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Proper Maintenance for Your Asphalt Pavement

In most homes, asphalt is the most commonly used paving material because of its tough characteristics. It is a water resistant and flexible which makes it a kind of material that is easy to work with. It is a great material when you consider all of its features. Just like any materials though, it will decay overtime. That is why you need to treat it with care. If you fail to maintain you asphalt, it would have a shorten lifespan and you don’t want because asphalts are expensive. As a homeowner, you should at least have some basic maintenance knowledge for asphalt to ensure it will serve you well for years to come.

Unfortunately, there aren’t that much available information about asphalt maintenance. Asphalt pavement maintenance isn’t as popular as most home maintenance guides which is why you rarely get to see one. This article aims to give you some basic knowledge that you can use to extend the life of your asphalt. If you follow these steps, you can certainly extend the lifespan of your asphalt. If you are meticulous enough, you can even double the expected duration of your whole asphalt pavement.

Here are some basic tips you can use to properly maintain your asphalt pavement

Pavement Maintenance

If you want to keep the appeal of your asphalt, you should do frequent cleaning. A thorough cleaning every month or so is enough to dislodge the debris that have accumulated in the asphalt. You can also check for hairline cracks every couple of months to see the condition of the pavement. If you see some small cracks, you can easily fix them before they grow in size. If you have some experience doing home repairs, you can try some sealcoat application for your asphalt. Note that many would recommend that you hire professionals and rightfully so. It is a somewhat complicated and laborious task that better be done by the hands of professionals.

Seal Coating

Sealcoat is a type of emulsion coat that is applied on the top of the asphalt pavement. Its main function is to provide a protective layer against moisture and oil elements. Some fluids can seep through the asphalt, making it weak overtime. Sealcoat can protect from that. You can choose from many kinds of sealcoat depending on your asphalt material. If you want to do the sealcoating on your own, you can buy sealcoat paint on most hardware store.

Applying the sealcoat the right way

If your pavement is old and is already showing lots of cracks and damage, you need to check in with a professional to see if a sealcoat can fix that. Most professionals would not suggest sealcoat application on obviously old pavements. Instead, they would suggest replacing the whole thing to ensure solid integrity and quality. There are times where salvaging the asphalt by using sealcoat won’t do much. Sealcoat application is best done on new asphalt before the interior of the asphalt has been exposed to the harmful elements outside. If the asphalt has already damage the interior of the asphalt, even a generous sealcoat application can’t save it.