Built by an Estimator
Built by an Estimator.
Not a Software Company.
PAVR is the product of real-world asphalt estimating tool development since 2008, upgraded every year on real jobs.
Why PAVR Exists
Spreadsheets Get the Area Right. They Miss the Margin.
PAVR was built because good contractors keep losing money on estimates that skip critical assumptions.
- Trucking Costs Nobody Calculates
Trip count, cycle time, and haul assumptions get guessed instead of calculated. The difference comes out of your margin.
- Seasonal Derates That Hit After the Quote
Road bans reduce truck payloads in spring. Spreadsheets don't adjust. You do, by eating the cost.
- Compaction Waste That's Never Factored In
Roll-down factors, density, and yield variances change every job. Skipping them means your tonnage estimate is wrong before you start.
- No Margin Check Before the Quote Leaves
By the time you realize the estimate was short, you're already on the job. PAVR flags the risk before the quote goes out.
The Story
Engineer. Estimator. Project Manager.
Jeff built PAVR to solve the problems he lived.
I'm Jeff Salve, and PAVR exists because I got tired of watching good contractors lose money on estimates that missed critical assumptions.
I didn't start in software. I started in engineering. I earned my Electronic Engineering diploma, spent 10 years at Nortel Networks in production and test engineering, then 8 years as an IT Manager responsible for 13 locations nationwide. I hold a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification, the gold standard for enterprise IT infrastructure. I think in systems, and I build tools that work.
Then I found asphalt.
My first paving job was at A&B Paving. I didn't walk in as a manager. I started as a laborer, shoveling on the crew. I wanted to learn the trade from the job site up, and that's exactly what I did. I moved from shoveling to running skid steers, then rollers, then pavers, graders, and excavators. I learned how asphalt actually goes down, not from a textbook, but from doing it.
It didn't take long before the owner noticed. He pulled me into estimating and project management. He showed me how he priced jobs by hand: paper, a calculator, and decades of instinct. Then he looked at me and said, "You are smart. What do you think?"
I thought I could build a system. That same week, I built an Excel estimating tool. It wasn't fancy, but it was structured, repeatable, and it caught things the hand method missed. I've upgraded that tool every single year since 2008. It's been used on thousands of real asphalt jobs.
Over those years, I learned which assumptions cost contractors the most when they're skipped. Truck trip counts. Cycle times. Haul distances nobody actually calculates. Payload derates in spring when road bans hit. Compaction roll-down and tonnage waste that changes every job. These aren't nice-to-haves. They're the difference between making money and giving it away.
PAVR is the platform I built to put all of those lessons into every estimate, automatically. Profit Risk Alerts. Margin Breakdown. Season-aware trucking logic. A Protected Estimate you can send with confidence.
I built PAVR for estimators like me, the ones who know that getting the area right is the easy part. The hard part is making sure everything else adds up before the quote leaves the office.
Where It Started
A&B Paving: Where It All Started
My first day in asphalt was a shovel and a crew truck. I started at A&B Paving doing the work: shoveling, raking, running equipment. Skid steers, rollers, pavers, graders, excavators. I learned the trade from the ground up.
The owner saw something in me and moved me into estimating. One day he showed me his hand estimating method and said, "You are smart. What do you think?"
What I thought was: I can build a system for this. That week, I built my first Excel estimating tool. I've upgraded it every year since 2008. Thousands of real jobs. Every upgrade came from a mistake I made, a margin I missed, or an assumption I watched someone else skip.
PAVR is that estimator, rebuilt as a platform with every year of hard-won logic built in.
Built for Estimators Who Care About Margin
Look Prepared. Price Confidently. Protect Your Margin.
PAVR helps foremen and estimators show up with clean numbers and gives owners and operations the visibility to standardize the team.
Foremen: show up preparedGet quantities, tonnage, and truck counts without rebuilding spreadsheets. Move faster in the field with numbers you can stand behind.
Estimators: bring cleaner numbersFull Estimate Engine with trucking logic, compaction yield, and seasonal derates. Price confidently and produce a scope-protected quote PDF in minutes.
Trucking logic built inTrip count, cycle time, truck count, and haul assumptions calculated per job, not guessed.
Season-aware hauling includedRoad bans and frost law payload derates factored before you quote, not after you lose the margin.
Profit Risk Alerts before the quote leavesFlag thin coverage, long hauls, undersized crews, and seasonal spikes in time to fix them.
Owner/Executive: standardize the teamFull KPI and profit visibility. Consistent estimates across every estimator using the same Job Assumptions and Estimate Engine.
Tap to Verify
See the Experience Behind the Estimate Engine
Built by an estimator/PM with real-world asphalt estimating experience since 2008. These aren't stock credentials. They're from Jeff's actual career in engineering, IT, and asphalt paving.
These images are included as historical proof of roles and credentials that shaped the work behind AsphaltU and PAVR. For current inquiries, please use the contact options on this site.
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FAQ
Questions From Contractors
Is PAVR just Jeff's spreadsheet turned into a website?
It started there, but PAVR is a complete platform rebuild with modern infrastructure, team support, and capabilities the spreadsheet couldn't offer. The estimating logic is the same proven math, refined since 2008. The platform is new.
Do I have to estimate the way Jeff does?
No. PAVR provides the structure and defaults, but every Job Assumption is adjustable. Risk Adjustments let you tune the estimate to match your operation, your suppliers, and your market.
How does Jeff's experience translate into the product?
Every formula, default, and Profit Risk Alert in PAVR comes from real estimating decisions: trucking logic Jeff had to learn the expensive way, compaction factors from real jobs, seasonal derates from actually estimating in northern climates. It's not theory.
Will PAVR work for my type of paving work?
PAVR is built for asphalt paving: residential, municipal, and commercial. If you price asphalt jobs and care about margin, the Estimate Engine is designed for your work.
I don't need all the features. Can I still use PAVR?
Yes. Start with the Job Assumptions you care about. The Estimate Engine works whether you use every field or just the essentials. Profit Risk Alerts will flag what you might be missing.
How is this different from other estimating software?
PAVR models the assumptions that other tools skip entirely: trucking logic, seasonal derates, compaction yield. Most estimating tools handle area and tonnage. PAVR handles the margin.