Asphalt repair is the work that keeps a small crack from turning into a driveway you have to replace. Rich's Paving handles asphalt repair and patching in Petaluma and across Sonoma County, for homes, businesses and property managers. We fix potholes, cracked sections, sunken low spots, crumbling edges and pavement that has simply worn thin over the years. Richard Stanley is a third-generation paving contractor, and we bring our own paving equipment and crew to every repair job.
Most of the asphalt damage we see around Petaluma and Sonoma County starts with water getting into a crack. The water reaches the gravel base, softens the ground under the pavement, and the surface loses the support it needs. Clay soil across the North Bay swells when wet and shrinks when dry, so cracks widen a little every year. Patching early costs far less than repaving later, so call (707) 217-0835 or ask for a repair estimate.
Tell us about your project and we will get right back to you.
The condition of the base under the asphalt decides whether you need a patch, an overlay or new pavement. When the base is still firm and the damage sits on top, asphalt repair is the cheaper and faster answer. When the base has gone soft, the pavement flexes under a car and any new asphalt over it fails again. We check the soft spots, the drainage and how deep the cracking runs before we quote any repair work.
Alligator cracking is the clearest sign that a section has gone past the point of simple asphalt patching. When the surface breaks into small connected squares like reptile skin, the base beneath has already lost its strength. Those sections get cut out and rebuilt from the ground up, then filled with new hot asphalt and compacted. The rest of the driveway usually stays, which keeps you out of a full asphalt driveway paving job for now.
Winters in Sonoma County are wet, and the rain that lands on your pavement has to go somewhere. An open crack sends that water straight down into the gravel and rock base that holds the asphalt up. A soaked base loses its strength, so every car and delivery truck that rolls across it presses the surface down. The hairline crack you could have filled back in October is often a pothole with broken edges by March.
The clay adobe soil common around Petaluma and much of the North Bay makes that winter damage worse. The soil swells as it takes on winter water, then shrinks back through the long dry summer months. Pavement sitting on that movement lifts and drops until the surface splits, and the summer sun dries out the binder. Once the repairs are done, asphalt sealcoating keeps water out of the small cracks that start the cycle over again.
A pothole repair starts with cutting the broken asphalt back to solid pavement on all four sides of the hole. We haul out the failed material, check the base below, and compact new rock wherever the ground is soft. Then we lay hot asphalt into the cut and compact it with a plate compactor or a steel roller. Compaction is what makes a patch hold, so every repair we place gets rolled tight before we pull off.
Asphalt resurfacing is the larger repair, and an overlay only works when the base underneath is still sound. If the top has oxidized, cracked or worn thin but the ground below is firm, an asphalt overlay fits well. We patch the failed spots first, then lay new asphalt across the old surface and roll it out smooth. We do the same asphalt patching and overlay work on commercial parking lots across Petaluma and Sonoma County.
Clear written estimates across Petaluma, Santa Rosa & the North Bay.
(707) 217-0835From the first site visit to the final pass of the roller, here is how it goes.
We come see the site: the old surface, the ground under it, how water moves, and what the job really takes. No blind quotes over the phone.
You get a written estimate with a real number and a real timeline. It covers what is included, from grading and base rock to the finished surface, and it holds unless the scope changes.
Our own crew and equipment show up when we said and build the job the way we quoted it. Base first, then the surface, compacted and finished right.
Before we call a job done, we walk it with you. Clean edges, solid compaction, water running where it should. Done means you say it is done.
Common questions about repair & patching across Petaluma, Santa Rosa & the North Bay. Don't see yours? Give us a call.
New asphalt driveways, replacements and resurfacing for homes across Sonoma County. We handle the grading, the base and the paving with our own equipment and crew.
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Commercial paving for parking lots at offices, apartment complexes, retail centers, business parks and wineries, including striping and ADA layout.
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We sealcoat asphalt driveways and parking lots across Sonoma County. A fresh seal coat restores the black finish and slows sun and water damage.
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Concrete driveways, walkways, sidewalks, curbs, slabs and ADA pathways for homes and businesses, poured over a prepared base.
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Concrete patios and stamped concrete for homes across Sonoma County, poured by our own crew.
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Site grading and drainage systems in Petaluma and across Sonoma County. We shape the ground and give the water a place to go.
View DetailsRichard is a third-generation paving contractor, and his son works beside him on the crew. The family name is on the work, and the family answers the phone.
Most companies do one or the other. We install both, so you get a recommendation based on your property, not on the only material a contractor happens to sell.
Paver, rollers, dump trucks and compaction equipment, run by our own crew. The schedule and the quality stay in our hands from grading to the last pass.
Clay soils that swell in the winter rain and shrink all summer. We have paved on this ground since 1988, and we build the base for what it does.
What an asphalt driveway costs in Sonoma County in 2026: Bay Area price ranges per square foot, what drives the number, and where the money actually goes.
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How often to sealcoat an asphalt driveway in California: the honest 3 to 5 year answer, why annual sealing backfires, and the best months to seal in the North Bay.
Read more →A driveway past its best years, a parking lot due for new stripes, or a gravel road that needs real grading? Call or send the form. We will come look at the job and put a clear estimate in your hands, from the family that has paved Sonoma County since 1988.
Tell us about your project and we will get right back to you.
