Asphalt paving in Quebec: answers with numbers

Fully rebuilt in Greater Montréal, with excavation, a stone base and 2.5 in of asphalt, a driveway costs $6–10/ft². For 400 ft², the size of a double driveway, expect $2,400 to $4,000 before tax, or about $2,760 to $4,600 with GST and QST. Over a sound base, resurfacing runs $3–5.50/ft² instead. The excavation depth explains most of the gap: the full 2026 price breakdown, calculator included.

Up to 20 years when it is well designed, well built and maintained, according to the asphalt pavement associations of Wisconsin and Colorado, two cold-winter regions. Here, the enemy is water: our cities see 67 to 85 freeze-thaw days a year, and each one widens the cracks water has found. On a thick, compacted, well-drained stone base, a driveway ages slowly; on a thin base, it starts cracking in a web after a few winters. Sealing cracks every fall is the most cost-effective upkeep there is.

From the spring thaw until the asphalt plants close in late fall, on ground that isn’t frozen. The ministry’s specifications set the thresholds: above 10 °C and rising for a layer under 50 mm once compacted, above 2 °C and rising for a thicker layer, on a surface free of water and ice. At 2.5 in (about 63 mm) compacted, a driveway falls in the second category, which keeps the mild days of October and November open. The ministry itself leaves November out of the time it allows for its own paving contracts: the window closes fast.

Three days before you park a car on it, five in very hot weather: until the asphalt has cooled all the way through, the mix stays soft. For the first few weeks, don’t turn the steering wheel while stopped, keep moving trucks, dumpsters and trailers off the driveway, and slip a piece of plywood under a trailer jack or jack stand, as the Wisconsin Asphalt Pavement Association advises. Light tire marks fade on their own.

At least 6 months, according to the manufacturer Henry; the Asphalt Institute says a well-built driveway shouldn’t need it for about 2 to 5 years. After that, manufacturers recommend a thin coat every 2 to 4 years, above 10 °C, once the surface turns grey and starts losing aggregate. Sealer protects the surface without adding any strength, and coal-tar products have been banned from sale in Canada since the end of 2025. The details: when sealer helps and when it’s money wasted.

In most of the suburbs we serve, no: Laval (3 dwellings or fewer), Brossard and Mirabel require nothing for a house driveway kept to the same dimensions. Widening the driveway, moving the curb cut or touching the curb needs approval almost everywhere, and the curb cut is done by the city or a contractor it hires, then billed to the owner: $226 up to 4 m in Longueuil. In Lorraine, even replacing the paving is on the list of regulated work, and in Montréal each borough sets its own rules; Saint-Laurent requires a certificate even to resurface. The rules in all 16 cities.

Sixteen: Montréal and Laval; on the North Shore, Blainville, Bois-des-Filion, Boisbriand, L’Assomption, Lorraine, Mascouche, Mirabel, Repentigny, Rosemère, Saint-Eustache, Sainte-Thérèse and Terrebonne; on the South Shore, Brossard and Longueuil. Each city has its own page with its permit rules: see our service areas. Elsewhere in Quebec, describe your project and we’ll quickly tell you whether we can take it on.

Yes, if the base underneath is sound. We first repair the holes and large cracks, spray a tack coat, then lay 1.5 to 2 in of hot mix, the usual overlay thickness according to the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association. The surface rises by the same amount, so we mill the old asphalt at the garage threshold, the sidewalk and the street to avoid a step. On a driveway that’s wavy or cracked in a web, the new layer copies the defects: resurfacing or rebuilding, how to decide.

No: a dip means the base has settled or washed out, and a new layer simply follows its shape. A single sunken spot gets fixed before resurfacing by cutting out the area, rebuilding the stone and compacting it. Several dips, puddles after every rain or heaving every winter mean the whole base has to be redone.

Rarely without work: the gravel in a temporary driveway almost never has the thickness and compaction to carry asphalt. As a benchmark, the City of Laval requires 300 mm of MG-20 compacted to 95% when it rebuilds a private driveway; we top up or replace the stone, compact it in layers, then pave. Changing the surface type sometimes counts as a modification (Laval’s drainage bylaw makes it subject to a permit), so we check with the city before starting.

Asphalt, if budget and easy repairs matter most: $6–10/ft² for a fully rebuilt driveway versus $22–35/ft² for driveway-grade paving stones according to Soumission Rénovation (May 2026), so at most half the price. It is laid in a single day and patched section by section. Paving stones give more choice of shapes and colours, and sometimes they’re the only option: the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough now allows only pavers or concrete reaching a solar reflectance index of 29 for a new or replacement parking area, and asphalt falls short of that threshold.

Because bitumen, the binder in asphalt mix, rose 41% between January and September 2026: the ministry’s reference price for PG 58S-28 bitumen jumped from $945 to $1,335 a tonne. On a 2.5 in compacted layer, that’s about $0.27 to $0.29 more per square foot, or $160 to $175 for 600 ft². A 2026 price above a rate you read on a site that hasn’t touched its numbers in years usually reflects the real market.

150 to 300 mm, depending on the soil. On good soil, the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association considers 6 to 8 in (150 to 200 mm) of crushed stone usually adequate; when the City of Laval rebuilds a private driveway following municipal work, it requires 300 mm of MG-20 compacted to at least 95% of its maximum dry density. On clay soil, common in Laval, we aim for that municipal benchmark. Stone is compacted layer by layer: dumped all at once and compacted once, it keeps voids deep down that later settle under the wheels.

About 2.5 in, or 63 mm once compacted: that’s the thickness to specify in your quote. It sits within the range the ministry sets for ESG-10, its benchmark surface mix: 40 to 70 mm per layer, with 60 mm as the optimum. The City of Laval, for its part, calls for 50 mm on the private driveways it rebuilds. Always compare thickness after rolling: asphalt gets thinner under compaction, and 2 in spread out doesn’t make 2 in compacted.

EB-10S and EB-10C are old names for Marshall-method mixes (standard 4201), dropped from the ministry’s tables in 2012, even though many pavers still use them. Current mixes fall under standard 4202: ESG-10, dense with a closed surface, is laid 40 to 70 mm thick; MUN-10, recommended as a surface course on streets with fewer than 2,000 vehicles a day, 40 to 60 mm; EC-10, very workable, is mainly a levelling (correction) mix, 20 to 40 mm. Ask for the mix name and its compacted thickness: two quotes that don’t name the same mix don’t describe the same driveway.

Because poorly compacted asphalt stays porous: water gets in, freezes and breaks it apart from the inside. The Asphalt Institute targets 3 to 7% air voids after compaction; at 8% and above, the voids connect and let air and moisture through. On its projects, the ministry accepts a day’s paving when average compaction falls between 93 and 98%, and rolling must be finished before the mix cools to 60 °C. A thin layer spread on cool ground can leave less than 10 to 20 minutes of useful rolling time, so the roller follows the paver without waiting.

At least a quarter inch per foot, about 2%, according to the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association, toward the street, a ditch or a catch basin, never toward the house. A 30 ft driveway draining lengthwise therefore drops at least 7.5 in. A puddle that lingers after rain signals a slope or base problem: standing water eventually seeps in, then freezes under the asphalt.

No, and no driveway does: according to the ministry, Quebec ground freezes for more than four months a year, to depths of 1.2 m to over 3 m depending on the region. A driveway handles frost by other means: crushed stone that drains instead of holding water, enough thickness and a slope that carries meltwater away. Heaving comes from water in the base and frost-susceptible soil below, not from the cold alone.

A house driveway is usually paved in a single day on site. With excavation and a new base, preparation takes a first day and the asphalt goes down a few days later. Before digging, locating underground utilities takes at least three business days: that lead time, more than the equipment, often sets the start date.

We do, before every excavation. The service is free, and Info-Excavation processes a request in at least three business days, not counting the day it’s received. Its members locate their telecom, electrical and gas lines (stakes, flags, paint or a plan), but not every municipality is a member and your private lines aren’t marked: show us the drain, irrigation or lighting wires that run under the driveway. In 2025, 31% of the incidents Info-Excavation recorded happened without a locate request.

We reschedule. The ministry’s specifications only allow paving with no rain, drizzle or snow, on a surface that is neither waterlogged nor frozen: water cools the mix before the roller can compact it. You’re told the day before, and we set the new date with you on the same call.

No. The Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association puts it bluntly: “There is no such thing as leftover asphalt,” because hot mix has to be laid and compacted while it’s hot. The “special” price gets paid another way: a thin layer spread with no base and no slope, by a company you can’t find come spring. Before signing with anyone, ask for a business address, the compacted thickness, the stone type and an invoice.

Because water under the asphalt freezes and expands, then thaws from the top down while the deeper, still-frozen soil keeps it from draining. Saturated, the pavement loses 30 to 70% of its strength according to the ministry, which cuts the loads allowed on trucks every spring; in 2026, those restrictions began on March 16 in the zone that covers Montréal. At home, keep trailers, dumpsters and heavy trucks off the driveway during the thaw.

Mostly through the water it puts to work: by lowering the freezing point, it multiplies freeze-thaw episodes in cracks and pores, and the effect adds up on a driveway that’s already cracked. Sand or fine gravel gives traction with no chemical effect: clear snow before ice forms and save de-icer for stubborn patches.

Before the freeze, as long as the surface is dry and above about 5 °C. On its own roads, the ministry treats cracks 3 to 20 mm wide between mid-May and mid-October, at 5 to 30 °C, for 4 to 8 years of service on the regional network. According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, rubberized hot-pour sealant in a routed crack lasts 5 to 9 years, versus 2 to 4 years for a cold product. For a small job, L’Équipe Marcil publishes a $250–400 package below 200 linear feet. Another provider’s per-foot rate cannot replace that visit charge.

Only as a stopgap: bagged cold asphalt ($13.99 for 30 kg at Canac) fills the hole without bonding to the edges or fixing the stone underneath. A lasting repair saw-cuts the edges square, recompacts the base, fills with compacted hot mix and seals the joints; the area, depth and mobilization determine the price of that repair.

It can reduce traction slightly, especially when applied thick: Henry warns that an overly thick coat dries poorly and turns slippery when wet, and advises against its product on steep driveways. On a slope or in front of the garage, choose a sealer with sand filler, which improves traction according to the Colorado Asphalt Pavement Association, and apply it thin.

Yes: we split the lot into zones redone one after another, with an entrance and an exit always open. The zone order, days and hours are set with you at the planning stage, which gives you time to notify tenants and customers; depending on the site, part of the work can be done in the evening or on weekends.

Thicker at every layer: more compacted stone and often two asphalt layers, for example a GB-20 base course (80 to 120 mm according to the ministry) under an ESG-10 surface. ESG-14 can also serve as a single layer, 60 to 80 mm. We size it to the site’s actual traffic: cars, delivery trucks, dumpsters and snowplows.

About $13 per standard stall and $65 per accessible stall, according to 2026 rates published by Groupe Soli. Include it in the same request as the paving: stalls, arrows and reserved areas are painted on asphalt that has hardened enough, and the phase schedule accounts for it.

Triple, extra-long, walkway or door shelters and new permanent anchors are priced on the phone: the full Tempo shelter installation service. Tempo shelter installation: single $199, double $299 before taxes; $329 and $449 with spring removal. See our prices and prices published elsewhere.

It varies by city. Terrebonne opens the season on October 1; Laval and most Montréal boroughs follow on October 15, Longueuil on October 24, then Brossard and Rosemère on November 1. Lorraine bans temporary shelters year-round. Removal deadlines range from April 15 in several cities to May 1 in Rosemère and Mirabel: dates for all 16 cities and the boroughs.

Not if they’re placed in the right spot. For an asphalt driveway, the manufacturer Tempo calls for either U-shaped anchors or permanent anchors: 4 at minimum up to 12 ft long, 6 between 16 and 20 ft, 8 between 24 and 32 ft, and no concrete blocks. U-shaped anchor spikes make new holes every fall; a permanent anchor makes do with a single 7/8 in hole. As pavers, we drill well clear of cracks and crumbling edges, then plug the holes that are no longer in use.

Rarely: in our cities, only two ask for paperwork. Repentigny requires a work declaration, to be redone only if the shelter or its location changes, and L’Assomption a certificate of authorization, at no charge. Everywhere, the distance from the sidewalk or curb matters: in Laval, a first offence costs $400.

Fill out the two-minute quote questionnaire and describe your driveway. The owner calls you back quickly, on business days, then comes by to take the dimensions, probe the base at the edge of the driveway and check where the water goes. You then receive your price at no cost and with no commitment.

Six items, without which two prices can’t be compared: the area in square feet, the excavation depth, the stone type and its compacted thickness, the mix name and its compacted thickness, how slopes and transitions are handled, and the warranty period. A one-line quote leaves plenty of room for extras.

Yes. Faulty workmanship or a defective material is covered for the period stated on your quote. The owner is on every job site: if there’s a problem, you know who to call, and we come back to fix it.