Chip Seal & Tar and Chip in Midland & Odessa, TX

Chip seal is the surface most West Texas properties should be asking about and usually aren't. It costs a fraction of hot-mix asphalt over any real distance, it handles heavy loads, it kills the dust, and when it eventually wears you re-seal it rather than replacing a surface course.

You'll hear it called tar and chip, chip and seal, or seal chip — it's all the same thing. Hot asphalt binder gets sprayed onto a prepared base, a layer of stone chips goes over it, and rollers embed the stone into the binder. What you end up with is a hard, textured surface that sheds water and grips well.

West Tex Paving has laid chip seal across the Permian Basin since 1975, on everything from ranch drives to oilfield access roads.

Chip seal or hot-mix asphalt?

Hot-mix is the better surface where you want it smooth, sealed and permanent, right at the house, a shop apron, a commercial lot where customers park and walk. It looks better, it cleans easier, and it takes striping.

Chip seal wins on cost per foot, and the gap widens the longer the run. It also has a practical advantage people underrate: it's maintainable in place. When a chip-sealed road starts to look tired, you clean it and lay another seal over the top for a fraction of the original cost. A worn asphalt surface wants milling and an overlay, which is a bigger job with bigger equipment.

Where properties often land is a mix, hot-mix for the first stretch near the house and the parking area, chip seal for the long run out to the road. We'll quote it that way if it fits, rather than pricing the whole thing in asphalt because asphalt costs more.

It still comes down to the base

Chip seal is a surface treatment, not a structure. It seals and protects what's underneath, but it can't span a soft spot or hold together ground that moves. Laid over a poor base it will fail exactly where the base fails, and quickly.

So we build the caliche base to the depth the traffic calls for, compact it properly, and grade for drainage before any binder goes down. On flat West Texas ground that means creating fall deliberately, because water will otherwise sit where it lands and work its way underneath. Get the base right and a chip seal surface will serve for years; get it wrong and no surface treatment saves it.

Where an existing caliche or gravel road is already well compacted and draining, we can often chip seal straight over it, which is the cheapest good road you can buy out here.

What is the difference between chip seal and tar and chip?

Nothing. They're two names for the same process. Hot asphalt binder sprayed on a prepared base, stone chips spread over it, then rolled so the stone embeds. You'll also hear chip and seal, or seal chip. Regional habit, same job.

How much does chip seal cost compared to asphalt?

Substantially less per square foot, and the saving compounds over distance, on a long driveway or a road it's the difference between an affordable project and one that doesn't happen. The exact number depends on length and width, how much base work the ground needs, and haul distance for material. We measure on site and give a free itemized estimate.

How long does chip seal last?

Over a properly built base, several years before it wants another seal, and that re-seal costs far less than the original build. Traffic weight, volume and drainage decide where in that range you land. A road that holds water fails early regardless of the surface on it.

Can you chip seal over an existing gravel or caliche driveway?

Often yes, and it's the best value job we do. If the existing surface is well compacted and draining, we prepare it and seal straight over. If it's soft, rutted or ponding water, that needs correcting first, sealing over a failing base just transfers the problem to the new surface.

Will loose stone be a problem after chip sealing?

Some chips work loose in the first week or two before traffic beds the rest in. We sweep the excess once it settles. It's temporary and normal, worth knowing in advance rather than being surprised by it.

Can chip seal handle heavy trucks?

Yes, over the right base. It's used on lease roads and access routes across the Permian Basin for exactly that reason. The load is carried by the base underneath; the chip seal keeps water out and stops the dust. Build the base for the traffic and the surface holds.

When is the best time of year for chip seal in West Texas?

Warm, dry weather. The heat helps the binder set and the stone bed in properly, so late spring through early autumn is prime season. Chip seal laid in cold weather doesn't cure the same way, so we'd rather wait for conditions than lay a surface that ravels early.