Editorial Policy

Effective 21 July 2026. This explains how the guides on PavingCalc are researched, written, checked, and corrected — and what our numbers are and are not.

What we publish, and who stands behind it

Our guides help homeowners and property managers plan asphalt projects and read contractor bids. Content is bylined by Derek Garvey, who operates PavingCalc. We do not claim a professional engineering or contractor licence, and we never present a guide as a substitute for a site-specific spec from a licensed local pro. Where a decision needs an engineer or a permit, we say so and point you there.

How we source cost and technical claims

We work from a fixed source hierarchy. When sources conflict, the higher tier wins:

1. Federal standards and agencies (ADA.gov, EPA, FHWA, FTC, USGS).
2. Industry technical bodies (Asphalt Institute, state asphalt associations, concrete associations).
3. Current consumer cost publishers — for broad national price context only.

Cost publishers disagree with each other by a lot, so we present dated national planning rangesrather than a single “average,” and we always tell readers to get itemized local bids. The full pricing method is on the methodology page.

How AI is used

We use AI tools to help draft and edit, and a person reviews, fact-checks against the sources above, and signs off before anything is published or changed. AI is a drafting aid here, not the authority — the sourcing standards and the corrections process below apply to every page regardless of how the first draft was produced. We do not publish machine-generated cost figures that a person has not checked against a cited source.

Independence

No contractor, supplier, or advertiser can pay to change a rating, a recommendation, or a price range — we don’t run ratings, sponsored placements, or affiliate links in the guides. PavingCalc earns by routing homeowner-requested jobs to local paving contractors; that referral relationship never alters the estimate you see or the advice in a guide. If we ever add advertising or affiliate links, we will disclose it here and label it on the page.

Review and updates

Every guide carries a visible “reviewed” date. We re-review cost figures and technical links at least annually, and sooner when input costs move sharply. When a figure changes, the calculator’s rates and the affected guides are updated together so the site never quotes two different numbers for the same thing.

Corrections

We fix errors promptly and in the open. If something is wrong — a price, a spec, a broken source — email admin@pavingcalc.comwith the page and the problem. Substantive corrections update the page’s reviewed date; we’ll reply to let you know what changed.

See also Methodology, About, and Disclaimer.