Maintain your Investment.
Sealcoating
Should I sealcoat new asphalt?
Yes, but newly installed asphalt pavements need sufficient cure time to allow the new oils to oxidize and dissipate. We recommend at least 90 days of cure time before a sealcoating. If adequate cure time is not provided, the oxidizings oils cause the sealcoat product to dis-bond from the asphalt surface. A good test to conduct to ensure cure time is completed is to preform a “Water Shed Test”. Pour a gallon of water out across the pavement surface. If the water spreads evenly without beading up you are ready to sealcoat.
Why does sealer peel and/or wear rapidly?
Peeling occurs when the sealer does NOT bond to that asphalt surface due to oil/fuel spots or other contaminants like dirt, grease, etc. Heavy tree cover can contribute to sealer peeling due to inadequate sunlight and not allowing for proper cure time. Sealing old parking with oxidation occurring; the aggregate can be raised higher than the binder (black sticky component of asphalt) and contribute to rapid wear of the sealcoat product. This occurrence doesn't necessarily mean it has failed, if the sealer is still holding to the asphalt binder it is still providing a protective layer although the aggregate (rocks) are worn off.
Why does the sealer need sand?
Sand is added for traction, skid resistance and also to provide a uniform texture of the finish surface. It is an important ingredient to a quality sealcoat product. It acts as an aggregate would in asphalt and provides a strong component allowing for a progressive wear process to occur to the sealer. Some sealcoat product is sold to an applicator within this important sand ingredient added. This is the responsibility of the contractor to add that right amount of sand for the application. For normal application, 2-3lbs of sand per gallon is manufacture recommended. This is a great question to ask your sealcoat contractor that is working on your property.
How often should I seal my asphalt?
Sealcoating your asphalt surfaces in regular cycles greatly increases the strength and longevity of your investment. A good sealcoat product that is applied on a well cleaned asphalt surface should last 2-3 years with average traffic flow. A good seal coat application cycle is every 3-5 years. If you sealcoat every year or every other year it can become a problem of too much sealer. As a result the sealer will build up one layer on top of another creating a surface with a “potato chip” appearance. When a good sealer product is applied it is better to allow it to wear effectively and evenly before each application.
How soon can I drive on new sealcoat?
The manufacturer recommends 24-48 hours of dry time. In most cases you can walk on new sealer much sooner but we strongly recommend not driving on it for 36 hours if at all possible. The best conditions for sealcoating is when it is low humidity and higher temperature, this allows the sealer to dry in a few hours. Sealcoat also needs adequate time to cure. The curing process is the evaporation of all the liquids from the sealer. When new sealcoat is driven on excessively before the adequate cure time is completed is can cause marks from turning tires and tracking marks from heavier vehicles. During the first 36 hours 95% of the curing will be completed and normal traffic flow will not damage your new sealcoat.
How to know if your sealcoat contractor is applying quality product.
Most sealcoat manufacturers produce a sealcoat concentrate (undiluted) product that requires water and sand to be added before application. Water is added to provide proper fluidity to the sealer. This allows for the right flow and leveling characteristics to evenly spread the sealer of the asphalt surface. The typical mix design is as follows : water dilution is 30% (adding 30 gallons for every 100 gallons of concentrate). Sand is added at 3 pounds per gallon (300 gallons per 100 gallons of concentrate). Additives can be added for faster drying time and specific mix designs.
This graph shows the long-term benefit of implementing a maintenance plan cycle versus having an unmaintained asphalt surface.
Economical Maintenance Plans
Asphalt Repair
The problem.
Asphalt deterioration is part of life and occurs as a result of numerous reasons. The most common is a result of not implementing preventative maintenance. Asphalt repair cost can skyrocket if issues are not addressed at an early stage (as the graph shows on the home page). The biggest problem can be not addressing the actual asphalt problem sooner. Our mission is to provide you the understanding of what the problem is and how to effectively address it while building a maintenance plan to help protect your investment.
The solution.
Asphalt maintenance and repair solutions are determined based off of several indicators. We want to provide the best solutions for your asphalt surfaces and well as the best fit for your budget. We understand budget restraints can create issues for maintenance plans and we want to help assessing the right solution to fit both needs.