Sealcoating puts a sacrificial layer between the sun and the binder, and it is the cheapest way to add years to a driveway or lot here.

Cold nights still crack pavement

People are often surprised that a desert city sees freezing weather on about 52 mornings a year. Palmdale sits at about 2,655 feet, and January's average low is just under 33 degrees. Water that gets into a crack freezes, expands and pushes the crack wider. Asphalt that was soft at 3 p.m. in July becomes brittle at 6 a.m. in January. Crack filling before winter, and a surface that sheds water instead of holding it, slows that cycle down.

The base decides how long it lasts

Most failures we see start below the asphalt. HomeGuide's cost guide describes a typical residential driveway as 2 to 3 inches of compacted asphalt over 6 to 8 inches of compacted gravel base, with 3 to 4 inches of asphalt for heavier vehicles and 4 inches or more for commercial lots. Desert soil can look firm when it is dry and still settle once it is soaked by a storm or a leaking irrigation line. On every job we check the subgrade, dig out soft areas, replace them with compacted aggregate and grade the base so water runs off rather than under the pavement.

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Wind, sand and dust

Wind is part of daily life in the Antelope Valley, and it affects paving in two ways. Blowing sand settles on the base and on tack coat, which weakens the bond between layers, so we clean surfaces right before paving. And the Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District's Rule 403 limits dust from construction work: dust may not stay visible beyond the property line, and mud or dirt tracked onto a paved road has to be cleaned up by the end of the workday. We water dusty work and keep the street clean as part of the job.

Permits and the public right-of-way

The strip between the street and your property line belongs to the public. Palmdale's municipal code adopts the Los Angeles County highway permit ordinance as the city's own, with the city's Director of Public Works in charge of it. In unincorporated communities such as Quartz Hill, Sun Village or Lake Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Public Works issues road permits for driveway approaches, curbs and sidewalks. North of the county line, Kern County handles its own roads. If your project only covers your side of the property line, none of this may apply. If it touches the apron or the street, we tell you at the estimate which agency is involved and build that step into the schedule.

What a typical driveway job includes

• Measuring, checking slope and looking at the apron and garage slab
• Removing old asphalt, concrete or gravel and hauling it away
• Digging out soft subgrade and replacing it with compacted aggregate
• Grading and compacting the base
• Placing and rolling hot-mix asphalt to the thickness in your quote
• Finishing edges and transitions so water runs off
• Telling you when to drive on it and when it can be sealed

Palmdale is home base. We also work in Lancaster, Quartz Hill, Lake Los Angeles, Littlerock, Sun Village, Pearblossom, Acton, Leona Valley, Agua Dulce and the other communities of the Antelope Valley, plus Rosamond and Mojave across the Kern County line. The valley looks uniform from the freeway, but it is not. Leona Valley and Lake Hughes sit up along the San Andreas Fault at well over 3,000 feet. Lake Los Angeles and Hi Vista are wide, flat desert lots with long driveways. Acton and Agua Dulce are rural canyon communities with equestrian properties. Who issues a permit also changes: the City of Palmdale, the City of Lancaster, Los Angeles County or Kern County, depending on the address. Each town page covers what is specific to that place.