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Furniture & Furnishing & Decorations House Safety
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Sealing Asphalt Driveways
Asphalt Driveway Sealer
Do asphalt driveways need to
be sealed? Maybe. I have a twelve year old asphalt
driveway that has never been sealed and it looks
just great with no cracks. The life
cycle of an asphalt driveway depends on several
factors; the quality of the base material under the
driveway, the quality and quantity of the asphalt,
how much asphalt is laid down, and the
environmental conditions.
The base type and quantity material is critical to
a long lasting asphalt driveway. When it comes time
to install the driveway most homeowners and
builders are in a cost cutting mode and
consequently the driveway installation is
compromised. A long lasting driveway needs a good
base that consists of 12 to 18 inches of compacted
crushed bank run. This prevents water from
migrating under the driveway and heaving during
cold weather. The asphalt should be put down in two
applications; first a rough or course layer that is
two inches thick and a final fine layer of fine
asphalt about one and a half inches thick. Each
layer should be thoroughly rolled with a heavy
roller.
It will take approximately three days before the
new asphalt driveway can be driven on and
approximately 30 to 90 days before it is cured
hard, depending on the climate conditions.
Unfortunately many asphalt driveway contractors do
the absolute minimum. They simply put down a thin
coat of stone dust or blue stone on top of a coarse
gravel base and lay one coat of asphalt that is
rolled with a light roller. These types of
driveways will not last very long and will require
frequent if not annual sealing just to make them
look good.
A properly installed asphalt driveway does not
require frequent or annual sealing. Depending on
usage and environmental conditions it may require
sealing to fill in surface cracks. Once the
driveway starts to weather and deteriorate applying
an asphalt sealer is important to increase the
length of life of the driveway.
Asphalt used in driveway and road construction,
commonly referred to as asphalt concrete is a
petroleum base flexible material that consists of
aggregates and other additives such as ground
tires. It must be laid while it is still warm to
release the moisture. Moisture in the mix will
cause voids that will soon show up as small holes
in the surface. Often small driveway contractors
lay cool or cold asphalt that will not properly
bind. This is very common in cold climates where
pot holes are filled with cold asphalt that quickly
erodes away because it is too cold to bond to the
surface material.
The bigger issue for asphalt driveways is cracks
that form on the surface. The cracks allow water to
penetrate into the base and soften the soil under
the base. When this occurs the weight of the
traffic going over this soft area can induce crack
in more places.
If you are in to asphalt driveway sealing simply
because you think it is one of the chores that’s
needed to done, don’t ever seal a new asphalted
driveway. New asphalt needs several months if not a
year to harden to full strength. Sealing it too
early will not allow it to cure.
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