Prevent Damages On Pavements By Applying Asphalt Sealcoating Products

By Helga Stokes


Part of the continuous maintenance plan for your driveways and parking lots is sealcoating. Newly constructed and existing asphaltic pavements need to be covered with a membrane layer of weatherproof material. This layer prevents the blacktop from damages caused by environmental and man-made elements like sunlight and snow. An asphalt sealcoating contractor can help you preserve your pavements by installing a sealcoat on the blacktop.

When elements like snow and sunlight act on asphalt material, they cause the blacktop to disintegrate fast. Ultraviolet rays harden the asphaltic material making it fragile and easy to break. A sealcoat provides a shielding cover, which prevents the ultraviolet rays from directly heating the surface of pavements. This ensures that the pavement material does not crack easily.

Once pavements are laid down, they undergo continuous oxidation process. This oxidation occurs till the end of the life of pavements. However, in normal circumstance, the oxidation of asphalt material takes place slow. But when ultraviolet rays heat the blacktop, they accelerate the rate at which oxidation takes place. The blacktop begins to change its color fast. With time, you will notice that your paving material is changing from its original black color to gray.

When you sealcoat the surface, you ensure that it does not crack easily. Water causes the aggregate materials to become loose meaning that it may not support the load that turns over the roads. If the cracks are not repaired, you may spend a lot of money in road maintenance. The cracks can cause water to collect at the base where it freezes and melts down leaving voids. Potholes are likely to occur if cracks are not repaired in advance.

One thing with sealcoats is that they cannot be used to correct cracking defects. Therefore, if your pavements have formed cracks, those defects should first be repaired before the coating is applied. A sealcoat only acts as a preservation procedure and does not cure the problems occurring beneath pavements. If you apply a sealcoat on a cracked asphaltic material, it only masks the defects and soon the problems will continue to occur.

One way in which you can enhance the image of your business is by ensuring that parking lots, driveways, walkways and other landscape features are kept in good condition. Customers are enticed by small things like nicely looking parking lot areas and driveways. With properly maintained roads, you can increase confidence among the customers.

You need to apply sealcoats in the right time. You have to do proper timing as to when the sealcoats are applied otherwise you may not get the best results. A new pavement will need about 6 to 12 months to cure properly. This is the duration you need to allow the pavements to cure before you apply your first sealcoat. Following your first coating, you also need to ensure that other successive coats are applied after a period of 3 to 5 years.

A properly maintained pavement can last for many years. When you use asphalt sealcoating products to cover the blacktop surface, you enhance the life expectancy of parking lots and driveways. Moreover, you also spend less on maintenance of roads. Pavements that are not sealcoated often are easily damaged by the environmental and man-made elements meaning that you incur hefty expenses in repairing the structures.




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