Ottawa and surrounding areasFree written quotesResidential and commercial
Paving Experts Ottawa: residential and commercial driveway paving
Driveway paving in Ottawa costs $5 to $10 per sq ft for new asphalt, $8 to $14 to remove and repave, and $2.50 to $6 for an overlay, with sealing from about $150 for a standard double. Paving Experts Ottawa probes the base and checks drainage before every written, itemised quote.
Base and drainage assessed before we quote
Written quote, itemised, no obligation
Asphalt, interlock, concrete and gravel
We tell you when a repair beats a replacement
Get your free quote
Tell us what you have and where it is. We reply within one business day.
No obligation. Every quote is job specific.
Free written quotes
Itemised, line by line
Base probed before quoting
Residential and commercial
Why Ottawa homeowners call us
Three things we do differently, and all three happen before a single tonne of asphalt is ordered.
We look under the surface
The City's own light-duty road standard is 450 mm of granular under 50 mm of asphalt. A driveway that skips the base looks identical on day one and fails in year three. We check what is down there before quoting.
We solve the water first
Ottawa gets 757 mm of rain and 232 cm of snow a year. All of it has to leave your driveway somewhere. If it is pooling or running at the garage, we fix the grade before we resurface.
We quote in writing, itemised
Base depth, asphalt thickness, drainage work and any City permit are separate lines. You can compare us to anyone else line by line instead of comparing two bottom numbers.
The ground under an Ottawa driveway is the whole job
Ottawa sits on Champlain Sea clay, left when the sea drained about 12,000 years ago. At the Gloucester test site it runs to roughly 22 metres. Fall cone testing puts its sensitivity between 65 and 85, meaning it loses more than sixty times its strength once disturbed. Its natural water content, 64 percent, is higher than its liquid limit of 52 percent. The soil under much of this city holds more water than the amount at which it would behave as a liquid, and stays solid only because of its structure. Disturb the structure and the strength goes. That is why a loaded truck should never churn a wet clay subgrade, and why we probe before we quote.
Milder winters are harder on asphalt, not easier
Frost damage needs three things at once: a frost susceptible soil, sub-freezing temperature and available water. Nobody can change an Ottawa winter and the soil is what it is, so the whole craft here is controlling the third variable. That is what a clean granular base actually does. It is a drainage layer first and a structural layer second. The City projects winter freeze-thaw rising 15 percent by the 2030s and 35 percent by the 2050s, with snow cover days falling from 115 to 72. Snow insulates pavement. Less of it means bare pavement crossing zero far more often.
What we do
Six of the seventeen we do, residential and commercial. The full list is under Services in the menu.
Residential and commercial
Asphalt Paving
Hot mix laid and compacted to the Ontario standard, on a base built for this climate.
New builds and replacements
Asphalt Driveway Installation
Full build from subgrade up, including excavation, granular and finished surface.
Overlay on a sound base
Driveway Resurfacing
A new surface over existing asphalt, but only where the base underneath still holds up.
Cracks, potholes and edges
Driveway Repair
Saw-cut patches and full-depth repairs that key into sound asphalt instead of feathering over it.
Asphalt maintenance
Driveway Sealing
Sealing on the right interval, and honest advice about when your driveway is too new to seal.
Lifting and relaying
Interlock Repair
Settled pavers lifted, the base corrected and the same stone relaid, not replaced.
6 to 8 weeksCity of Ottawa access permit processing time
7 CMinimum air temperature for an asphalt surface course under OPSS 310
2.4 to 9.0 mLegal width range for a private approach in Ottawa
450 mmGranular depth in the City's own light-duty pavement standard
Which surface fits your driveway?
$5 to $10 per sq ft, two to three days to install
Costs less to put in than concrete or interlock and flexes with Ottawa clay. Once it has cured, it is sealed every two to three years.
Real market ranges for the Ottawa area, not national averages. Small driveways cost more per square foot because the crew, paver and roller mobilise either way. Your own number depends on size, base condition and drainage, which is why every quote is site specific.
Maintenance
$0.25 to $0.55 per sq ft
Driveway sealing, roughly $150 to $350 for a standard double
Crack repair visit, roughly $200 to $500
Best value per dollar on a driveway that is still structurally sound
Not suitable in the first 6 to 12 months after paving
Overlay from $2.50 to $6 per sq ft where the base is sound
Remove and repave from $8 to $14 per sq ft
Standard double driveway commonly lands between $4,800 and $8,500
We inspect the base first and tell you which one you actually need
New asphalt from $5 to $10 per sq ft
Poured concrete from $9 to $18 per sq ft
Interlock pavers from $20 to $35 per sq ft
City access permit $193 where a new or wider access is involved
We walk the driveway, check where water goes, probe for soft spots and measure the real area. If the base is sound we say so, even when that means a smaller job.
2
Written quote
Itemised by base depth, asphalt thickness, drainage and permits. If a City access permit is needed we tell you then, because it adds six to eight weeks.
3
Prepare and pave
Excavate to depth, place and compact granular, then lay and roll the surface while the mix is still hot enough to compact properly.
4
Cure and walk through
We go over edges, transitions and drainage with you, and tell you when the surface can take traffic and when it will be ready to seal.
Where we work
Six of the sixteen areas we cover. Ground conditions and permit rules both change as you cross the city boundary, and the full list is under Service Areas in the menu.
Kanata North and South
Kanata
Beaverbrook driveways date from 1964, Morgan's Grant from the 1990s. Two markets under one name.
Barrhaven West and East
Barrhaven
Old Barrhaven west of Greenbank dates from the 1960s and 70s and is comfortably past end of life.
Orleans East, West and South
Orleans
Much of Orleans sits on Champlain Sea clay, which is where the spring heave pattern comes from.
Knoxdale-Merivale, College, Bay
Nepean
Decades of housing stock under one name, so the street decides the job, not the sign.
Stittsville ward
Stittsville
Largely 1990s onward on the shallower western ground. A maintenance market more than a replacement one.
Gloucester-Southgate
Gloucester
Urban curb accesses and semi-rural ditch entrances inside a single ward, with different permit rules.
What our clients say
Reviews given to us directly by clients.
★★★★★
5/5
We hired Driveway Paving Experts to replace our old cracked driveway. The crew arrived on time, prepared the base carefully, and completed the paving neatly. The new driveway looks smooth and completely transformed the front of our home.
★★★★★
5/5
Great experience from the initial quote to the final cleanup. They explained the work clearly, kept us updated, and finished within the expected timeframe. The driveway looks clean, even, and professionally completed.
★★★★★
5/5
Our driveway had several low spots where water collected after heavy rain. The team corrected the grading and installed the new asphalt with proper drainage in mind. We are very happy with the finished result.
★★★★★
5/5
We needed repairs completed before the cracks and damaged sections became worse. The crew assessed the driveway, recommended a practical solution, and completed the work efficiently. Everything looks much better now.
★★★★★
5/5
Professional and dependable paving service. The team worked carefully around our garage, walkway, and landscaping, then cleaned the property before leaving. The new driveway has a neat finish and strong curb appeal.
The numbers worth asking any contractor for
How deep does the granular go
The City's light duty road standard is 150 mm of Granular A over 300 mm of Granular B Type II, compacted to at least 98 percent Standard Proctor. Its heavy duty section deepens that to 450 mm.
What grade is the binder
Ottawa's servicing standards specify PG 58-34. The minus 34 is the low temperature grade, and the city's record low is minus 36.1 C.
Where does the water go
Ottawa's grading specification wants positive grade from the road edge to the garage, a driveway slope no steeper than 6 percent and 150 mm clearance between foundation and finished grade.
What mix is going down
HL-3 or Superpave 12.5 is the residential surface equivalent. Naming it on a quote costs nothing and tells you the contractor is specifying rather than taking whatever the plant has running.
What you can hold us to
We will tell you not to seal a new driveway
Fresh asphalt needs 6 to 12 months before its first seal. Sealing early traps the lighter oils and stops the sealer bonding.
We will tell you when a repair beats a replacement
The City's own resurfacing programme states that pavement age is not a factor and prioritises condition. We assess the same way.
We work to the Ontario temperature spec
OPSS 310 requires 7 C and rising for an asphalt surface course. We will move your date rather than lay a mat that cannot be compacted.
Warranty terms are set out in your written quote
Every job is different, so any workmanship warranty is set out in your written quote, job by job.
What a proper build looks like here
The City of Ottawa's light duty pavement standard is 50 mm of asphalt over 450 mm of total granular. Set that beside a residential quote offering 150 mm of crusher run and the gap speaks for itself. A driveway is not a road and does not need a road's structure, but the granular is doing the same job in both cases, and that job is mostly drainage.
Ground conditions change fast here. The City requires boreholes at 30 to 50 metre spacing for infill housing, and drilled deeper where Champlain clay is present. A study for the downtown truck tunnel found clay 10 to 20 metres thick along one street and only 3 to 5 metres, and stiff, along another a few hundred metres away. Your neighbour's driveway is not evidence about yours.
Maintenance is where the money goes furthest
New asphalt should not be sealed for 6 to 12 months. The lighter oils in the binder need to oxidise, and sealing early traps them, stops the sealer bonding and leaves the mat soft. A driveway paved in July gets its first seal the following season. After that, every two to three years is right for Ottawa. Anyone recommending an annual seal is selling sealer.
Crack sealing is better value again, because it is the only intervention that stops water reaching the base. Once water is in the granular and freezing, the repair stops being a surface job.
What we will not tell you
We do not guarantee outcomes. Any workmanship warranty is set out in your written quote, job by job, because a resurface over a sound base and a full rebuild on soft clay are not comparable undertakings. We will not quote a driveway sight unseen, and we will not tell you a driveway needs replacing because of its age when its condition says otherwise. The City itself states that pavement age is not a factor in how it assesses performance.
Call (343) 314-8525 or send the form and we will come and look.
Common questions
When can you actually pave in Ottawa?
Practically, early to mid May through mid October. Local asphalt plants shut for the winter and reopened in the first week of May in 2026. The Ontario standard, OPSS 310, also requires at least 7 C and rising for a surface course, and the roadbed must not be frozen. Before the plants open, the only option is cold patch, which the City itself describes as a temporary repair that does not bond strongly.
Why will nobody start my driveway in March?
Seasonal load restrictions. Ottawa limits heavy vehicles to roughly 5 tonnes per axle during the spring thaw, typically from early March to mid May, because thawing roads cannot carry the load. Those are the same trucks that deliver aggregate and hot mix. The City sets the dates each year from a thaw index, so they move.
Do I need a permit to redo my driveway?
Not to resurface an existing access at the same size. You do need a City of Ottawa access permit for a new access or a widening, and that runs $193 for a residential property with six to eight weeks of processing. There is a narrow exemption for an extension of 1.8 m or less, but it does not apply to asphalt, so a wider asphalt driveway means a permit.
How wide can my driveway be?
A private approach in Ottawa has to be between 2.4 m and 9.0 m wide and cannot exceed 50 percent of your lot frontage. The City's current guidance also caps driveways at 6 m in the downtown and urban zones, and at 50 percent of lot width in the greenbelt, suburban and rural zones. At least half of your front lawn has to stay soft landscaping, and artificial turf does not count.
How often should an asphalt driveway be sealed?
Every two to three years once it has cured. Not more often. Over sealing builds a thick brittle layer that cracks and peels. Anyone recommending an annual seal is selling sealer rather than reading your driveway.
My driveway is 25 years old. Does it need replacing?
Not automatically. The City of Ottawa states plainly that pavement age is not a factor in how it assesses road performance, and prioritises condition instead. A 25 year old driveway on a sound base with tight cracks may only need sealing. A 10 year old driveway holding water over a failed base may need rebuilding.
Do you serve the towns outside Ottawa?
Yes, including Rockland, Embrun, Russell, Carleton Place and Kemptville. Those are separate municipalities, so the City of Ottawa access permit process does not apply there and entrance approvals go through the local township or town. We cover what applies on each area page.
Find out what your driveway actually needs
A site visit and a written, itemised quote. We will tell you if the honest answer is a repair rather than a replacement.
