What is Hot Mix Asphalt Paving?

Learn a few basics about hot mix asphalt paving–you’ve seen road crews use it to build and repair roads.

Strange to think, but the asphalt paving that will go on your sweet little old driveway is the same stuff that road crews put down. While you can’t expect a team of orange-vested workers to bring in exactly the same machines that are used on roads, the mixture–called “hot mix asphalt paving”–is really the same thing.

It’s an aggregate of stones and sand mixed in with liquid asphalt. The reason it’s called “hot mix” is because it’s heated to over 300 degrees Fahrenheit, and it’s the intense heat that liquifies the asphalt.

The hot-mix asphalt may be laid on top of your existing driveway. If the driveway is not in good shape, it is removed and the new hot-mix asphalt is laid on top of a base of several inches of aggregate or laid directly on top of soil.

The hot mix is delivered to your house in a hot, soft, ready state. As the mixture cools, it hardens.