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Asphalt Paving in Menomonie

Asphalt Paving in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Asphalt driveways, overlays and small lot paving in Menomonie.

Get a Free Estimate Call (715) 450-9897

4.7 from 18 Google reviews

About 25 minutes west of Eau Claire on I-94. Free estimates, and a straight read on whether it needs doing yet.

A freshly paved asphalt lot in deep black, running up to a white barn and silo.
16,709 People in Menomonie
4.7 Google ratingFrom 18 reviews
2-3 yrs Reseal cycleIn Menomonie
400°F Crack fillerDirect-fire rubber

What an Asphalt Paving Job Looks Like in Menomonie

The rental belt around the university is its own kind of work. A converted single-family drive carrying four or five vehicles wears in a pattern the original surface was never designed for, and the owner is usually a landlord making a maintenance decision rather than a homeowner making an appearance one. Those two buyers want different conversations and we have both.

Commercially, Menomonie punches above its population. Manufacturing is the largest employment sector in the county, and names like 3M, Ford, Andersen and the Walmart distribution center mean industrial lots with genuine truck loading on them.

Asphalt Paving specifically in Menomonie

Overlays suit the 1990s stock well, because those drives were generally built on a proper base and simply need a new surface. That is roughly half the cost of a full replacement and it is the right answer more often here than elsewhere. The exception is the older belt around the downtown historic district, where the drives predate the standard everything else in town was built to, and an overlay there inherits whatever the base is already doing.

The Driveways and Lots in Menomonie

Menomonie sits at the south end of Lake Menomin, a reservoir on the Red Cedar River, right on the boundary between the Central Plain and the Western Upland. I-94 runs along the south side with exits at Highway 25 and again four miles east, and Highway 25 north is the commercial spine. The grade change between the lake flats and the uplands is real, and so is the difference in how they drain.

Menomonie has the most lopsided housing profile in the valley: nearly a quarter of all its housing went up in the 1990s, more than any other decade by a distance. Those drives are now 25 to 35 years old, which is exactly the age where the original surface has run out but the base is usually still good.

The other half of the picture is UW-Stout. Only 40 percent of the housing is detached single family, the lowest of any town we serve, and a third sits in buildings of five units or more. The city's own comprehensive plan notes that single-family homes near campus have been converted to rentals, which produces parking pressure on drives that were never built for four cars.

Where we work in Menomonie

  • Downtown Historic District

Around Menomonie: Mabel Tainter Theater, UW-Stout, Lake Menomin, Wilson Place Mansion, Wakanda Park.

Same 48-inch frost regime as the rest of western Wisconsin. Thick glacial outwash sand and gravel fills the Red Cedar valley, so the valley floor drains fast and the uplands behave differently again.

From our jobs

Job Photos

A large freshly paved asphalt lot curving around a landscaped island in front of a low institutional building
A lot repaved, edge to edge
A freshly paved asphalt driveway running up to a three-bay garage, caution tape across the street end
A driveway repaved and taped off to cure

All job photos

Overlay or tear out and replace?

An overlay is new asphalt laid over the old surface. It's roughly half the cost of a replacement, it goes down in a day, and it's the right answer when the existing base is sound and the surface has simply worn out. It's the wrong answer when the base has failed, because an overlay follows the shape of what's underneath. Lay one over a surface that's cracked into squares and those cracks come through the new mat within two or three years, and the overlay only delayed the replacement. That conversation is worth having before the quote, not after.

What Decides the Price in Menomonie

Asphalt tracks the oil market, so a number from last season is not a number for this one. Every job here is measured on site and the number is fixed before work starts.

Overlay

Per square foot

Measured on site

  • Existing base sound, surface worn out
  • Overlay or full replacement, priced after the base is checked

Tear out and replace

Per square foot

Measured on site

  • Old surface out, base rebuilt, new mat laid and rolled

Gravel to asphalt

Per square foot

Measured on site

  • Common out in the townships, where drives are long
  • Grading and drainage are most of the work and most of the cost

The setup on a long rural drive is spread over more area than on a short town one. If you've been told a long drive is prohibitive, it's worth a second number.

How the Work Goes in Menomonie

The base is the part you never see and the part that decides everything.

Work out where the water goes

Before anything else. Grade and drainage decide the lifespan, and they're the one thing that can't be fixed later without starting again.

Remove, or prepare what stays

Full replacement means the old surface comes out. An overlay means the existing surface is cleaned, failed areas cut out and patched, and the edges prepared.

Base, graded and compacted

Compacted in lifts to the right depth for what will drive on it. A driveway and a lot that takes delivery trucks need different bases, and building both the same way is how one of them fails early.

Lay and roll

Hot mix laid to the design thickness and rolled while it's hot. Compaction is time-limited, which is why paving is a day that runs to the weather.

Tell you when to seal it

Not this year. New asphalt needs six to twelve months to cure before its first seal, and sealing too early traps the oils and does more harm than leaving it alone.

Booking sealcoating and striping through October · Call (715) 450-9897

Questions We Get in Menomonie

What Menomonie calls us about, answered straight.

More questions answered
We own rental property near campus. Do you work with landlords?
Regularly. Rental drives around UW-Stout carry more vehicles than they were built for and wear accordingly, and a landlord is usually making a maintenance decision rather than a cosmetic one. The estimate prices the cheapest thing that actually works rather than the nicest-looking option, and we can schedule around the summer turnover.
Our driveway is from the mid-1990s. Is it due?
Probably, and you're in good company: nearly a quarter of Menomonie's housing was built in that decade. A 1990s drive that has never been sealed is usually still structurally fine and simply out of wear layer, which is the best case there is. If it's been sealed a few times already, it's just due again.
Can the work be done between tenants rather than during the semester?
That's usually the sensible way round it, and it's the most common scheduling conversation we have in Menomonie. Sealer needs the surface clear and about 24 hours before traffic goes back on, which is easy in an empty August week and hard in October. Tell us the turnover dates when you call rather than after the calendar is set.
Does the sandy ground here change what a driveway needs?
It changes what a crack does. The Red Cedar valley sits on thick outwash sand and gravel, which drains fast, so water that gets through the surface keeps moving instead of pooling. That sounds like good news and isn't: moving water takes the fine material out of the base with it, and the crack that looked minor in October can be sitting over a void by spring. Filling early is worth more here than the surface appearance suggests.
How much does a new asphalt driveway cost?
It comes down to three things: the square footage, whether the existing base can be built on or has to come out, and how much of the drive a truck can reach. An overlay over a sound base is the cheapest way to a new surface; a full tear out and replace is the most expensive and is sometimes the only thing that lasts. Asphalt also tracks the oil market, so a number from last season is not a number for this one. We measure it and price it, free either way.
Can I overlay the driveway instead of replacing it?
If the base is sound, yes, and it saves roughly half. If the surface is cracked into squares that flex underfoot, no: the base has failed and those cracks will come through a new overlay within a couple of years.
When can a new driveway be sealed?
Six to twelve months after paving. New asphalt needs to cure and release its lighter oils first, and sealing early traps them. Anyone offering to seal brand new asphalt is telling you something about how they work.
How long does a well-built driveway last?
Fifteen to twenty years if the base was done properly and it gets sealed every two to three years. Without sealing, closer to ten, because oxidation and water take it from the surface down.
Can you pave a gravel driveway?
Yes, and it's common out in the townships. The grading and drainage are most of the job, and the setup on a long drive is spread over more feet.
When can we drive on new asphalt?
Cars after about 24 hours once it has cooled properly, heavy vehicles after several days. In hot weather keep the wheels moving when you turn for the first few weeks, because fresh asphalt scuffs.

Get a Free Estimate in Menomonie

Tell us what it looks like and we'll come measure it. You get a written price before anything starts.

(715) 450-9897
  • Free on driveways and lots anywhere in the service area
  • A photo of the problem helps, and it can go in the message
  • Surfaces that are not ready yet get told so at the estimate

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Other Work We Do in Menomonie

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Everything about asphalt paving, including how the work goes and what changes the price