Fall Asphalt Maintenance

As the fall temperatures start to set in, our window for sealcoating comes to an end. When we have colder temperatures, sealant does not cure as quickly/efficiently. When the sealant isn’t able to cure properly, you may run into issues. Asphalt sealant relies on warm temperatures and sunlight to cure the product to ensure a strong hold. That strong bond of sealant is what helps protect your asphalt, especially when paired with crack filing. Although we have run out of time for sealcoating, we can still preform other maintenance with the colder temperatures to help prepare your asphalt for the winter.

Crack Filling-

Crack filling is one of the main services that can be done in the colder temperatures of fall. With temperatures changing, your asphalt expands and contracts. When contraction happens your asphalt rubs together, thus causing cracking. If you properly fill your cracks with hot tar, it allows the asphalt to move without as much rubbing.

If you have new cracks in your asphalt, we have started performing a new service called routing. To route cracks, we use a saw to cut the cracks open to be approximately 3/4″ X 3/4″. This allows us to fill the cracks with more tar than normal, which will help with expansion and contraction. After we have routed the new cracks, we take a heat lance to all the cracks. Our heat lance is a high powered blow torch that helps blow and burn out all debris for the best hold possible. After all cracks have been heat lanced, it is time to blow off the driveway/parking lot. With our high powered blowers, we are able to clean your lot of all dust and debris. This ensures that there isn’t anything preventing your crack filler from doing it’s job.

Once your parking lot is clean, we carefully fill all cracks with Right Pointe 3405 crack filler. We use a Crafco trailer that heats up the tar to 350 degrees to ensure we get every groove in your cracks. Luckily, crack filler takes much less time to cure. After your cracks have been filled, they can be driven on within 15 minutes.

It is crucial to fill your cracks every two to three years to prevent them from growing into potholes. Potholes in your driveway/parking lot can be a liability to you or your customers.

Patching-

Potholes are a nuisance to all parties involved. They can cause damage to vehicles and turn into ice spots in the winter. It is important to take care of them when they arise before they grow too large.

The proper way to fix a pothole is to rip out and replace all of the faulting asphalt. We carefully saw cut the area so that we can remove everything we need to. Once the asphalt is removed, it’s important to regrade the existing base materials. Asphalt is only as good as the base that it sits on. If the base below is uneven, the asphalt will fault faster than it should. After regrading is done, we lay in new hot mix asphalt. We then make sure the new hot mix asphalt is evenly spread out, it is then compacted. This ensures a smooth flat surface that matches seamlessly with the existing surrounding asphalt.

This option is a more expensive fix, but it is the correct way to address the issue.

Contact us today for a free estimate to see how we can help fix your asphalt issues. Schedule your free estimate by calling us at 608-825-4264 or fill out our online contact form here.

To learn more about crack filling click here

For more information about patching click here