Asphalt Paving Contractor in Nashville, TN

Driveway paving in Nashville's older and newer neighborhoods

Nashville has old homes and brand-new ones. Census survey data shows four in ten of the city's homes were built before 1980. More than a third went up in 2000 or later. The Census Bureau counted permits for 2,683 more single-family homes in 2025.

Some older drives still have a sound base under a worn top. On those, asphalt resurfacing puts a new layer of hot mix over the old surface, with potholes patched first. Where the base has failed, the drive needs a full replacement. We look at the drive first and tell you which one it needs.

The clay and limestone under Nashville driveways

Around downtown, the most common soils in the NRCS survey are Mimosa and Maury, both formed over limestone. Mimosa soils are clayey and slow to soak up water. On the uplands, runoff from them is medium to rapid. Lindell soils sit on the flat bottomland along the creeks.

The ground climbs fast in places. On the ridges, the survey maps Bodine soils on slopes of 20 to 50 percent. Metro Planning says about half of the Bordeaux and Whites Creek planning area has slopes of 20 percent or more. Joelton sits up on the Highland Rim, with steep slopes across its south end.

We handle drainage in the grading. We set string lines and strip out the grass and vegetation. Then we grade the drive so water runs off it, and pack the crushed stone base with a roller. The hot mix goes down last, from the top of the drive out to the road.

Do you need a permit to pave a driveway in Nashville?

Metro's Department of Codes and Building Safety, still called Metro Codes, issues building permits. Its permits page covers building, trade, sign and solar permits. Driveways and paving are not on that list.

Work at the street goes to another office. Where a drive meets the street, the curb and sidewalk area are usually public right-of-way. Metro's own permit contact list names NDOT, the city's transportation department, for curb cut review. NDOT takes right-of-way permit applications through its ePermits system, at least two business days before work starts.

Grading can need a permit of its own. Metro Water Services issues those, and its rules count stripping ground cover as grading. One condition for skipping the permit is disturbing 10,000 square feet of land or less. A long new lane on acreage can pass that size.

State law also calls for a Tennessee 811 request at least three working days before digging, grading included. Metro Water Services answers grading questions, and NDOT answers questions about the street. We point you to the right office before work starts.

Long drives and farm lanes on Nashville's rural edges

The 2022 Census of Agriculture still counted 350 farms in Davidson County, on 31,523 acres. Joelton alone covers about 7 percent of Metro's land, and its community plan applies rural policies to every parcel. I-24 and Whites Creek Pike run through it.

Metro Planning describes rural land in Whites Creek and Bells Bend, with many homes on large lots. Bellevue's plan says its north and west stay mostly rural because of steep ground. To the east, Hermitage and Old Hickory sit in a planning area that runs to the Wilson County line. Percy Priest Lake lines part of its south side.

Lots like these often come with long drives and lanes to barns and shops. We pave lanes a half mile to a mile long, the same process as a driveway at a longer scale. For a long lane, we can also quote tar and chip beside hot mix, since it costs less up front.