During paving

Parking Lot Asphalt PavingApartment Complex, DeBary

New asphalt going down on an apartment complex lot in DeBary, with a truck feeding the paver and a crew working every edge by hand. All six photos on this page were taken during the work.

Location: DeBary, Volusia County
Property: Apartment complex
Scope: Parking lot asphalt paving
Equipment: Paver, dump trucks, and roller

The Job

What goes into paving an apartment complex parking lot in DeBary?

A paver, a steady line of dump trucks, a roller, and a crew that never stops moving around the machine. That is parking lot paving in DeBary on a property where people live, and this photo catches it at the start of a pull.

The truck backs up to the paver and tips hot mix into the hopper. The paver carries it back under the screed, and two of our crew ride the back of the machine, setting the width and depth as it rolls forward. Up front, a crew member in a green hard hat is already working the joint with a lute. That spot matters. The first few feet of a pull set the line for everything after it, so that is where we want our most careful hands. The roller sits behind the truck, waiting for enough fresh mat to start compacting.

Apartment lots are their own kind of job, because residents still have to get to work in the morning. Juan's 22 years in asphalt include DOT road work, and at M&S Asphalt Paving he runs a lot the way you run a road: in planned sections, with a way in and out at all times. Our commercial asphalt paving page goes deeper on phasing bigger properties.

Dump truck feeding hot asphalt into the paver as M&S Asphalt Paving crew members start a pass on an apartment complex lot in DeBary, Florida — During paving

The Edge

How does the crew keep the asphalt tight to the sidewalk?

By hand. The paver lays the bulk of the mat, but the last few inches against the concrete belong to the crew with rakes and lutes.

This drive runs right along a concrete sidewalk, and that edge decides whether a lot looks finished or sloppy. The screed cannot hug the concrete perfectly. So a crew member walks behind it, pulling extra mix into the low spots and pushing the excess back while it is still hot enough to move. Leave a lip and somebody trips on it carrying groceries. Leave a dip and it holds water against the walk after every afternoon storm, which is exactly where a DeBary lot starts to break down first.

Look at the back of the dump truck, too. Stay back 100 feet. Trucks back in and pull out all day on a job like this, and keeping residents and their kids clear of them is part of the crew's job from the first truck to the last. If you are pricing a project of your own, our page on asphalt paving in DeBary covers the driveways, HOA roads, and lots we see most around the city.

Crew member raking the edge of fresh asphalt against a concrete sidewalk behind the paver at an apartment complex in DeBary, Florida — During paving

Truck To Roller

What did the lot look like while it was being paved?

Four more frames from the same job. None of them shows the finished lot, and each caption says what stage you are looking at.

Long strip of fresh asphalt along a concrete sidewalk at a DeBary apartment complex, with the paver, dump truck, and crew at the far end and an unpaved section to the left — During: one pass laid along the sidewalk with the crew still working the far end. The bare surface on the left is the next section, still waiting its turn.

Four M&S Asphalt Paving crew members raking and luting fresh asphalt beside a yellow curb behind the paver in DeBary, Florida — During: four of the crew on one edge at the same time, leveling the mat against the yellow curb before the roller gets there.

Crew member luting the edge of fresh asphalt on wet pavement behind the paver at an apartment complex parking lot in DeBary, Florida — During: a crew member luting the seam where new mat meets the old lot, with the surrounding pavement still wet from a passing shower.

Paver laying asphalt with one crew member riding the screed and others luting both edges at an apartment complex in DeBary, Florida — During: the paver mid-pull with a crew member on the screed and a lute working each side. Caution tape keeps the work zone closed off.

The Hand Work

Why does a paving crew still rake and lute by hand?

Because a machine cannot read a joint. A lute is a wide, flat rake, and it is how the crew levels the seams, the edges, and every spot the screed misses.

Where new asphalt meets a curb or an older surface, the joint has to be tight and level. If it is not, water gets in, and the edge starts to unravel from the side. Hot mix only stays workable for a short window, so the hand work happens right behind the paver, before the roller comes through and locks it all in place. This photo also shows wet pavement all around the new mat. Rain is part of paving season in Central Florida, and the crew has to keep standing water off the area being paved and make the call on whether conditions are right to keep going.

Hand work can only fix so much, though. A level lot starts with a level, compacted base, which is why sitework and site preparation come before a single truck of asphalt shows up. Skip that step and the new mat settles into whatever soft spots sit underneath it.

M&S Asphalt Paving crew member luting the seam between new and existing asphalt on a wet apartment complex lot in DeBary, Florida — During paving

The Residents

Can residents keep using an apartment lot while it is being paved?

Yes, most of it. We pave in sections, so one strip is closed while the rest of the lot stays open.

In this frame the caution tape is up on the left and the paver is working a single lane, while cars sit parked farther down the property. That is the usual pattern on a multifamily job. The manager sends notice ahead of time, residents move their cars out of that day's section, and we work through the lot in an order that always leaves a way in and a way out. Fresh asphalt needs time to cool and firm up before it carries traffic. The section we paved first is the section that opens first, and we keep the office posted on which sections are open.

After paving come stripes, and a few years later a protective seal. Our asphalt sealcoating page explains when that first coat makes sense. For phased work on a retail property, see the new parking lot at an Orlando shopping complex, where the site was cut to grade before any asphalt went down.

Paver laying one lane of asphalt with caution tape closing the work zone at an apartment complex parking lot in DeBary, Florida — During paving

Want to see another parking lot job?

The Orlando shopping complex build starts earlier in the process, with the site cut to grade and the spoil hauled out before the first asphalt goes down.

Orlando parking lot Back to all work

Does your apartment complex or business need a new parking lot?

Call and tell us about the property. How many spaces, how the traffic moves, where the water sits after a storm. We come out, walk it with you, and give you a straight price, in English or Spanish.

Call us today (386) 215-7466

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