New work vs overlay
Reconstruction is not a thicker overlay.
New asphalt paving is the scope when there is no wearing course worth saving, or when the pad did not exist last year. Expansions beside a live lot, reconstructed truck courts, and greenfield commercial pads all start with section: subgrade, base, and the lifts the traffic actually deserves. Overlaying a pumping court is how you buy a second failure. So is paving a car-lot thickness in a trailer dwell area because the civil set one typical section for the whole site. Drainage and accessible routes are part of new work, not a later trade. If the drawing shows mill-and-overlay hatch on a failed base, the honest bid says reconstruction.
NEXTPAVE prices new commercial and public paving from Charlotte. You award one contractor. We do not recruit partners on this page and we do not pave houses. Striping and ADA go in the same package when the owner needs a lot that can open, not a pad waiting on a painter. If some sites in the book are mill and some are rebuild, label them. A blended unit price is how the rebuilds get underbid.
Right when
- A new commercial pad, an expansion, or a reconstruction where the existing section is gone.
- Truck courts, bus loops, and industrial yards that need a section mill cannot restore.
- A civil set that already calls out full-depth, new base, or a typical section — not a resurfacing note.
Wrong when
- A tired lot with a sound base. That is mill and overlay. Do not pay for a rebuild you do not need.
- A sealcoat or skin patch on alligator that is already pumping. Surface treatments do not build section.
- Residential driveways. Out of scope.
What fails
How new paving fails on a commercial site.
Greenfield and rebuilds fail at the section and the handover, not at the paver screed photo.
One typical section for the whole pad
Cars at the storefront and trailers at the dock are different loads. A single thickness is how the court fails while the stalls still look new.
Paving before the water has a path
New mix on a pad that still ponds is a warranty argument waiting on the first storm. Inlets and fall belong with the section.
Rebuild priced as overlay
If the hatch says mill and the photos show pumping, the number that ‘won’ will not survive the first test pit.
What’s in the package
Section, drainage, and a lot that can open.
Scope
- New or reconstructed asphalt section to the spec — including base work when it is in the drawing
- Full-depth repair or rebuild of failed panels that mill cannot save
- Tie-ins to existing lots, concrete, and ramps so the expansion does not trip the old pad
- Drainage and grading as drawn — not ‘match existing’ when existing already ponds
- Striping and ADA at turnover when the package requires a usable lot
Building beside a live lot
Expansions still have to keep the existing court open. Phasing, haul routes, and dust at the dock are part of the paving number.
Climate on a new section
Heat, freeze, and wet subgrade change compaction and opening time. A national chain still needs a local weather window in the schedule.
What to send
What a new-paving package has to include.
If the civil set and the photos disagree, send both. Estimating should not guess which typical section is real.
- Civil drawings with typical sections, not only a paving hatch
- Geotech or subgrade notes — especially where the old lot pumped
- Which areas are new, which are mill, which are full-depth rebuild
- Drainage plan and any known ponding on the existing pad
- Ops constraints if the expansion sits against a live dock or retail field
Related scope
Often in the same bid.
Mill & overlay
When the existing section is still worth keeping.
Read the scope
Parking lots
Live-lot phasing, truck vs car, turnover with markings.
Read the scope
Asphalt patching
Full-depth panels inside a rebuild, not a bag patch.
Read the scope
ADA parking
Accessible routes designed with the new grade, not painted later.
Read the scope
FAQ
New paving vs mill — same desk, different section.
- When is new paving the right scope instead of mill and overlay?
- When there is no sound section left, when you are expanding onto new pad, or when the civil already calls for full-depth reconstruction. Overlaying a pumping base is not cheaper. It is a second bid next year.
- Do you pour the base as well as the asphalt?
- We bid the pavement scope in the package. If the drawing includes aggregate base, full-depth repair, or reconstruction, put it in the book. Do not assume overlay pricing covers a new section.
- Can new paving and mill live in the same RFP?
- Yes. Label which pads are which. A blended unit price hides the rebuilds. One contract from Charlotte can still cover both scopes.
- Do you pave residential?
- No. Commercial lots, industrial yards, campus pads, and public work only.
Estimating