Oil and Stone Chip Seal
Oil and Stone Chip Seal Driveways in Huntington, NY
Also called tar and chip. Hot liquid asphalt sprayed onto a prepared base, stone chip spread into it, and the whole thing rolled so the aggregate embeds: a textured, matte finish with the stone colour showing through.
The ground under Huntington
Huntington is north shore, and the furthest west we work. The ground is glacial moraine: till, unsorted and dense, holding water rather than shedding it. If you’ve moved up here from south of the ridge, the difference is real: down there the enemy is settlement into loose sand, up here it’s water.
For chip seal, the base requirement is exactly the same as for asphalt. On till, that means the drainage question has to be answered before the surface goes on: chip seal over ground that heaves will heave with it. Its texture does give better grip on a slope, which is a genuine advantage on north-shore ground.
How we do the work
Chip seal gets misunderstood in both directions, so let’s be plain.
It is not a cheap version of asphalt. Different product, different look, different maintenance cycle, different jobs it’s good at. Choosing it purely to save money on a driveway that wants asphalt is a decision you’ll regret in five years.
It is not a repair for a failed base. Chip seal is a surface treatment. Sprayed over a driveway that’s sunk or cracking from below, it cracks in exactly the same places within a season or two. Anyone offering to chip seal a broken driveway is selling you eighteen months.
It is genuinely good on long drives, on properties where a smooth black surface would look wrong, and where you want texture and grip rather than a formal finish. It suits older houses and larger lots better than a suburban front driveway.
Living with it: expect some loose chip for the first few weeks as unembedded stone comes free: it sweeps up and settles down. Plough with the blade slightly raised or with shoes fitted, because a blade dragged hard across it will pick at the surface. And it’s renewed by recoating rather than resurfacing, on a longer cycle than asphalt sealcoating.
What moves the price in Huntington
Slope and distance both matter here. Sloping sites mean retaining work and level platforms before any surface can exist, which puts more of the cost into excavation and structure. And Huntington is the western end of our range, so we block-schedule work here rather than running single jobs. That means a little more lead time than the central towns, and it’s worth asking early if you have a date in mind. We’d rather say that up front than move a schedule later.
Local rules
Huntington is in the Town of Huntington. Retaining walls are the permission most likely to apply, because sloping sites reach the height threshold far more often than flat ones.
What we’ll do regardless: tell you what applies before you sign, not after we’ve started.
Why this crew
The person who quotes the job is on the crew that runs it, and the quote states the base depth, which is the line worth comparing across any estimates you’re holding.
ICPI certified, Techo-Bloc Pro, A+ with the BBB, trading since 2017, working out of a yard on Horseblock Road in Medford.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put chip seal over my existing asphalt driveway?
Only if the existing surface and base are sound. Over a cracked or sunken driveway it will mirror the failure. We’ll look before we answer.
Is it dusty?
No. The stone is embedded in hot asphalt, not loose over a base. That’s a gravel drive, a different thing. There’ll be some loose chip in the first weeks and then it’s a solid surface.
You’re based in Medford. Do you actually work in Huntington?
Yes, regularly. It’s the western end of our area, so we schedule it in blocks rather than as one-offs. Call and we’ll tell you honestly what the timing looks like.