Concrete and asphalt driveways should be routinely sealed to extend the life of the driveway. Each material requires a different type of sealant.
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.
Sealing your driveway every year is a waste of money. It either means the sealer you're using is wearing out in less than a year or you are building up too many layers of the coating which will crack and peel off eventually.
The Drawbacks of Seal Coating
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. If your driveway is damaged, you'll need to have it repaired before sealcoating it.
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.
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.
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.
Rain and Sealcoating
Sealcoating application and drying do not pair well with rainy or even misty conditions. Rain prevents the coating from drying. Depending on how heavily the rain falls, it could also wash away the sealcoating from the surface before it has had enough time to dry.
Upon completion, we recommend to keep vehicles off for a minimum of 48 – 72 hours. You may walk on the driveway after 24 hours.
When applied under ideal conditions, you can walk on a sealcoated pavement three hours after application. But if you want to drive on it, then you have to wait a minimum of 12 hours for it to dry and cure.
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.
Sealing concrete yearly can lead to more hairline cracks, so if you have a concrete driveway, you should consider resealing it every five years. In addition, sealing an asphalt driveway too soon may trap oils within the asphalt, resulting in a driveway that is too soft or flexible.
Simply put, if water can enter the gaps between your house and concrete, it can cause problems down the line. Caulking these gaps is a proactive way to prevent not only water damage and future concrete settling, but can also help keep pests to a minimum.
As with any major roadway, asphalt is best sealed in driveways. The chances of oil damage and the hot sun take their toll in time, and a good sealant every three years or so can be a huge asset after pressure washing.
Sometimes sealcoating isn't the answer. Shallow cracks and constant patching may signal it's time to resurface your driveway. Driveway resurfacing is when you replace the top layer of asphalt with a fresh layer. Driveway resurfacing helps extend the life of your driveway for another eight to 15 years.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Best Weather for Sealcoating is Warm and Dry
If there is any rain in the forecast for the day of the scheduled sealcoating, it should be delayed until the forecast shows no rain. The best weather for sealcoating is relatively arid conditions combined with a temperature between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
Is Blacktop Sealer Good or Bad? Overall, blacktop sealer can help protect and preserve asphalt. This may, however, come at the cost of increasing build-up and potential for cracks. Once blacktop sealer has been applied, upkeep of the sealant becomes important to stop further problems from developing.
Make sure there's no forecast for rain for at least three days. You want the driveway to remain dry for at least one day before and one day after applying each layer of sealant. Opt for late spring, summer, or early fall to do this project.