Paving Contractor Houston, TX

Most paving requests fall into five groups. Matching your situation to the right one saves time and money, because the scope, the equipment and the price are very different between them.

• Build new: driveway paving for a new or redesigned driveway, walkway paving for entry walks and garden paths, and paver installation for patios, courtyards and interlocking paver surfaces.
• Replace: driveway replacement when an old driveway has cracked, heaved or settled too far to repair, with the base rebuilt underneath.
• Extend: driveway extensions for side widening, parking pads, turnarounds and trailer pads tied into the existing drive.
• Repair: driveway resurfacing for crack repair, overlays, single panel replacement and base correction under sunken areas.
• Protect: paver and driveway sealing for pavers and concrete, and sealcoating for asphalt drives and lots.

Poured concrete is the default in most Houston subdivisions. It is durable, clean and relatively economical, and it accepts broom, exposed aggregate and stamped finishes. Its weakness is that it is rigid, so it relies on reinforcement and well placed joints to control cracking when the ground moves. For slab work beyond driveways, see our concrete contractor in Houston services.

Concrete pavers and clay brick are segmented surfaces. They flex slightly with the soil and can be lifted and reset, which suits older neighborhoods and anyone who wants pattern and color. A brick paver driveway is the classic version, built with driveway thickness units in a herringbone pattern.

Asphalt is a flexible pavement placed hot and rolled. Asphalt paving fits long private drives, acreage and parking areas where cost per square foot and speed matter more than a decorative surface. FlagstoneFlagstoneFlat, irregular or cut slabs of natural stone used for patios, walks and wall caps. and natural stone are better suited to walks and patios than to vehicle traffic.

Whatever the material, three things decide how long a paved surface lasts here. The first is the subgradeSubgradeThe native soil beneath a paving or structure after it has been excavated and prepared. In practice: Houston clay subgrades move with moisture changes, which is why base preparation and drainage underneath matter.: topsoil and organic material removed, soft spots replaced, and the clay shaped to the right slope before any base goes in. The second is a compacted aggregate baseBase courseThe layer of compacted crushed stone or road base placed over the subgrade to support paving. thick enough for the traffic it will carry. The third is a planned exit for water.

That third point is where many Houston projects go wrong. Lots are flat, and the street gutter is often only a few inches lower than the garage floor. A driveway or patio has to fall away from the house and deliver its water somewhere useful, whether that is the street, a swaleSwaleA shallow, gently sloped channel in the ground, often grassed, that guides surface water toward an outlet. In practice: Side-yard swales between houses are common on Houston lots and are easily blocked by fences, beds or fill., or a drain at the low point. When grades alone cannot do it, a trench drainChannel drainA long, narrow grated drain set into paving to catch sheet flow along an edge, such as at a garage door or patio edge. or catch basinArea drainA surface inlet with a grate that collects water from a low spot and sends it into an underground pipe. carries the water away. Our drainage service in Houston handles that side of the work.

Trees are the other constant. Live oaks and pines drop roots under nearby paving and needles on top of it. We plan routes and materials around large trees rather than cutting through their root zones. Near a big oak, a segmented surface such as pavers or flagstone is often the better choice, because a lifted section can be reset instead of broken out and replaced.

Paving that touches the public right of way, such as a driveway apron, curb cut, city sidewalk or culvert over a roadside ditch, usually needs a permit. The City of Houston, Bellaire and West University Place each run their own permit offices with their own rules on thickness, joints and layout.

Many subdivisions in Cypress, Katy, The Woodlands, Sugar Land and Pearland also have deed restrictions on front yard paving, parking pads, materials and colors. HOA approval can take weeks, so it is worth starting early. Before any digging, we call 811 so buried gas, water, power and communication lines are marked. Utility easementsEasementA strip of the property that someone else, often a utility or drainage district, has rights to use. Building permanent structures in an easement is usually restricted. In practice: Many Houston lots have a rear utility easement. Check the survey before placing a pergola or outdoor kitchen near the back fence. along side and rear lot lines may also limit where new paving can go.

Heat, UV, humidity and heavy rain all work on paving. Pavers benefit from periodic cleaning, fresh joint sand and sealing, which resists fading and staining from oak tannins and holds joints together through storms. Concrete driveways benefit from a penetrating sealer and from sealing moving cracks before water reaches the base. Asphalt needs crack filling and sealcoat every few years to slow oxidation.

The single most useful maintenance step for any surface is controlling roof and yard water. Downspouts that discharge at the edge of a driveway or patio soften the soil underneath and cause most of the settlement we repair. Routing them underground protects the paving and the foundation at the same time.

It starts with a free discovery call. Next, a Home Scout visits the property, measures, shoots grades and looks at drainage before a proposal is written. The on-site consultation has a $150 work scope fee, credited to the project if you move forward. You then receive an itemized written proposal, and we price what we quote with no surprise charges.

Our crew handles demolition, grading, base, drainage and the finished surface, so paving work connects directly to the drainage, concrete, masonry contractor and planting work around it. Every project ends with a 72-hour post-completion walkthrough, and hardscape is covered by our structural warranty. For a first number, try the ballpark price tool, and ask about financing for projects from $5,000 to $250,000, subject to approval. We serve Houston and the surrounding metro, from Tomball and Spring to Richmond, Missouri City and the Energy Corridor.