TL;DR
An asphalt overlay is the paving of a new hot-mix layer, usually 1.5 to 2 inches compacted, over an existing asphalt surface whose base is still sound, renewing the driving surface for roughly half the cost of full reconstruction. Candidates are pavements with surface raveling and scattered cracks; alligatored or rutted areas signal base failure that must be cut out and rebuilt first or the pattern reflects through within a couple of years.
What it means
An asphalt overlay is the paving of a new hot-mix layer, usually 1.5 to 2 inches compacted, over an existing asphalt surface whose base is still sound, renewing the driving surface for roughly half the cost of full reconstruction. Candidates are pavements with surface raveling and scattered cracks; alligatored or rutted areas signal base failure that must be cut out and rebuilt first or the pattern reflects through within a couple of years. Edges at garages, walks, and drains need milling or transitions to keep heights workable. Done over a sound base it buys 10 to 15 years.
Where it sits in the glossary
Asphalt overlay is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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