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.

 

[Creamer]

Western - I called Sealmaster in Indy yesterday - they seemed real helpful. I also called another place out of Kansas. Both said coal tar sealer would not be good as it actually softens the base and shortens the life of the drive even though it looks good for a few years. Both companies recommended an emulsified sealant with some polymer modification that make it slightly more flexible. the second place recommended a type of asphalt patch over the gatored area that goes on about 1/4" thick then you let it set for 24 hours and then seal the whole surface. Both said it would not give me a perfect surface as only top coating or replacement would do that and even topcoating would crack in alignment with the gatoring in a few years. both said the hotter and dryer the better for adhesion.

The fact that I can buy a drum rather than a bunch of buckets will hold down the cost though and probably simplify the application. I had never thought of that before someone mentioned it here.

Sounds like their advice follows what I got on this thread. Thanks for the help! i would not have known the questions to ask without reading this!

I am still going to get quotes from a local sealer or two just to check out the difference.

 

[Western]

That "gatering" patch is a newer product, I haven't used it ,but it seems to be have a good reputation. Each part of the country fairs better with various types of sealer. Most of them will be emulsified, also the polymers are a great addition. we always use polymer and sorry I forgot to mention it.

They also rent sprayers (Sealcoaterss) you may want to check that out, but your job may not be big enough to warrant it. Then they add the sealer and polymers and you add the sand, the machine will mix it all "purdy"

If you get a standard water faucet head and put it near the bottom of a plastic 55 gal drum, it is easy to drain onto your lot with a short hose.

Things I would get.
Simple Green cleaner, cleans the sealer off great, hands and tools.
Full body, cheap paint suit from lowes and a pair of old shoes:thumbsup:
Face mask if your sensitive.
For your lot a good stiff push broom since it is so rough, squeegees are the norm.

Having it done is as easy as writing the check, make sure you get 2-3 quotes and ask specific questions on how and what they will be doing for you. You want it cleaned well, air blown, NO loose debris and preferably sand in the mix, (most do not want to do this)

The lot has reached a good portion of it's life it appears ,so weight that when pricing. Want the sealer to do more for you, seal the cracks with a sealer also, check what the Box stores have compared to what Sealmaster has. In fact I would do that even if I didn't Seal coat it.

 

[Creamer]

After reading some of the suggestions here and doing some research I found that the Gator Patch and other similar products were for the most part asphalt emulsion with some long string polymer additives and a lot of sand mixed in to thicken it up. So rather than pay the $50-$100 per 5 gallon pail plus shipping since I could not buy it local except in 1 or 2 gallon pails, I purchased some of the asphalt emulsion sealer with polymer additives and mixed in my own sand. For the most part it looks pretty good but some parts where I got it on a little thick I have a little cracking and I will probably need to go over it again. I guess the real question is if it holds up over a freeze thaw cycle.

Just thought I would provide an update. thanks again to all helped out!

 

[joniy90st]

The lot has reached a good portion of it's life it appears ,so weight that when pricing. Want the sealer to do more for you, seal the cracks with a sealer also, check what the Box stores have compared to what Sealmaster has. In fact I would do that even if I didn't Seal coat it.

 

[Creamer]

I got to looking at it after my previous work and it still had a lot of little cracks in it. Went back to the store and bought a couple more pails of sealer and this time mixed in a lot of sand - to the point that it was the consistency of drywall mud and then literally troweled it on in the areas that needed it but not over 1/4' thick. Then i let that dry for a few days and went over it all again with sealer as there were a lot of little cracks - 1/8' wide or less - that I was worried about water getting in over winter and freezing. Here are a few photos of the final result. I thought it came out looking good so now we will see how it holds up.

The first photo is a closeup of the area where all the gatoring was. I know the tires tracks make it a little hard to see but there is not a lot of the gatoring showing. The second photo is more of an overview from the same direction as the original photo. I know that since it is all black now it is hard to see the cracking like you can on the weathered photo but as you can tell from the other photo it does look pretty good up close.
All totalled - for 2400 sq ft of asphalt was right at $300. If I was going to do it again i would have mixed my first repair material thicker and troweled it on in a couple of layers and sealed it once with a sealer with about 1 part sand to five parts sealer to keep it from shrinking and cracking. I will repost next spring after it has endured a winter to let you all know how it held up.
Just for comparison I had a quote from a sealing company of just over $400 to just seal it.

 

[Egon]

Looks good. :thumbsup:

Just be aware that a replacement fund being started might be a good idea.

 

[Creamer]

Update - The finish I put on it is about off now. I have decided that I need to dig water and a gas line under it so I am planning on completely replacing it next summer. I did get four or maybe five years out of it though until it got back to the condition it was in. That isn't too bad.

 

[Redlands Okie]

Nice of you to do the update info

 

[Creamer]

Only fair when so many had offered up advice.

Thanks again!

 

[NormaMangels]

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!

As you said that your asphalt are having some cracks, so it is better that you should repaired it with some liquid filler and then fill your cracks, by applying a layer of seal coating which will prevent the corrosion from a variety of elements, including water, oxidation, UV rays, and oil and gas spill. Last week my neighbour too had seal coated there asphalt driveway by hiring blacktop driveway contractors who had installed an oil based sealer, which is an ideal for new driveways and it has kept their asphalt driveway in the best condition and also provided them with newly paved surfaces which had not only make their property more attractive, but also safer.