I have older asphalt that is cracking a lot, see pictures. I've already 'sealed' it once myself with a sqeegey. I do not want to do a complete sealing job again. And I want to extend the life of the driveway as long as possible before having new asphalt laid down.

How best to repair these cracks? It's a large driveway and I am willing to spend the weekend on it. I figure I will gently clean out the cracks with a pressure washer and after it dries in the sun, fill in the cracks, ... but using what?

I can get a gallon container of tar repair liquid from my local hardware store. It has a small nozzle on it, I guess I could squeeze tar into the cracks? That's the best I can come up with.

I need advice...

Thanks!

 

Sealing blacktop driveway is a yearly endeavor. Yes buy some crack filler. But you still need to seal every year. Ideally just before winter.

 

I'm not sure how viable the 'gentle' part is. It's also likely you'll remove some of last year's sealer when you PW. While I'm not convinced that an asphalt drive needs to be sealed every year, it is something that needs to be done every 2-3 yrs. How well it's sealed, the quality of the sealer and the weather the driveway sees all play a part in how long the sealer will last. Cracks should always be addressed prior to applying the sealer.

 

Considering the looks of that driveway I would say every year will go a long way to make it last longer (assuming it's in a northern climate).

 

no amount of sealing will repair what's shown in your pics,,, IF the cracks had been sealed PRIOR w/the proper material, the d/w MIGHT have lasted longer,,, as it is now, the distressed area needs to be cut out, removed, & the soggy base replaced w/clean compactible gravel/run of crush/gab/gabc/whatever-you-call-it-in-whereever-you-are ( see why location's important ? ) then repaved

you could diy IF you somehow could transport the hot mix from the plant to your very find d/w before it cools down too much - both grades - base AND top ( wearing course ),,, this is probably unlikely,,, no magic juice for your d/w

btw, asphalt driveways/parking lots/airplane aprons/etc need sealing when they need it - there's no calendar timing as all react differently to traffic loading, UV exposure, & construction method/material

 

When I worked for the county highway, we referred to this as gator cracking (looks like the back of an alligator). This is caused by failure in the subgrade, water and ice in the freeze thaw cycle. you can make repairs but it will eventually happen again somewhere else in an area close to the area now affected.

 

Only removale and redoe will correct the problem. That's why I said a yearly re-seal will go a long way to keep it under control until such time that it has to be replaced.

 

There's no question that cracks need to be filled to prevent further damage to the substrate but driveway sealing is one of those hot debates with experts lined up on both sides.

 

at least landfill knows what he's talking about it is ' alligatoring ' &, because no maintenance has been done, you've lost the stability of a good sub-grade ( base ),,, so now we know why cracks should be sealed - not just filled.

we've also got guys on both sides - some who know & those who really don't your choice - sealing's a waste for this section now but generally a good maintenance item when its needed - to arbitrarily say its an annual event is wasteful to me & most property owners - dot & commercial

 

I don't disagree with any of what you or others have stated, but short of digging it up and doing it over the poster asked what he might do to "fix" the problem.

The cheapest and only thing to do to get a few more years of use is to seal it on a yearly basis. Is it a fix? Not really. Will it help prolong it for continues use? Yes. Or should the poster do nothing?