Updated August 2026
How Much Does Asphalt Paving Cost in Nanaimo?
Nanaimo Paving prices every job by the square foot, and the table below carries the ranges we quote in Nanaimo, Lantzville and Cedar. New hot-mix asphalt sits at $5.00 to $9.50 a square foot and sealcoating at $0.35 to $0.75. What your driveway lands at depends on its size, the ground under it, and what has to come out first.
Updated August 2026
Hot-mix asphalt goes down hot and gets compacted before it cools, over a base that has been built and compacted underneath it.
For what the top line of the table below actually buys you, see new asphalt driveways.
| Service | Price range (CAD) | Typical 2-car driveway (400–600 sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| New hot-mix asphalt | $5.00 – $9.50 / sq ft | $2,000 – $5,700 |
| Asphalt overlay / resurface | $3.50 – $6.00 / sq ft | $1,400 – $3,600 |
| Prep & base work | $1.50 – $3.50 / sq ft | $600 – $2,100 |
| Gravel-to-asphalt conversion | $6.50 – $12.00 / sq ft | $2,600 – $7,200 |
| Patch & repair work | $300 – $1,200 (a minimum call-out applies) | $300 – $1,200 |
| Sealcoating | $0.35 – $0.75 / sq ft | $200 – $450 |
These are the ranges we quote in Nanaimo in 2026. The right-hand column applies to a two-car driveway of 400 to 600 square feet; a larger or smaller area moves with the per-square-foot rate.
What moves the price most?
Area comes first. Everything in the left-hand column above is a rate per square foot, so the size of the driveway sets the bulk of your price before anything else is counted.
Why prep and base work has its own line
Prep and base work is $1.50 to $3.50 a square foot and it is not a separate job you can order — it is part of whatever you are having done. On a driveway where the old surface comes out and the ground has never carried a proper base, that line runs at the top of its range. Where a sound surface is simply being covered, there is very little of it.
What else changes your price?
Access changes it: a narrow lane, a tight turn or a long walk from the road all change how we stage the trucks. Drainage changes it, because shaping a driveway to shed water is work. Removal changes it, because an old slab or a load of gravel has to go somewhere.
Permit fees on top
Inside the City of Nanaimo an access permit is $25, plus bonding, and the bonding amount is determined at time of application. In the District of Lantzville the driveway access permit fee is $200.00. Those are the authorities' own fees and they sit on top of the paving price.
Commercial and strata work
Shops, light industrial yards, mixed-use lots and strata common property are all quoted from the second table below. Surface work is priced by the square foot and crack sealing by the linear foot, and every line carries a minimum of its own. What each buyer usually asks for sits on its own page: strata common property and commercial lots.
| Service | Commercial / strata price | Minimum call-out / base charge | What the rate covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commercial overlay (1.5"–2") | $2.50 – $5.00 / sq ft | $2,500 – $5,000 | A 1.5" to 2" structural overlay on existing, structurally sound asphalt. Surface prep, edge milling, tack coat, transition grinding. |
| Full rip-out and re-pave | $4.50 – $8.00 / sq ft | $5,000+ | Where base failure, severe alligator cracking or a drainage redesign requires deep excavation and a full rebuild. Full removal, base compaction, soil testing and disposal. |
| Commercial sealcoating | $0.20 – $0.50 / sq ft | $600 – $1,200 | The lower rate applies to open parking lots and multi-phase strata roads sprayed with mechanical equipment. Power scrubbing, oil spot priming, spray application. |
| Hot-mix patching (cut and patch) | $4.50 – $9.50 / sq ft | $800 – $1,500 | Saw-cut removal and hot-mix patching; the rate depends on how much localised repair there is across the site. Saw-cutting the perimeter, sub-base repairs, 3" hot-mix. |
| Hot rubber crack sealing | $1.25 – $2.50 / linear ft | $500 – $800 | Compressed-air cleanout, hot-pour rubberised compound. |
Line painting is priced on its own: $30 to $60 a stall for re-striping, and $0.35 to $0.75 a linear foot for road markings and directional arrows.
What moves a commercial number
Area is not the whole of it. Getting a machine and a crew to site matters: smaller or remote island communities carry an extra $500 to $2,000 or more in haulage and mobilisation. How a site has to be worked matters as well, and the strata and commercial pages set out what that means for each.
How you get an actual number
Send us the address and a photo of the driveway. We reply to your quote request within 24 hours and book a time to come out. Then we measure it, look at the ground and the access, and put one written price together after that visit.
For the work behind these numbers, see new asphalt driveways and resurfacing an existing driveway. Nanaimo Paving paves in Nanaimo and Cedar.
We quote these ranges right across the Regional District of Nanaimo, including Lantzville, Nanoose Bay, Departure Bay and Cassidy.
For a number on your own driveway rather than a range, request a free quote.
Want a price on paving in Nanaimo?
We come out and measure the driveway, then put one price in writing.