Asphalt is the material of choice for surfacing pavements, driveways, parking lots, and roads across the US. It has multiple physical properties, including waterproofing, flexibility, and adhesion, to help to protect the aggregate base under pavements from structural damage. According to engineering experts, the projected asphalt lifespan is 15-30 years.
However, asphalt is not without weakness, and poor maintenance can cause it to become brittle, crack, and crumber before exhausting its projected lifespan. While asphalt is not immune to weathering, sealcoating asphalt-layered surfaces like pavements have longevity-related benefits. Find out why sealcoating your pavement is a good idea below.
What is Sealcoating?
Sealcoating entails applying an impenetrable seal to an asphalt-paved surface like a driveway or pavement. The process adds a protective layer to the asphalt surface, preserving its structural integrity and that of the aggregate surface beneath the asphalt.
Also known as pavement sealing, sealcoating is a primary maintenance procedure for pavements, driveways, and parking lots. As earlier stated, asphalt has weaknesses and will ultimately succumb to wear and tear. Nonetheless, sealcoating helps to delay the onset of asphalt weathering, buying you a few more years to enjoy your pavement before you need to repave.
Asphalt sealcoating frequency varies because different environmental elements cause different levels of degradation to the asphalt. Experts recommend sealcoating your pavement every one to three years to attenuate long-term damage.
Although DIY sealcoating is a viable option, consulting a third-party asphalt sealcoating and repair company is prudent. Such sealcoating experts are better placed to advise you on how to sealcoat your pavement, the best products to use, and the ideal time of the year to conduct sealcoating for the best results.
Nonetheless, below are the primary benefits of sealcoating your pavement.
5 Benefits of Sealcoating Your Pavement
Aesthetics
According to one study on curb appeal and real estate values, curb apparel or the general attractiveness of property influences property value and affects consumer decisions to visit commercial spaces. Pavements are a vital curb appeal component, given that paved surfaces like driveways are the first thing that welcomes people to a piece of property.
New asphalt pavement has a dark, lustrous black color and improves your property’s curb appeal. On the other hand, poorly maintained pavements are a dull grey and may have cracks.
The loss of color and sheen is the first sign of pavement deterioration, and addressing it immediately curbs damage acceleration. Sealcoating your pavement helps to restore its lustrous school, improving your property’s curb appeal while preserving the paved surface.
Prevents Oxidation/Damage From the Sun’s UV Rays
Although asphalt has multiple characteristics that make it ideal for creating pavements, one of its most prominent weaknesses is low resistance to the sun’s UV rays. As stated earlier, asphalt is highly flexible, allowing it to adapt to weather changes and withstand the occasional strain from heavy vehicles without cracking.
Asphalt’s flexible nature stems from binders or oils present within its structure. The binders are also lipophilic, meaning they repel water molecules; water is among the elements that accelerate asphalt deterioration.
However, continuous exposure to the sun’s UV rays causes the said binders to deteriorate. The sun’s rays oxidize asphalt’s binders, and the oxidation reaction imparts the binders with hydrophilic properties, causing them to attract water molecules.
Second, oxidation causes asphalt to lose its flexibility or plasticity, harden, and begin to crack. Cracked asphalt surfaces expose the unprotected aggregate base beneath the pavement, allowing water molecules to percolate into the aggregate base and accelerate structural damage.
Remember, asphalt UV damage is a gradual process, and the first sign of such damage is the appearance of hairline or surface cracks. Hairline cracks are superficial and do not expose the aggregate base.
However, ignoring hairline cracks will cause them to morph into alligator cracks and full-blown potholes. Aligator cracks are a sign of aggregate base exposure, and although such cracks are inevitable, slowing them down is worthwhile.
Sealcoating is the perfect technique to tackle hairline cracks because the sealer and filler mix used in the process is fortified with sand to fill the superficial crevices in hairline cracks. In addition, the sealer forms a protective barrier over the pavement protecting the surface from UV rays and slowing down asphalt oxidation onset.
Prevents Ice/Snow Damage From Winter’s Freeze-Thaw Cycle
During winter, snow falls onto pavements, melting and turning into water molecules that freeze into ice, creating winter’s freeze-thaw cycle. Moreover, asphalt has unique heat retention properties that allow it to absorb heat from the sun and accelerate the freeze-thaw cycle, reducing snow build-up on pavements.
However, without a sealer, the thawed snow from the freeze-thaw cycle can flow into cracks on asphalt, causing damage in either of two ways. First, the water can flow to the aggregate base beneath the pavement and cause soil erosion, forming tiny sinkholes that accelerate the formation of alligator cracks.
Second, the water can freeze, forming ice within the cracks. The ice widens the cracks as it continues to freeze, causing further damage to the pavement. However, sealcoating forms a protective barrier, allowing the thawed water to flow away from the pavement without entering any cracks and accelerating vulnerable spots on the pavement.
Low Pavement Repair Costs
Pavement repair or reconstruction is not cheap by any definition. While sealcoating also has a price tag, it is nowhere near as expensive as repairing extensive damage like alligator cracks and potholes to your pavement.
Moreover, consulting a third-party sealcoating expert helps you know the cost estimate and start saving for the sealcoating project. Therefore, sealcoating saves you money on repairs and buys you time before you need to redo your pavement.
Enhanced Skid Resistance
Asphalt features sand particles that give a newly-paved surface a gritty texture, enhancing car tire traction and preventing skidding. However, weathering erodes the sand particles, reducing the pavement’s skid resistance with time.
As earlier stated, sealcoating comes forfeited with sand. Applying a new filler coat helps secure loose asphalt sand particles in place and replaces the eroded sand particles.
Conclusion
Sealcoating is a preventative process that helps to delay pavement degradation and ultimate ruin. Although pavements are not architectural marvels designed to last hundreds of years, sealcoating ensures you get two to three decades from your pavement.
Moreover, you only have to sealcoat your pavement every two to three years; most routine property maintenance projects have significantly shorter recurrent timelines. Therefore, consult an expert and establish how to go about sealcoating your pavement and avoid future headaches.
