I need advice about paving my alley

I need to pave the half of my alley that leads to my driveway and garage for it to be Ferrari accessible. There are a few issues with respect to getting all of the neighbors on board (eventhough I'm doing the whole thing), but I think I've got that in hand. My real problem is that I don't know diddly about regrading and paving.

Can a blacktop alley be put down in cool or cold weather?

How long does it take to "set" and how much longer before it stops throwing little splotches of tar onto every car that drives over it?

Is there anything special I should ask for, or any ripoff procudures I should refuse?

I'll need about 100' X 8' paved with some modest regrading and leveling at the entrance (which is currently a small but steep concrete ramp followed by a large rut). The alley surface now is ostensably gravel, but mostly it's dirt. My guestimate for the cost was about $2500 (this is Virginia and labour is cheap). Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

I had a guy that came heavily reccomended by a few real estate agents (yes, he may have an arrangement with them, but their reputations are still on the line) come by and he'll call me with his estimate. He is a relatively small time guy, but perhaps a peg or two above Bubba n' Skeeter's A-1 Pavin'.

Mike -
I don't think you did get ripped off; if my estimate comes in around $3000, then that would makes sense for 2/3 of the square footage (800 sq ft for me vs 1200 for your driveway) and the cheap labor down here. There is no state minimum wage above the federal rate down here, and I seriously doubt that any day laborers will get more than $8-10/hr. Naturally, a trained assistant will cost more, but how many guys does it take to do this, does it really take 10?

Paul -
I might want your opinion of his suggestions. Is Mike's esperience typical with respect to what would be a reasonable time frame for this project from breaking ground to full usability of the new surface? With respect to the Ferrari, I was in a bind since it is absolutely imperative that a low riding, stiff suspensioned sports car make it over the hump and to my garage unscathed (after all that's the point of the project), but I didn't want to be quoted the "fool and his money" price for the job. Thus, I said that my father in law had a Corvette and I didn't want him to be enraged when he couldn't park it in the garage when he visited. I also left our 12 year old beater Honda out by the garage for him to see when he came by to do the estimate.

 

I hoping that the marginal cost of the materials is not large compared to the equipment rental and that a long straight stretch might be the same price or cheaper than two separate areas. That being said, was $3500 the best quote you got?

 

Cash? Jaysus. Counting out rolls of bills is not a regular feature of life in the world of biochemistry; using a credit card instead of a preapproved purchase order is living on the bleeding edge. I remember when I sold a couple of buckets of pre-1964 silver quarters and the purchaser pulled out a fat wad of hundreds. He was a bit shocked that I'd prefer a recored transaction to the prospect of walking around all day with enough cash in my pocket that anyone who mugged me would almost have to kill me.

Obviously, I understand the appeal. Wouldn't they be more likely to run off without properly finishing if the initial payment was in cash? I worry too much. Thanks again for all the advice. Once the project is a go, I'll post photos of before, during, and after.

 

The verbal estimate from the "best" paver is now in my voicemail; I still await the written proposal. He quoted me $2000 and said we would need 16 tons of gravel (I don't know if this is inlcuded in the price, but it should only add about $400 if it's not included). He proposes a 3" asphalt surface (he may have described the type of asphalt, but I'd have to check the message again). All of this sounded reasonable to me, so let's hope he shows up and gets the job done.

 

Well, I haven't been home to look at the work yet; so, for now, it's "done". This guy has been straight with me about everything up to this point, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
I have the "before" photos. I'll post the before and after shots tomorrow when I can get shots in the daylight.

 

My wife took a peek on her way back to work and gave it a thumbs up, but she drives the CR-V, so it's all acedemic to her. The paver did mention my "father in law's Corvette" and he was confident that even a "car like that" wouldn't scape.
I can't wait to get home and smell my new alley.

 

It looks good. At the very least my BMW doesn't scrape (it's in the garage now). The final cost was $2000, as promised. He did the job all on Monday. I was imprisoned at work, so I had my wife take a few photos. Unfortunately, eventhough she is an excellent photographer and she was well aware of the purpose of the project, the photos aren't too informative. Nevertheless here they are. The lighter colored material in the foreground is the beginning of my already paved driveway.
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No snow yet; we're in Virginia, not Maine. That being said, my wife and I drove up Rt 29 to DC in a steady 36 degree rain. I'd rather have snow than a cold rain, and I generally hate snow.

Thanks again to everyone for their advice and comments about their own small paving projects.