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AsphaltPavingIndex

Resurface or replace

The question is settled by what the base is doing, not by how bad the surface looks. Tick what is actually happening and this applies an Ontario contractor's published rules, then prices all three routes over the same lot.

Last updated: By The Pavement Desk

$3.75–$8.25

per sq ft to mill and overlay, before tax

$5–$11

per sq ft for a full-depth rebuild, before tax

Size of the surface
What the surface is actually doing
Before the overlay goes down

Rebuild the failed part, resurface the rest

$180,800 to $397,760

The failure is confined to part of the surface, so neither answer is right on its own. Rebuild the failed sections full depth and mill and overlay everything else.

Break out and cart away
$8,000–$16,000
Excavate and rebuild the sub-base
$8,000–$24,000
New asphalt
$24,000–$48,000
Cold milling the old surface
$24,000–$40,000
Asphalt overlay
$96,000–$224,000
Ontario HST at 13%
$20,800–$45,760
Mill and overlay everything, for comparison
$169,500–$372,900
Full-depth rebuild of everything
$226,000–$497,200
Mixed, rebuilding 8,000 of 40,000 sq ft
$180,800–$397,760

Overlay rate from The Paving Company (Toronto and GTA paving contractor)

Milling rate from Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance Inc. (Toronto and the GTA, established 1993)

Rebuild rates from Eastern Ontario Paving (Ontario asphalt paving contractor) and Country Contracting (Haliburton Highlands, Ontario)

The four conditions above are Parkdale Paving’s published rules for when full paving is typically necessary, not this site’s.

Why the base decides it and the surface does not

A lot can look rough and sit on a perfectly sound base, and another can look passable while the structure under it is finished. That is the whole difficulty, and it is why a decision made by walking out and looking at the surface is usually the expensive one.

Parkdale Paving, an Ontario contractor, states the distinction plainly: resurfacing “applies a new layer of asphalt over an existing surface that is still structurally sound”, while full paving “involves removing the existing surface and installing a new base and asphalt layer” and “is a structural solution used when the foundation is failing”. It publishes four conditions under which full paving is typically necessary, and those four are the four checkboxes above. Nothing here weights or scores them, because the source does not: it says any of them makes full paving necessary, and this tool follows that.

Milling is worth understanding as a separate decision from the overlay it precedes. Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance, in Toronto since 1993, gives two reasons for it. The first is elevation: grinding the old surface off “creates a ideal surface to overlay an existing parking lot, without raising the elevation at curbs and sidewalks”. Every overlay laid straight over the old one raises the level, and at drains, thresholds and curb faces there is a finite amount of room before water stops going where it used to. The second is diagnosis: it calls milling a process for cases where the pavement has severe internal as well as external damage, which is another way of saying that taking the top off is how you find out what you are actually dealing with.

Where the lot has failed in patches rather than everywhere, neither answer is right alone, and the mixed route is often the cheapest defensible one on a large property. Sure-Seal names area repairs, cold seam failures and trenches as good candidates for milling and paving repair. The practical thing to insist on is that the contractor marks the failed areas on a plan and prices them by measured square footage, because that is exactly the line a vague bid leaves open.

One well-written source was read and deliberately not used. Empire Parking Lot Services publishes a structural decision matrix for this question that is better organised than anything Canadian I could find, and its dollar figures and lifespans are Southern Californian. US dollars in a market with no freeze-thaw cycle do not belong on a page a GTA property manager is pricing a tender from, so none of its numbers appear here. It is listed in the sources below, marked as examined and not used.

What a rebuild costs line by line, including the municipal unit rates the City of Toronto pays for its own work, is in the Toronto asphalt resurfacing cost guide, and the narrower question of rebuilding against patching is covered in full-depth replacement vs asphalt patching.

Sources, including the one that was not used

Canadian dollars and Canadian contractors, August 2026. The decision rules are quoted from an Ontario contractor rather than composed here, and the source is named on the tool itself as well as in this list.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know whether to resurface or replace?

By what the base is doing, not by how the surface looks. Parkdale Paving, an Ontario contractor, states that full paving is typically necessary when the base has shifted or sunk, when large cracks form interconnected patterns, when drainage causes pooling or erosion, or when previous repairs have repeatedly failed. Resurfacing is the right call when the base is stable, cracks are minor and not widespread, and the surface is worn but structurally intact. Tick the conditions above and this page applies those rules and prices both routes.

What does asphalt resurfacing cost?

The Paving Company, in Toronto and the GTA, publishes $3 to $7 per square foot for the overlay process itself, and $1,500 to $50,000 for a whole overlay project depending on size. If the surface has to be milled first, Sure-Seal Pavement Maintenance puts cold milling at $0.75 to $1.25 per square foot on top. Add 13% HST to both. On a 40,000 square foot lot, milling plus overlay is roughly $150,000 to $330,000 before tax.

Why would I mill before overlaying instead of just paving over?

Two reasons, and Sure-Seal states both. The first is elevation: grinding the old surface off creates a surface to overlay without raising the level at curbs and sidewalks, which otherwise wrecks drainage and door clearances. The second is diagnosis: milling is for cases where the pavement has severe internal as well as external damage, and taking the top off is how you find out what is underneath before committing to a new surface.

How much more does a full replacement cost?

Roughly a third to a half more per square foot, because it is three line items instead of two. Breaking out and carting away the existing surface is $1 to $2 per square foot, rebuilding the sub-base is $1 to $3, and the new asphalt is $3 to $6 commercial or $3 to $7 residential. Together that is $5 to $11 per square foot against $3.75 to $8.25 for milling and overlay. The City of Toronto's own estimate prices full-depth removal of pavement and road base at $40.80 per square metre, which is a useful municipal benchmark for the removal half.

What if only part of the lot has failed?

Then price the mixed approach, which this tool does as its own option. The failed sections are rebuilt full depth and everything else is milled and overlaid. Sure-Seal names area repairs, cold seam failures and trenches as good candidates for exactly this. On a large lot it is frequently the cheapest defensible answer, and it is the one a bid is most likely to leave vague, so make the contractor mark the failed areas on a plan and price them by measured square footage.

Can I overlay a lot that has already been overlaid once?

Ask hard questions first. Parkdale Paving lists 'previous repairs have repeatedly failed' among the conditions that make full paving necessary, and an overlay that is breaking down is the clearest version of that. An overlay adds no structural strength; a second one over a failing first one adds no more. Elevation is the other constraint: each overlay raises the surface, and at curbs, thresholds and drains there is only so much room before the water stops going where it used to.

Get the base assessed before you price anything

Every number on this page depends on one input a calculator cannot see: whether the structure under the surface is still carrying load. AsphaltPavingIndex tracks 86 asphalt repair contractors across the Greater Toronto Area. Ask for a site assessment that says in writing what the base is doing, and ask whether a core sample was taken or the conclusion was reached by looking.

See all 86 ranked asphalt repair contractors