Finished black asphalt on a tree-lined residential street in Sanford, Florida, with traffic cones still lining the left edge

Residential Road ReplacementSanford, Florida

A residential street in Sanford taken out to the dirt and rebuilt from the base up, with the existing concrete curb left standing to set the finished grade. The photos below run from the first tear-out to the last pass of the roller.

Location: Sanford, Seminole County
Scope: Full-depth removal and replacement
Traffic: One lane open throughout
Property Type: Residential street

The Decision

Why tear a residential street out to the dirt instead of paving over it?

Because the problem was underneath. An overlay fixes what you can see, and on this street what you could see was the symptom rather than the cause.

This is the road with nothing left of it. Bare sand, old base, and the concrete valley gutter still running down both edges. That is day one of a full-depth replacement. When a base has gone soft, a new surface telegraphs the same cracks back through within a couple of summers, and the owner has paid for a road twice.

Sanford soil is mostly sand, which drains well right up until a band of clay or buried organics sits in the way. Then water travels sideways and parks under the pavement where nobody can see it. You do not diagnose that from the curb. It shows up the moment the old surface comes off, which is why M&S Asphalt Paving would rather open a street up than guess. Juan spent a long stretch of his 22 years in asphalt on DOT road work, where nobody signs off on a section without knowing what is under it. Our asphalt paving in Sanford page covers how we scope this for boards and associations.

Sanford residential street with the old asphalt removed down to sand and base, the concrete gutter still in place along both edges

On The Job

What happens between tearing the old road out and laying the new one?

Grading and compaction. That is the whole middle of the job, and it is the part nobody photographs because it does not look like much.

The existing curb and gutter sets every elevation on the street, so the base has to be cut to land the finished asphalt flush against that concrete lip. Too high and the gutter pan stops carrying water. Too low and you have built a trough that collects it. The crew shapes a consistent cross fall toward the gutter, compacts the base in lifts, then runs a loaded truck over it to see whether anything moves. Soft spots get dug out, not rolled harder. A spot that pumps under a truck will pump under traffic.

Then the paver goes to work. In the photo the LeeBoy is walking a fresh mat out under the oaks while raw base still runs ahead of it, with the screed operator riding the edge and a laborer working the joint by hand. Our standard mat is two inches. The base work behind all of this is its own trade, covered on our sitework and site preparation page.

LeeBoy paver laying fresh asphalt under live oaks in Sanford while a crew member walks the raw base ahead of the machine

Start To Finish

What does the job look like from the first cut to the last pass?

Residential street in Sanford, Florida, stripped to bare base with the concrete valley gutter left in place on both sides — Day one. The old surface is gone and the street is down to sand and base, but the concrete gutter on both edges has been left alone. That ribbon of concrete is the reference everything else gets built back to.

LeeBoy paver laying a new asphalt mat on a Sanford residential street while two crew members work the edge and joint — The LeeBoy walking the mat out under the oaks. One hand on the screed edge, one on the joint with a rake, and raw base still running out ahead of the machine.

Tandem drum roller compacting a freshly laid asphalt lane on a residential street in Sanford, Florida — The tandem roller following the paver closely. Compaction decides how much air stays trapped in the mat, and air is what lets water in later.

Freshly compacted asphalt lane curving away under Spanish moss on a Sanford residential street — Rolled and closed up. The surface still has its sheen here, and the pale line along the right edge is where the mat meets the shoulder before cleanup.

Completed black asphalt residential street in Sanford, Florida, lined with traffic cones under a live oak canopy — Cones still out while the surface sets. From here the street looks flat, which is the point. Every bit of the shaping that makes water leave this road happened before any asphalt arrived.

Afterwards

How long does a rebuilt street like this stay smooth?

A surface we lay is built to give ten to fifteen years in Florida sun, and a full rebuild starts that clock over properly because the structure underneath is new too. Materials carry a one year warranty.

What shortens it is almost always water or roots. Water gets in through cracks nobody sealed and works on the base until the surface starts to move. Roots are slower. They lift the mat from below until a ridge runs across the road, and on a street shaded by live oaks this old that is worth watching along the curb line. Turning loads matter too, so driveway aprons go first, along with anywhere a garbage truck pivots every week.

Keeping it is cheaper than replacing it, which is the honest advice rather than the sales pitch. Sealing on a sensible cycle with asphalt sealcoating keeps water and UV off the binder, and getting to a crack while it is still a crack is the difference between a small bill and a big one. When something does open up, crack filling and repairs at the right time will usually add years. We will tell you when a road needs work and when it does not.

New asphalt curving under large live oaks hung with Spanish moss on a residential street in Sanford, Florida

Want to see another job?

The DeLand street was the other side of this decision. The base there was still sound, so the crew milled the old surface off and overlaid it instead of rebuilding.

DeLand road repaving Back to all work

Have a street that needs more than another overlay?

Call and tell us what you are seeing. We come out, look at the cracking pattern and where water sits, and tell you honestly whether the road needs rebuilding or whether an overlay will still do the job. Most estimates go out same day or next day.

Call us today (386) 215-7466

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