When sealcoating is used as part of a preventative maintenance program, it can extend the life of your driveway by up to 20 years on average.
Kindler said sealing helps prolong the life of a driveway and should be a regular part of home maintenance. “If you seal-coat a driveway or a highway, the surface will last longer,” said Kindler, who teaches a pavement class at Ohio State University. “I would recommend doing it about every three years on a driveway.”
The Drawbacks of Seal Coating
There are some drawbacks to sealcoating, however. One is that it can be messy and difficult to apply evenly. It's also important to note that sealants will not repair significant damage to your driveway; they will only protect it from further damage.
Not sealing it will only make it more susceptible to damage from the elements and other things. Sealcoating can effectively protect your driveway from rain, hail, snow or oil. It will give you a water-resistant surface, protecting you from the elements. Your driveway is also protected from the sun's damaging UV rays.
Not sealing your driveway leads to bitumen loss which leads to water penetrating down to the base causing it to fail which in turn causes potholes and cracks. Once the cracking and pothole cycle begins it's very difficult or impossible to stop.
Sealcoating not only extends the life of your asphalt pavement, but it's also an effective way to save money. Unprotected asphalt leads to cracks and potholes which will cost you more in repairs.
Industry standards recommend that you wait one year or go through one winter before you seal coat a new driveway. How often should I seal coat my driveway? Industry standards recommend every two years; allowing the sealer to wear away before you reseal the driveway.
Sealcoating is not designed to be an asphalt crack filler, it is made for sealing the surface and protecting it from the elements such as UV light, salts and oils. It is not flexible enough to fill a crack without re-cracking and it does not have adhesion quality's that Asphalt Crack Filler has.
But if you want to drive on it, then you have to wait a minimum of 12 hours for it to dry and cure. If it's overcast or if rain is in the forecast, then the drying and curing process will definitely take much longer. For optimum results, we recommend that you use your driveway 48 to 72 hours after sealcoat was applied.
Seal coating allows for a smoother, crack-free driveway, and because smoother pavements extend pavement life by as much as 10% to 25%, you won't have to worry about replacement or repairs for a much longer period of time.
It also prevents water from turning hairline cracks into bigger ones. The aggregate in the mix enhances traction, acts as a wear layer, and fills small cracks. Also, sealcoating gives the driveway a uniform black color.”
Sealers, particularly solvent-based sealers, will darken concrete. If unevenly applied, it will create light areas where there is less sealer, and darker areas where there's more. If applied by sprayer, it may appear like “stripes”.
Rain can wash away all of the hard work that you put into your driveway. The sealer will be washed away by the rain if you don't wait long enough for it to dry.
The best temperature range for applying sealcoat is between 55 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Ideal temperatures are those that start around 70 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning and increase throughout the afternoon.
You can apply sealer at any time of day as long as the pavement temperature does not fall past 40 degrees at night. You can even apply the sealcoat during the nighttime. Many people choose to start their sealcoat project around 10 AM as the sun's temperatures begin to rise, and the humidity is not too oppressive.
The first coat of the first time the asphalt is sealed – a squeegee is very effective in getting sealer in all the nooks and crannies of unsealed asphalt – after that coat, sealer ought to be spray applied for maximum coverage and thickness.
Experts recommend that you wait at least three months – weather permitting. It is not unusual to wait up to six to nine months before sealing your asphalt parking lot, especially if you installed it in the fall. A warm summer day, towards the evening, is the best weather to apply a seal coat.
You'll get the best results if you take the time to repair cracks in the surface of the driveway before applying a final coat of sealant. For cracks less than 1/2 inch, use a bottle of crack filler.
Filling Cracks
As we noted above, filling in cracks costs between $1 and $3 per linear foot. However, a professional will charge a minimum service fee to diagnose and repair asphalt driveways. And so, you'll pay an average of $100 to $400 for crack repair on your whole driveway, depending on the severity.
Sealcoating involves spraying a coal-tar pitch emulsion over existing asphalt, primarily for cosmetic reasons. It does almost nothing to improve the integrity of the asphalt, wears off in a year or two, and creates fine particulates that are tracked into your home or business, to become airborne and embed in the lungs.
How many coats of sealer should be applied? Low Traffic such as a typical home driveway, 1 coat is sufficient. Moderate Traffic on a parking lot, 2 coats with a third coat on the entrance and exits. Heavy Traffic 2 coats with a third coat on all travel lanes and roadways.
Applying two coats of any sealer will dry and create a better finish much better than one thick coat. These sealers are water based, and they cure and form a film primarily during the evaporation of water from the coating. A thin coat will evaporate much faster and create a single uniform layer.