There are many benefits to sealing the coating of an asphalt driveway or parking lot. Along with the obvious improvement in appearance that provides a clean, new surface, it protects asphalt from deterioration.
One of the benefits of a new topcoat is ease of maintenance. Most of the dirt will wash off when it rains. This keeps your driveway clean even if you don’t go out and scrub it down. During dry spells, simply hit it with a hose for the same cleaning effect.
Sealcoating also hides patches, rough areas, small cracks and blemishes in the underlying asphalt. This makes the driveway or parking lot look much better than it would otherwise. Parking lines and other traffic paintings will also stand out more. This is a great benefit for parking lots and commercial entrances.
The asphalt coating protects it from UV rays. The sun’s rays will normally increase the porosity of the asphalt and make it more susceptible to staining and other damage from things like oil and gas spills. By coating it, you help it resist this damage and extend its life.
Finally, coated asphalt is much more resistant to water than it would otherwise be. This is very important in climates with a cold winter. Uncoated asphalt can absorb water, which will then freeze and cause cracks come winter.
Repairing asphalt can be very expensive. The high price comes from the combination of labor and the cost of the material itself. Asphalt prices change with the cost of oil, so the cost of repairs increases along with the march of oil toward higher and higher price levels. It is much cheaper to resurface a driveway and prevent damage from occurring than it is to ignore the driveway and have to fix it later.
Once you’ve decided to seal your driveway or parking lot, you’ll need to determine if you want to do the work yourself or hire a service. Doing the job yourself is cheaper but requires some work. Here’s a quick overview of what it takes to do it yourself.
First of all, it will be necessary to clean the pavement. This starts with a simple sweep. You will also need to dig up any loose asphalt, gravel or other debris from the surface. Pressure washing is probably the easiest way to dislodge the particles. You will also need to cut any weeds that are growing on or through the surface.
If you used a cleaning method other than pressure washing, you will now need to scrub the surface with a driveway cleaning solution. This will allow the coating to adhere to the asphalt.
If there are cracks or potholes, you should fix them before resurfacing your driveway. Narrow cracks can be filled with semi-liquid filler, while larger ones will require a cold patch of asphalt. The cold patch is a grainy substance that is sold in cans or bags.
Potholes must be prepared prior to repair. This usually involves smoothing them out and undercutting the edges to provide a good anchor point for the fill material. The filling can be hot or cold. Most hardware store fillers will work well for the light load of a residential driveway.
Actually, sealing the asphalt is next. Mix coating according to package directions. Then apply it with a rented sprayer or use a pole-mounted trowel to spread it evenly over the surface. Be sure to choose a dry day with no rain forecast so the coating has a chance to cure properly.
Of course, there’s a much easier way to get a seal coating on your driveway or parking lot: contact a qualified service and watch them do all this work for you. When they’re done, write the check and enjoy seeing the perfect results.