NPCA Member Richard Dinkela debunks myths pertaining to maintenance of asphalt pavements.
Are you wasting money, or possibly even shortening the lifespan of your blacktop? To help shed light on the subject, here are some key points of when, how, why, and who you should plan on maintaining your pavement.
February 22, 2008 -- Background:
In the past decade as our workforce loses out to foreign competition, many people have decided to go into business for themselves. A very easy and lucrative business is asphalt sealing. A person can get started with as little investment as a couple hundred dollars and no experience. This has led to even more problems in an industry that is already marked with scars from bad ethics and scrupulous scams. Until wide spread use of the Internet, consumers have been limited to educating themselves regarding pavement maintenance through the actual installers. The problem is, most of these "get rich quick" installers have little knowledge themselves.
Let's explore and offer some answers to the
most common questions:
1.) Q. Should seal coating be performed on an annual basis?
A. No. Sealing your asphalt too much can lead to many problems. Many seal
coating installers will lead you to believe otherwise. However, the first two
coats of sealer applied to your asphalt are what really protect it. Anything
after this is usually for cosmetic purposes.
Sealer applied annually tends to
crack and flake after about 10 years of annual applications or less and may even
crack the surface of the pavement. This may influence
the owner to resurface prematurely.
To sum up, too much maintenance is not a
good return on investment. Other problems caused by over sealing are tracking,
creating slippery surfaces, and a creating a smaller balance in your checkbook.
2.) Q. Is it better to apply sealer in hot weather?
A. No. While this is true for paving, it's not appropriate for sealing.
Remember, asphalt can get so hot under the hot summer sun; it can nearly burn
your skin. This also causes the sealer to dry too quickly. When sealer dries too
quickly it can peel, flake, or get a streaky finish. If you must apply sealer in
temperatures above 90 degrees, a good installer will spray the surface with a
light mist of water first. This will cool the surface considerably. Ideal air
temperatures are between 60 and 90 degrees.
3.) Q. Sealer is all the same, why shouldn't I choose a less expensive bid?
A. There are far more variables to the sealcoating industry than consumers
realize. Most directly influence the differences in quoted prices.
First off,
there are different brands and differences in the quality of sealers available
to contractors. A good contractor will choose a good product even if it's more
expensive that he knows will give years of good protection and value. Second sealer is water-borne
(also called emulsion). Therefore it can be easily over-diluted with water to save
the "contractor" money, or not over-diluted as specified by the manufacturer to provide a superior,
durable, product.
Unfortunately, there is hardly any way for a consumer to
tell what the water content is in sealer (unless it's so over-diluted it looks
"watery" or "runny" Sealer should have a consistency like a pancake batter,
maybe thicker. Most good applications will have an average
of 10%-25% water dilution rate. This is acceptable. This is a big reason consumers should choose a
reputable contractor with a good guarantee and who has references over a year
old in your area.
Usually a good installer will be more expensive because he doesn't over dilute his material, he will use a better quality product, he may use specialty additives which greatly improve the sealer, he will always add silica sand or other specialized aggregate so the sealer isn't slippery when wet and lasts longer, he has all the required insurances and licensing to be in business, pays his well-trained employees a fair wage to do a good job, and will stand behind the work with a guarantee.
Shoddy contractors almost never have any insurance, offer a low price to get a large volume of work, hire cheap inexperienced labor, dilute the material heavily, and will never offer any guarantees once paid.
4.) Q. Surface cracks always seem to come back, so why bother filling them?
A. Inexperienced or unethical contractors will shy away from filling cracks. It
is important to seal cracks especially in climates that are subjected to
freezing temperatures with a quality, usually hot-applied (375°F) product made especially for crack sealing
BEFORE seal coating. Even after seal coating unsealed cracks will allow water in
that can cause damage to pavement if permitted to get
down into the pores of blacktop or worse into the base under the asphalt causing
"frost heaving" requiring expensive repairs. Qualified installers will know exactly the best
solution to treat cracks before seal coating and will be glad to explain it to
you. Proper crack sealing will last the life of the sealcoating and the cracks
won't "come back".
5.) Q. Why do I need to seal my surface? After all, the interstates don't get
sealed.
A. Although your surface may be comprised of similar materials as the highway,
it is subjected to much different uses than a highway. Highways don't get sealed
because they carry a large volume of high-speed single direction traffic. This
has a polishing effect on the surface, which will naturally repel water from
soaking into the pavement. Your driveway or parking surface is subjected to slow movement, heavy
loads, and/or constant maneuvering of vehicles. Asphalt can realize a longer
lifespan by sealing because it keeps water and damaging chemicals from
penetrating into its pores and slows the process of oxidation from sunlight and
pollutants in the air and exhaust.
6.) Q. Can I save some money by doing it myself?
A. At one point, some courageous homeowners (and very few commercial property
owners) will try to personally sealcoat their pavement.
Stop for a second and add up the total costs you will incur by undertaking this
project. Sealer by the pail costs 4-5 times more at improvement stores
(and is not of the same
quality as properly mixed commercial sealer).
Tools available to homeowners are often expensive and not up to the
performing the task properly. Also proper cleaning is a major component of a
good sealcoating job. A leaf blower or garden hose just can't do the job
professional blowers or washers will. (There are also other
factors like the possible need for priming of oil spots or other "specialty
products" that do not have "homeowner" grade equivalent products available)
Figure on ruining a whole outfit from your shoes all the way to shirt & gloves.
You may have to persuade somebody to help you, which could cost additional
money.
On average this will take you at least four to five times longer than a
professional. On a 1,200 square foot driveway you can expect to fork out around
$300.00+ for the supplies listed above. That doesn't include your labor (what you would make
hourly at your job?).
Plus it is highly doubtful that you would do half as good a job as a
professional. By today's rates, most professional jobs will cost less or only a
few dollars more than doing it yourself. (depending on the cost
of other needs like crack sealing which you couldn't do yourself)
7.) Q. Should the sealer be applied by spray or squeegee?
A. Here is another reason you should rely on a real professional to come up with
a solution for your specific needs. Both application types are suitable under
the right circumstances. There is no "one size fits all" method of seal coating.
A true professional will determine the process based on of age, degree of
deterioration, climate, expected use, budget, term of ownership, obstacles, and
how many coats already exist on the pavement and suggest the method best for
your pavement. It can be one method or the other or sometimes both!
The main purpose of this article is to influence the consumer to research and
make an educated decision when maintaining asphalt surfaces. Do not make an
impulsive decision based solely on price. The first thing you should do is be
sure your contractor has an upstanding report with the BBB. They should be
"known" in your area.
Make sure they are
well established by investigating whether they have a local address, a
advertisement in the yellow pages and a website. It also wouldn't hurt to get several bids, and
actually check
references on all of them. Keep in mind you usually get what you pay for.
A well-paved blacktop surface can last 20-40
years if maintained at proper
intervals.
Save money by hiring a reputable, paving or sealing contractor. They
can develop a strategy to maintain your pavement.
Spending a little more now,
can save you a lot down the road.
When selecting an asphalt contractor, for your pavement maintenance; please see the NPCA Member Contractor Search Site for quality contractors who guarantee their professional quality applications or to ask any questions you may have privacy-protected on our Consumer Message Boards.
By: Richard Dinkela II,
NPCA Member and
Operations Director of:
Creve Coeur Paving:
A St. Louis based; family owned paving company.
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