Asphalt Paving & Seal Coating in Lakewood, Colorado
Lakewood is the closest big city to our Golden shop, which means short drive times and better numbers on the kind of jobs that don't travel well. It's also a city full of driveways built in the 1960s and 70s that are all reaching the same decision point at once.
A Whole City of Driveways Hitting End of Life at the Same Time
Lakewood is Colorado's fifth-largest city and most of it was built out in a concentrated stretch through the 1950s, 60s and 70s. That history produced a lot of what the city is known for — mature trees, generous lots, mid-century ranch homes — and it also produced a very specific problem.
Asphalt laid in that era, maintained casually or not at all, is now decades past the point where seal coating alone would have saved it. We see the same thing street after street: driveways that had one seal coat sometime in the nineties and nothing since. What that produces is not a cosmetic problem. It's a base problem.
The question worth asking before you spend anything
There are really only three answers for an ageing Lakewood driveway, and they cost wildly different amounts:
Seal and crack-fill — if the surface is sound and the cracking is isolated. Cheapest by a wide margin, and it buys years.
Overlay — if the base underneath is still solid but the surface is worn out. A fraction of replacement cost.
Full replacement — only when the base itself has failed.
The difference between the second and third answer is thousands of dollars, and it hinges entirely on whether the base is intact. A contractor who quotes replacement without checking is either not looking or not telling you. We'll walk it, tell you which of the three you're in, and explain what we're seeing.
Freeze-thaw and clay, same as the rest of the metro
NOAA's 1991–2020 normals for the Denver–Boulder area record roughly 156 nights a year at or below freezing but only about 22 days that never thaw — leaving around 134 full freeze-thaw cycles. Each one expands whatever water is sitting in a crack. Meanwhile much of the Front Range sits on expansive clay that swells and shrinks with moisture, which is why base preparation decides how long a driveway lasts far more than surface thickness does.
Neither of those is unique to Lakewood. What is fairly specific to Lakewood is the sheer number of properties where that damage has been accumulating unaddressed for thirty or forty years.
Green Mountain and the western edge
Not all of Lakewood is flat. Properties on and around Green Mountain and toward the Bear Creek side pick up real grade, and with grade comes the drainage question — where does meltwater run, and does it run along your asphalt edge on its way there. Those jobs are closer in character to our foothills work than to a flat driveway off Alameda.
Permits in Lakewood, and the State Highway Catch
Resurfacing or sealing a driveway that sits entirely on your own property generally doesn't need a City permit. What triggers one is work in the public right-of-way — the strip where the street, curb, gutter and sidewalk sit. Lakewood's Public Works department handles right-of-way permitting, and applications go through the City's online permit portal.
The part almost nobody mentions: several major Lakewood streets are state highways
According to the City of Lakewood's own engineering regulations, the state highways running inside city limits include Wadsworth Boulevard, Sheridan Boulevard, portions of Kipling Street, 6th Avenue, Colfax Avenue, Morrison Road and Hampden Avenue.
If your driveway or parking lot takes access from one of those, you're not only dealing with the City. Lakewood coordinates the review with the Colorado Department of Transportation and submits access permits to CDOT once the City Engineer has approved final plans. Construction on a state highway is governed by CDOT regulations and inspected by CDOT rather than the City.
In practice that means a longer lead time and a different approval path. For a commercial property fronting Wadsworth or Colfax, this is the single most important thing to establish before scheduling anything.
A few City standards worth knowing
Lakewood's engineering regulations set a finished pavement cross slope of no less than 1% and no more than 4%, with 2% as the typical target. That number exists so water leaves the surface instead of standing on it — and it's a good example of why "just lay asphalt on it" isn't a plan. The regulations also cap cut and fill slopes at 3:1, and require excavation work to meet OSHA standards.
Any digging needs utility locates through Colorado 811 first. It's free and it's required by state law.
We handle the permit question at the estimate rather than leaving it with you. If your job needs City approval, CDOT approval, or both, you'll know before we book a date.
Permit requirements and standards change — Lakewood periodically updates its Engineering Standards Manual and municipal code. The above reflects the City's published engineering regulations and is a starting point rather than legal advice. Confirm current requirements with City of Lakewood Public Works, and with CDOT if a state highway is involved.
Lakewood Neighborhoods & What We See There
Lakewood is big and it isn't uniform. Here's roughly what turns up where.
Applewood & the Golden edge
Shared with Golden, and effectively our backyard. Large lots, mature landscaping, long mid-century driveways. Plenty are better candidates for overlay than the full tear-out they get quoted for.
Green Mountain
Real grade on the slopes, which changes the job. Drainage and edge support matter here in a way they don't on flat ground, and runoff is the thing that quietly eats the asphalt shoulder.
Belmar & central Lakewood
Denser, more mixed use, and more commercial frontage. Parking lot work, striping and phased resurfacing so businesses stay open through it.
Eiber, Morse Park & Two Creeks
Established residential with driveways squarely in the seal-or-replace decision window. This is where an honest assessment saves the most money.
Bear Creek & the south side
Toward Morrison Road and the Bear Creek corridor. Note that Morrison Road is a state highway inside Lakewood, so frontage properties there have the CDOT dimension described above.
HOAs, condos & multi-family
Shared parking areas and private drives across the city. One mobilisation covering a whole property beats separate trips, and we can phase it so residents keep access.
What We Do in Lakewood
Asphalt is the bulk of the work. We pour concrete as well, so when concrete is the right answer we can say so without losing the job.
Asphalt Driveway Paving
New installation and full replacement with proper base prep, grading and drainage. Typically drivable within one to three days.
Asphalt Overlay
The answer for a huge number of Lakewood driveways: a fresh surface over a base that's still sound, at a fraction of replacement cost.
Seal Coating
Our specialty, using Masterseal Asphalt Emulsion Sealant. Up to a 3-year warranty, exclusions provided in writing before work starts.
Crack Filling & Patching
The highest-return maintenance there is in this climate. Sealing cracks keeps water off the base, which is where a driveway actually dies.
Commercial Parking Lots
Paving, overlay, striping and repair for Lakewood businesses, retail and multi-family. Phased so sections stay open and you keep trading.
Concrete Patios & Flatwork
Patios, sidewalks, slabs and concrete driveways poured on a properly prepared sub-base so soil movement doesn't crack them.
How to Read Your Own Driveway
You can get a decent sense of which of the three answers you're in before anyone comes out. Here's what to look for.
Isolated cracks, surface still firm
Straight or branching cracks in a surface that feels solid underfoot. This is crack fill and seal coat territory. Cheapest outcome, and acting now is what keeps it that way.
Worn, grey and raveling, but stable
Surface aggregate coming loose, colour long gone, yet no soft spots and no sinking. Usually an overlay candidate — new surface, existing base retained.
Alligator cracking or soft spots
Cracking in a tight web pattern, areas that feel spongy, or sections that have visibly sunk. That's a failed base. An overlay here will fail in exactly the same places.
Standing water after rain
Puddles that sit rather than run off mean the pitch is wrong. Worth fixing whichever route you take, because standing water shortens the life of anything you put down.
None of this replaces someone actually looking. But it does mean you'll know whether a quote makes sense when you get one.
Driveways We've Done
Our own photos, from our own job sites — no stock images.
Reviewed by Front Range Homeowners
4.6from 29 Google reviewsLarry and his team “made my driveway look good as new” — professional, and easygoing to deal with.Brady HaughGoogle review
“Competitive price. I like the result on my driveway.”Brian SchlanderGoogle review
Called it “a very nice and careful job resealing our driveway” at a reasonable price.Doug HodgsonGoogle review
When to Book in Lakewood
Metro elevation gives you a longer window than the foothills, but the season still fills up.
Frequently Asked
Do I need a permit to repave my driveway in Lakewood?
My driveway is from the 1970s. Does it need replacing?
How much does an asphalt driveway cost in Lakewood?
How often should I seal coat in Lakewood?
Water pools on my driveway. Can that be fixed?
Do you do commercial parking lots in Lakewood?
Should I choose asphalt or concrete?
How soon can I drive on it?
Get a Free Lakewood Estimate
We're about ten minutes away in Golden, so getting out to look is easy. Tell us what you've got and we'll assess the base, check the drainage, and give you a written price with no obligation — including an honest answer on whether you need a reseal, an overlay or a replacement.
Golden, CO 80401
We Also Serve
Lakewood sits right between our Golden base and the rest of the metro.