How to Decide Between Sealcoating & Resurfacing Your Driveway

Asphalt driveways are just like anything else: they require some level of care, maintenance, repair, and eventual replacement. Our care & maintenance tips are a great place to start if you want to extend the life of your driveway and get maximum value for your investment. Even with proper care, asphalt will develop cracks that require you to answer a question: can these be repaired with sealcoating, or do these cracks require a full resurfacing of the driveway?

Sealcoat comes in three general types: coal-tar, asphalt emulsions, and acrylics. Sealcoat acts as a protective layer over the entire area of the asphalt, sitting between the asphalt and the elements, as well as the physical wear and tear of vehicle tires. Combined with a crack filling material, sealcoating can repair isolated cracks in an asphalt driveway, and extend its overall life.

Some cracking is not confined to the surface alone, and calls for the resurfacing of the entire driveway with fresh asphalt. Such cracking comes in a pattern that resembles alligator hide– looking a lot like thick scales. This type of cracking permeates the asphalt, significantly weakening it.

It might be tempting to fix this with crack-filling rubber, but this is just asking for more trouble in the warmer months. As the rubber heats up, it becomes adhesive, sticking to anything that passes on top of it. Or rolls over it, in the case of vehicle tires that are hot from being on the road. The rubber sticks to the tires, and when the vehicle next moves, the rubber goes with– along with chunks of the driveway.

Whether your driveway needs sealcoating or entirely new asphalt, Driveway Specialists can inspect and recommend the right service. Asphalt is our game, and we are very good at it. Call us today at  (844) 244-4249.

Driveway Specialists. It’s all in the name.