What is Asphalt Millings, aka Recycled Asphalt?

Are you thinking about installing a new gravel driveway for your home or gravel parking lot for your business? Do you need something affordable and robust to fill the hardscape areas around your home? There are many different types of gravel, river rock, and other substrates that are useful for paving and hardscape projects, but I bet you haven’t thought about using asphalt millings.
Asphalt millings are ground-up recycled asphalt. The asphalt might have begun life as an interstate or airplane tarmac. After asphalt’s useful life is over, the product is removed, crushed, and redistributed as millings. Though they’re recycled chunks of asphalt, millings have many of the same characteristics as other paving materials like fresh asphalt or gravel but with different advantages.

Asphalt Millings Cost

Because millings are the byproduct of recycled asphalt pavement, they’re much cheaper than new asphalt or other paving material like gravel. You’re not paying for the processing of new material, the transportation of new material, or any additional costs related to traditional paving products. If you’re looking to save on your next product, asphalt millings are the economical choice.

The Green Choice

Because you’re using recycled products, millings are an environmentally friendly paving material. Asphalt millings are just crushed asphalt, so the carbon footprint is much lower than fresh asphalt or other paving materials. Using it for your paving project may even qualify you for LEED credits depending on the scale of the job.

Less Expensive Maintenance

Proper asphalt maintenance requires regular inspections, sealing cracks every one to two years, and resealing your blacktop every five to six years, but not asphalt millings. Once the millings have been compacted, they require only periodic grading and re-compaction, which tends to be less expensive than sealing cracks and sealing the surface of paved asphalt. Recycled Asphalt is a perfect choice if you want less costly maintenance.

Better Against Extreme Weather

Asphalt is versatile, but it can become brittle during extreme cold and soft during extreme heat. Extreme temperatures make new asphalt more susceptible to damage, but asphalt millings’ toughness helps it stand up to elements that would harm regular asphalt.
It’s also much more porous than traditional asphalt or concrete, which makes it an efficient drainer in areas likely to flood or accumulate snow and ice. Asphalt contractors swear that snow and ice melt much faster on asphalt millings making this an excellent paving choice for cold-weather states.

Curb Appeal

Millings won’t have the distinct jet-black color of new asphalt, but many homeowners find the faded look appealing for the right type of house. The look of asphalt millings is somewhere between fresh asphalt and traditional gravel and brings a rustic charm to any driveway or path.

Pro Tips on Using Millings

How to Use Millings

Recycled Apshalt is useful in almost any application where you would use concrete, fresh asphalt, or substrate like gravel. They can be used for parking lots, footpaths, or act as a landscape or hardscape filler.

Use on a Driveway

Can you use asphalt millings to pave your driveway? Absolutely. Millings won’t offer the same smoothness as new asphalt or concrete, but its affordability makes it a better choice for the price-conscious homeowner. Choosing millings instead of new asphalt for your driveway could save you hundreds and possibly thousands depending on the size of the job.

Always Go High-Quality

Millings are nothing more than pieces of old asphalt, but the quality of materials varies wildly. If you’re purchasing recycled asphalt, look to a reputable supplier with several years of service and great online reviews. Failure to do your homework might have you stuck with several yards of awful millings mixed in with trash, too much dirt, and other foreign debris. Always ask to see the millings before dumping to check for quality.

Choose Millings for Your Next Project

Millings are affordable, versatile, and offer some advantages over traditional paving materials. If asphalt millings sound like the right choice for you, call Colorado Pavement Solutions to see what millings can do for your property.