Paving in Shepherdstown, West Virginia

Shepherdstown is West Virginia's oldest town, and A+ Paving & Landscaping paves driveways and builds patios and landscaping here. Unlike a hillside cut in Berkeley Springs, a flat Jefferson County lot does not shed water on its own. If the grade is lazy, it sits. Clay under that puddle stays wet, and freeze-thaw opens the pavement from below even when the street itself is gentle.

Pitch is the job

Grading a Shepherdstown drive is less about cutting a bank and more about finding a few inches of fall that the eye misses. The pavement should leave the garage higher than the street end, and it should not pitch toward a stone walk or a foundation. A birdbath in the middle of a flat drive will map itself in ice every January. Sealcoating over that birdbath makes a pretty low spot, not a dry one. Fix the shape, then sealcoat in a dry late-summer or early-fall window, with warm air during the cure.

Older streets in town are narrow. The apron may be short and shared in feel with the sidewalk even when the drive is private. Check with the Town of Shepherdstown or Jefferson County, and with your HOA, before that apron changes width or material. Newer edges of town can have covenant rules that the older streets do not. Ask which one you are in.

Patios and walks on the same flat grade

Patios and walks follow the same rule. A walk or a bed that dams the only place water could leave will undo the pitch in the driveway. Build the hardscape so the lawn edge stays lower than the pavement. Stone borders look finished and still have to have a gap for water.

We also work in nearby Charles Town, and you can see how hillside driveways differ in Berkeley Springs. Request an estimate if the drive holds water after a rain. That symptom matters more here than a photo of the surface color.