My home is south Alabama; moderate winters (except this one 6" snow and record lows), but HOT and HUMID summers. My asphalt drive is doing well @ now 4 years. I'd like to reseal it as part of preventive maintenance. The local contractor who installed it sells a spray on service that seams awfully thin; like nothing more than a coat of black paint.

Recommendations? What about those roll on sealers in 5gal buckets?

--Bryant

 

Hi ArmyAviator:

IMO the most important element of an asphalt driveway is the base underneath it and if that is good, applying a coat of black sealer is mainly for appearance. Having said that, I put on sealer whenever the driveway looks like it needs it.

I've never had someone spray my driveway. My neighbor had his done by a local paving contractor two years ago and it still looks good. They did the full preparation job of edging and cleaning before they applied the stuff. Be warned that there are a lot of fly by night con artists that come to your door offering to do the job cheaply "because they have left over material". What they put on is just a coat of old oil.

My wife just informed me that I need to do our driveway this summer. I'll use the stuff that comes in a bucket because its cheaper, but it is a back breaking messy job.

 

I've only sealed a few driveways and have never owned an asphalt driveway but I do have a friend that has a driveway sealing business. If the sealer is just sprayed on it does little more than color the asphalt. While you can roll the sealer on it's preferred to pour it onto the drive and then smear and remove the excess with a squeegee [sp?]. That allows the sealer to get in all the pores/crevices doing a better job of sealing.

If your squeegee or roller has a long enough handle - your back will thank you

 

Well...out here (and back in OH when I was growing up) the asphalt coatings on the roads are almost always sprayed...I imagine there are different types?

If you are happy with the original work I'd have no problem having the same guy do a reseal. You may want to ask about warranty and possibly the thickness of the coating?
Maybe he has both a colorant coating and an actual topcoat?

 

THANK YOU all for the substantial replies. Marksr....just had the exact thing told to me by a hunting partner's son-in-law (in the paving business)...I know, makes your antennae twitch right?....anyhow, he said the same thing: there are some really high-particle content sealers out there that meet airport standards...BUT...to never roll, squeegee, as you said. Well noted about the handle.

--Brant