Get matched with top driveway sealcoating pros in Needham, MA

"Job well done. Happy with the service."

"This is a tough review to write. Asphalt Engineering (AE) probably works out great for most of their customers. But in our case, we've had a difficult ordeal that is, frankly, still causing me indigestion, after more than four years. I am averaging the experience out to a 'B' since although their attentiveness and customer service was generally very good, I am still less than delighted with the result. TL;DR: They repaved our driveway, but the asphalt mixed turned out to be defective, so they repaved it again at no charge, but the result still isn't great because it's not completely flat, interfering with our ability to clear snow. Details: Our driveway is on a distinct slope, so clearing snow and ice is very important. We've done exciting 180s on our driveway at times, trying to get up (or down) when it's icy. But over the years, our original driveway became more and more difficult for our snowblower. Hills and valleys developed in places, and a big crack appeared. Also, there is a water shutoff valve under the driveway, and over time the top cap projected above the surface of the asphalt, creating an obstacle for plowing. Rather than patching all these areas, we elected to do a full repave of the driveway, using Asphalt Engineering. The quote from AE was reasonable, and they were easy to deal with. We explained our concerns, and (not surprisingly) that our ultimate goal was a nice flat driveway for our snowblower. The only reason that we were springing for any paving at all was so that we could eliminate snow and ice without the snowblower catching on cracks or the water shutoff, or missing areas where the surface was quite uneven. The paving appeared to go fine, and I was delighted that the water shutoff cap actually ended up being a bit below the surface of the asphalt. We could get to the shutoff if we needed to, but it would present no problem for the snowblower even after the asphalt settled. This was in the fall of 2015. The new driveway came with a 3-year warranty. We followed AE's recommendations not to park or drive on the driveway for proscribed periods of time. But once the weather turned warm in the spring of 2016, we started to see "tire marks" from vehicles -- depressions where the tires sat (or, worse, if the wheels were turned while the vehicle was stationary). We were told that this was to be expected for a time, especially on hot days. We took to asking visitor and house workers to park on the street instead, and we blocked off the driveway for weeks at a time to give it more time to cure. We trusted that things would settle down, even having AE do sealcoating in the spring/summer of 2017. But we continued to have problems. To their credit, AE agreed to perform repairs on the marks, but the whole experience was becoming inconvenient and annoying. And the repairs of the tire marks were unsightly and in some cases did not leave the driveway completely level. Fast forward to the spring of 2018, two and a half years after the paving. In May, on an 85 degree day, a worker parked a light truck on the driveway for about an hour, using proper wheel chocks. They dug into the asphalt leaving significant gouges (see photo). The worker said, "I've never seen a driveway this soft." I emailed AE claiming that something was wrong with the driveway, and asking for a refund, or a complete re-pave. Nathan, the owner, replied that it was just a cosmetic issue, and that my request was unreasonable. In June, on a fairly typical spring/summer day, I backed our Subaru Forester out of the garage, and just left it on the driveway overnight and for part of the next day, to see how bad it would be. When I moved it back into the garage, there were four new tire marks, including significant displacement of the asphalt under the rear wheels, even though I had never turned the car (perhaps the rear wheels vibrated when I released the parking brake?). Nathan came out and was surprised at all of the marks on the driveway. He then agreed to have the vendor who supplies their asphalt mix come out to take some core samples. Long story long, they discovered that the asphalt was indeed defective. Nathan agreed to pave the entire driveway all over again. So in the fall of 2018, about 3 years after the initial re-pave, AE again ripped up the driveway and paved it. We still get tire marks, but fewer and shallower than we got originally. In that respect, we could live with it. We understand that their asphalt is on the soft side to prevent cracking down the road ... but still it's annoying to see that our neighbors had their driveway paved by another company, problem-free and in full operation after only about a week! But the bad news is that when AE repaved it, they left the water shutoff cap slightly *above* the surface of the driveway. There's a little mound in the area around the cap. Refer to the photos to see what I mean. When I use my snowblower, it catches in this area and slams to a stop. I need to shovel and plow carefully around this spot, to avoid damaging the snowblower. And I'm sure it's only going to get worse as the asphalt cures. I could not believe that they would pave the driveway and leave it like that -- the water shutoff protruding above the surface of the asphalt was one of the reasons we repaved in the first place, and here we have a similar problem right off the bat. The "easiest" way to fix this problem is to cut away a large area of asphalt around the shutoff, have city workers replace the sleeve with a shorter one, then repave the excavated area. Nathan offered to do this for a discounted price of $500. We haven't decided what to do yet, since it's even more money and inconvenience, it will look ugly, and it may still result in an uneven surface. On one hand, I can see where they're coming from in wanting to charge us. AE has spent a lot of time and effort (and perhaps money) on us. They paved the driveway twice, filled tire marks, made a few minor repairs (including unsuccessfully trying to resolve the water shutoff problem), and came out to inspect the issues with our driveway on multiple occasions. And it has been over 3 years since the first pave. On the other hand ... none of this is our fault. We never got a driveway that did its job properly. We've had to treat it with kid gloves for over 3 years, and it's not snowblower-friendly. And if we need to have a snowplow service clear our driveway, there is a risk that a truck-based plow will hit the cap and damage the shutoff (this actually happened to us 10 years ago, with our old original driveway). We paid AE for the initial paving, plus we paid them for sealcoating which ended up being wasted since they ripped it all up for the second paving. And what we ended up with is an un-sealcoated driveway that still has issues. To be sure, this is a first-world problem, and it is just a driveway. But it has sucked up a lot of our time, and money. And I do worry that the water shutoff will be damaged by the pressure of cars driving over it, and impacts from the snowblower and/or plows. So we're not happy customers, even though we still think the company is decent. If their original asphalt mix had been good, we would have been happy with how it turned out. But it wasn't, so we're not."

"I absolutely loved Tim and his crew. At the beginning when I was getting prices, Tim was on time for our apt . He arrived and was very pleasant and professional . He answered many questions and did it with a smile. He was very respectful to my elderly mother and me. After he measured he hopped back in his truck and we had our estimate in five min. We had other projects going on and he was flexible with our time frames. On the morning of the job he arrived early and Tim and his crew went right to work . They were at my house for the entire day and After they were done Tim had me come out and he explained the entire job in detail. He had instructions for a new driveway and do’s and dont’s. We got a beautiful driveway and walkway. My mom was so impressed with his old school service and professionalism that she booked his services to re-do her walkways. I’m so very happy we chose him. I would give him 10 stars if I could . Jane"

"They recently replaced my driveway"

"My driveway hadn’t been done in quite sometime. He did a great job, especially considering how we neglected it. He arrived on time and did a fantastic job. I would highly recommend Evano Asphalt."

"The driveway came out well: thick coat, smooth surface, neat edges. Eddie is very experienced, he and his crew were pleasant to work with, and the price was reasonable. I would definitely use Pave Tech again. Expect to wait a while to get a construction date, especially now with COVID-related labor shortages. I suggest checking in periodically after signing to see how things are going and make sure you're still in the queue."

"The Excavation and tree stump removal was done He’s exactly as planned, on time within budget and a real quality job. The driveway repair job is top-notch. I would recommend his services to anyone."

"I had a great experience using Vcoelho General svc They gave me the best quote. The communication was easy and timely. Job was done on time and my new fence looks awesome. Thanks for the work! Would definitely recommend"

"Yes, pleased with new floor and driveway sealant??"

"They were very professional and they did an excellent job on building my stone retaining wall I would highly recommend this company"