Asphalt Seal

[Creamer]

Read thru a couple of threads here and thought i would still ask the question with photos. Looking for suggestions on what to do with my asphalt driveway. The top looks very rough but it has very few real cracks and is about 40 years old. I was wondering if I should seal it, top coat it, or other thoughts!

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[rsewill]

Sounds and looks like a sealer will do what you need.

 

[vtsnowedin]

You have certainly got your monies worth out of that forty year old paving job. As it is not rutted or out of shape sealing it will help a lot and at current oil and asphalt prices a one inch overlay will run you about $6.00 per square yard. Depends on how much cash you have sitting in the bank of course. If you have it sealed be sure to fix any pot holes with hot mix first then the sealer will have a smooth surface and help seal in the repairs.

 

[Egon]

Maybe consider a commercial sealer/tack coat material sprayed on hot and covered with a chip coat.

Essentially the same as a seal coat applied to highways. If cost is acceptable do it again in about three to four years.

 

[tlbuser]

Maybe consider a commercial sealer/tack coat material sprayed on hot and covered with a chip coat.

Essentially the same as a seal coat applied to highways. If cost is acceptable do it again in about three to four years.

I love the look that can be produced by that method, unfortunately no one in our area does it anymore. The big demand is for blacktop

 

[Mark Page]

If you're driveway is not too long buy the brand that has sand mixed into it. The sand will help fill any cracks or voids that will hold water and freeze. I used this product on my parents drive about 12 years ago and it still looks great. Bought it at Depot.

Although it's hard work I always enjoyed seeing the results.

 

[Western]

Looks like it has been sealed in the not to distant past. I think it depends on all the circumstances your dealing with. Budget, use (home/business), do you want to do it or have it professionally done? (estimates are usually free and you can get valuable information when someone is looking at it.)

I wouldn't consider re-toping, or "over lay", without fixing the "gatoring" visible in the 1st photo. That means the base has failed. Usually in time, an over lay will mirror cracks from the surface below. Add water and vehicles or other weight and you get constant hydraulic action under the asphalt that leads to deterioration. Base gets soft, the asphalt "gators" (lots of small radial cracks)

Sealcoat is not a crack filler, might work for a short time, but it isn't designed to seal cracks. There are crack sealers you put down first after cleaning out the cracks, preferably using compressed air.

The cleaner the surface is, the better the adhesion. For oil spots you can clean off what you can and use a primer available just for that.

Adding sand to the mix is what we do, most dont to save $$ and wear and tear on their pumps, but sand adds longevity and strength, combined with the emulsion and the binders. Sand also helps the longevity by giving a "second" surface for vehicle traffic. This leaves a texture like 80 grit sandpaper.

If you have time, you can visit a sealcoat supplier and they will give you tons of info, if you want to do it the best way possible. "Gem seal" and "Sealmaster" are 2 large company's. I have used both. I believe in your neck of the woods "coal tar emulsion" is popular and a strong product.

There is a Sealmaster in Indianapolis.

SealMaster® Locations : The Largest Pavement Contractor Service Network

GemSeal - Producer of Pavement Products including Pavement Sealers, Pavement Patching, Primers, Filling Materials

OR, you can get some buckets at a box store and do it , but learn what you can from the net. It isn't cheap and there are good ways and not so good, just depends on what level of protection you want to go for.

 

[BeezFun]

When I did mine I found it was cheaper to hire someone than do it myself. Plus it's a mess. They poured some thick secret sauce in the big cracks. I had them use some stuff that had sand in it, filled in all the little cracks.

 

[vtsnowedin]

Things have changed over the years. The chip seals they used to apply where hot asphalt thinned with Naphtha or gasoline. When it was sprayed on the naphtha would evaporate leaving the asphalt cement behind. You had plenty of time to spread your stone chips into the oil and they stuck very well. Then the EPA got into it and decided that all that gas and naphtha evaporating into the air was air pollution and banned it. Now you have emulsion which is asphalt ground together with water and a bit of soap. Of course oil and water don't want to mix and this is a much more fussy thing to work with. You need a perfectly dry road with no shaded spots and the chip spreader needs to be right behind the distributor truck that is spraying the emulsion. Any thing that can go wrong usually dose and your chips strip out from tire action and start wacking windshields. A thin overlay of hot mix is a safer bet and has the advantage of filling ruts that the chip seal will just paint a half inch higher. I have managed miles of sand mix put on at just 3/8 of an inch average depth and 285 ton to the mile. It lasts from five to seven years depending on the soundness of the road base under the pavement getting treated. That is in northern New England where winters and plowing take a considerable toll.
Coal tar emulsion makes an excellent driveway sealer especially if you have vehicles that drip oil when parked on it. Unfortunately coal tar has been found to be a carcinogen and if it has not been banned already it soon will be. Don't drink it or let your kids play in it but if you can get your drive sealed with it one more time before they take it away it will work very well.
As to cracks: they use rubberised asphalt. Ground up old tires blended with a very thick asphalt that makes solid blocks at room temperature. They melt it in kettles and apply it through hoses with pipe tips. Before filling the crack they are sometimes routed out with a pavement cutter that makes then uniformly 3/4 inch wide for the top 3/4 inch then they blow them out with a propane torch fed with compressed air that makes a jet of 3000 deg. F hot gas. It blows all loose sand out of the crack and drys and heats the edges to above 212 degrees so the hot crack sealer will bond well and not get stripped out the first time a plow goes over it.
The pictures of the drive at the top of the thread show extensive alligator cracking which are too numerous and fine to crack seal. The pavement is old oxidised and worn out. It is still a lot better then gravel and a seal or overlay will let it serve for several more years. Full depth replacement would work of course but cost would be prohibitive.

 

[Egon]

The pictures of the drive at the top of the thread show extensive alligator cracking which are too numerous and fine to crack seal. The pavement is old oxidised and worn out. It is still a lot better then gravel and a seal or overlay will let it serve for several more years. Full depth replacement would work of course but cost would be prohibitive./QUOTE]

Describes the pavement perfectly.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

The one inch overlay may give the most for money spent.

I've got a driveway in the same condition. Been babying it along with coal tar emulsion and sand till it can be replaced with concrete pavers.