Asphalt Driveway Cost in Dallas TX

Those figures cover removing an old asphalt surface, six inches of compacted flex base and two to three inches of hot mix. The rest of this page shows where your driveway is likely to fall and why.

Price by type of work

Work	Typical price	600 sq ft driveway
New asphalt with base	$4 to $8 per sq ft	$2,400 to $4,800
Resurfacing over a sound base	$2 to $4 per sq ft	$1,200 to $2,400
Breaking out old concrete	Add $1 to $2 per sq ft	Add $600 to $1,200
Sealcoating	$250 to $600 per driveway	$250 to $400
Crack sealing	$0.50 to $1.50 per linear ft	$100 to $300

Price by driveway size

Driveway	Area	New asphalt with base
One car, 10 by 40 ft	400 sq ft	$1,800 to $3,200
Standard, 12 by 50 ft	600 sq ft	$2,400 to $4,800
Two car, 20 by 50 ft	1,000 sq ft	$4,000 to $8,000
Long lane, 10 by 300 ft	3,000 sq ft	$12,000 to $18,000

Small driveways cost more per foot. The crew, the roller and the truck of hot mix have to come out whether the job is 400 square feet or 4,000. Long lanes land in the lower half of the range.

What moves the price

Base depth. This is the biggest one. Six inches of flex base is what Dallas clay calls for. A quote that looks cheap often has two or three inches, or none. Ask for the number in writing.

What's there now. Old asphalt is quick to remove. Old concrete has to be broken up and hauled, which adds $1 to $2 per square foot. Bare ground is cheapest.

Access. If a dump truck can back straight in, the job goes fast. Narrow side yards, low branches and steep slopes mean smaller equipment and more hand work.

Asphalt thickness. Two inches compacted is right for cars. A pickup with a trailer, or an RV, needs three. That third inch adds about $1 per square foot.

Drainage. A flat driveway that sends water toward the garage needs regrading, and sometimes a drain. That's priced as its own line.

The concrete approach. In Dallas and most suburbs, the strip between the street and your property line has to be concrete and needs a permit. If yours is broken, replacing it typically costs $8 to $12 per square foot.

Oil prices. Asphalt binder is a petroleum product, and hot mix is sold by the ton. When crude goes up, quotes follow within a few weeks. A written quote should say how long the price holds.

How to compare two quotes

Put them side by side and check four numbers: square footage, base depth, compacted asphalt thickness and total price. If one quote leaves out base depth, ask. If the square footage differs by more than 5 percent, somebody measured wrong.

Then check tonnage. One ton of hot mix covers about 80 square feet at two inches. A 600 square foot driveway at two inches needs 7 to 8 tons. A contractor who plans to bring 4 is planning to lay it thin.

Be careful with anyone who knocks on your door offering leftover asphalt from a job nearby. It's a well-known scam. The asphalt goes down thin over no base, the price doubles once it's on the ground, and the crew is gone when it cracks.

Ways to spend less

If the base is sound, resurface. It costs half as much and lasts 10 to 15 years.

Maintain what you have. A sealcoat every 2 to 3 years and crack sealing when cracks reach a quarter inch can take a driveway from 12 years to 20. That's a few hundred dollars each time against several thousand for replacement.

Be flexible on dates. If we can pave your driveway on the same day as another job in your part of town, the truck and crew are already there.

Cost per year

A $3,600 driveway that lasts 18 years with about $1,500 of sealing and crack repair along the way works out to roughly $280 a year. The same driveway laid thin over a poor base might cost $2,400 and last 6 years, which is $400 a year before you count the hassle. The cheap quote costs more.

These are typical Dallas figures, not a quote. Every driveway gets measured before we give a number. If you're still weighing materials, see asphalt vs concrete for a Texas driveway.

Asphalt Driveway Cost in Dallas