Rich's Paving handles asphalt sealcoating for driveways and parking lots in Petaluma and all across Sonoma County, California. Sealcoating is a liquid coat spread over cured asphalt to build a fresh new wear layer on top of it. That thin layer takes the summer sun and the winter rain instead of the pavement sitting underneath it. A fresh seal coat brings the color back too, so a gray, faded driveway looks black and new again.
Richard Stanley is a third-generation paving contractor, and his son now works alongside him on the crew today. We have been paving Sonoma County since 1988, and every seal job runs with our own paving equipment and crew. Sealcoating is upkeep work, so the asphalt under the coat has to be sound before any new sealer goes down. When we find alligator cracks or soft spots, we take care of that asphalt repair and patching work first.
Tell us about your project and we will get right back to you.
Asphalt is really just rock and sand held together by a black binder that comes out of crude oil. Sunlight and water break that binder down, and the surface slowly fades from black to a chalky light gray. Once the binder gives out, the top of the pavement ravels and loose stones come free under the tires. Sealcoating puts a fresh black coat over that old worn surface and slows the whole process down for years.
A seal coat fills the small surface pores where rain water sits and slowly works its way into the base. It also gives oil drips and tire scuff a fresh wear layer to land on instead of the pavement itself. On a commercial site, parking lot sealcoating also gives fresh striping a clean black background to lay down on. Sealer will not level a low spot or rebuild a failing base, so we look at the surface first.
Our summers run hot and dry for months, and that steady sun bakes the light oils out of the surface. The black fades to gray, the top turns brittle, and hairline cracks open up across the whole driveway surface. Then the winter rain arrives here in the North Bay and runs straight down into every crack it finds. Water under the pavement softens the base, and traffic then works that soft spot into a pothole by spring.
That dry and wet swing repeats every single year here in Petaluma and across the rest of Sonoma County. Much of the local ground here is clay adobe soil, which swells up when wet and shrinks back when dry. That ground movement pulls at the pavement from below while the summer sun keeps working on it from above. A sealed surface sheds most of that winter water, so we like to seal well before the fall rain starts.
New asphalt needs to cure through a full season or so before it takes its first coat of sealer. We give fresh asphalt driveway paving several months to harden and give off the light oils still inside it. Seal a brand new driveway too early and the coat can stay soft or peel right up under tires. After that first seal, most driveways around here will go three to five years between one coat and the next.
Sealing every single year is a waste of money, and thick built up sealer starts to crack on its own. We go by how the surface looks and whether water still beads up on it after a good hard rain. Sealer needs warm dry days to cure, so most of our sealing work runs from spring into early fall. Ask for an estimate on our contact page and we will come take a look at the pavement first.
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 sealcoating 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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Asphalt repair and patching across Sonoma County. Potholes, cracked sections, overlays and resurfacing on driveways and parking lots.
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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.
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.
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Asphalt vs concrete for a Sonoma County driveway: real cost ranges, lifespan, maintenance, and how North Bay clay soil and climate change the answer.
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.
