Is Patch and Seal Worth It, or Should I Pave My Asphalt Driveway?

Maintaining your driveway is important for keeping the property’s integrity and value up. Thus, whether you are a home or business owner, it should be important to you.

It may not always be super easy to tell if you can patch and seal a driveway blemish or if the driveway needs a full replacement. Here’s some information to help you select the best step for your situation. 

Sealing is acceptable for small cracks.

Many situations are acceptable for using a sealant. Small cracks will typically respond well to the product, and a small crack is usually less than 1/4 inch in width. Thus, you can feel confident about choosing to seal an area that fits into that small size range. 

Many cracks can fit into this realm of repair. Examples of such cracks are block, longitudinal, and reflection cracks. Using a rubberized sealant for a repair project might be very successful on either one of these types of cracks. 

Large cracks may need specialized sealant. 

Larger cracks can also be sealed, but these will require a special kind of sealant. The type of product you will need for a large asphalt crack is called mastic. It can handle cracks wider than one inch and deeper than two inches.

This material will be your best choice if you need to fill depressions or fatigue cracks. An example of such a depression is an indentation you might get from a jacked-up car or motorcycle kickstand on a hot day. Mastic can also work well in potholes, wide cracks, and small voids.  

Severe and alligator-type cracks usually can’t be sealed.

Some cracks and situations can’t be resolved easily with rubber or mastic. You will need to consider repaving your asphalt driveway if you come across these obstacles. One such situation is if the crack is super large or severe.

Extensive fatigue cracks, for example, will need to be completely dug out and redone for a long-lasting result. You can use a sealant to coat it, but the result will only be temporary. 

Cracks that are too wide for mastic repairs will also result in the need to redo the asphalt. Trying to repair a crack that’s too big for the solution might be a waste of time and funds. You could end up with an unsightly scene that looks worse than the crack in the asphalt.

You could also have a current crack spread out worse after you attempt to repair a nearby blemish. It’s best to do a project out of redoing the asphalt if you experience one of these major problems. Repaving the entire driveway will ensure that you end up with a uniform appearance that will delight your customers or give your family a sense of pride. 

Fortunately, you can contact an asphalt specialist for assistance with your cracked or weathered asphalt driveway. A specialist will perform an assessment during a home or office visit and discuss with you the best solutions for maintaining and repairing a asphalt driveway. 

Categorised in: Paving Contractor