Your asphalt driveway has just lost its shine, smoothness, and black texture. Now you’re wondering how to rectify and protect your asphalt pavement against vehicle traffic and extreme weather conditions. Well, depending on the age of the pavement and prevailing condition, you may need to pick one of the solutions from – asphalt paving and sealcoating.
So, what’s the difference? What would be the best solution for a condition like yours? Well, you can think of asphalt paving as more of a remedial solution and seal-coating as a bit more preventive maintenance to extend the life and quality of asphalt.
To help you out, here’s our take on asphalt paving and sealcoating, elaborating the process, technology, benefits, and tips. Let’s delve in:
The Technology
Just like concrete, asphalt pavements deteriorate over time. Elements like intense sun, freezing temperature, ice, and snow with the combined traffic impact take a hard toll on your driveways and pavements. Road salt, gasoline, and engine oil also take part in aggravating the situation. That brings you to a point where you need paving services for repairing or replacement of asphalt pavement. Asphalt paving and sealcoating are two very common processes used for the repair and enhancement of asphaltic pavements.
Asphalt Paving
Asphalt paving, as the name suggests, is the process of laying asphalt pavement. It can be referred to as the repair technique instead of routine maintenance or prevention. Generally, asphalt paving is used for replacing existing asphalt, overlaying an additional layer on the top, or even making a new pavement.
If you have major cracks and potholes across your pavement, asphalt paving is a recommended technique. Professional paving companies can help you with simple overlays to complete resurfacing. However, simple overlays include just adding a thin layer of hot asphalt. Whereas, incomplete resurfacing, we remove and replace the old asphalt with a new batch.
If you have cracks and potholes on the pavement, asphalt overlay can address such defects. But if the problem is serious like pooling water, cracking edges, or aging, resurfacing is the only way ahead.
Sealcoating
Sealcoating, on the other hand, is a preventive technique or maintenance for the asphalt pavement with minor issues. This method does not repair asphalt surfaces. It includes protecting the asphalt pavement from damage with the help of a specially formulated liquid coat.
The liquid, once set, works as a shield to protect asphalt from harmful UV rays and other elements like automotive fluid. It also acts as a defense against erosion of pavement due to water penetration. Sealcoat works well, covering small cracks and blemishes, but defects under the surface will remain. You can use sealcoating services to protect the driveway from damages rather than repairing existing issues.
Differences between asphalt paving and sealcoating
Here’re some common differences between asphalt paving and seal coating:
|
Sr.
No. |
Asphalt
Paving |
Seal
Coating |
|
1 |
It
includes laying asphalt either on top of an existing damaged layer or in the
form of overlay. |
Sealcoating
does not include laying asphalt. Instead, it is a process of applying special
liquid coat. |
|
2 |
Asphalt
paving is recommended for surfaces with major cracks, potholes, and other
defects. |
Sealcoating
just covers and seal small surface cracks and doesn’t deal with underlying
cracks or defects. |
|
3 |
It
is more expansive than sealcoating service. The cost depends on the size of
paved area and the extent of existing damages. But overall
it is 10 times more expensive than sealcoating. |
Typically,
it is least expensive maintenance service you can have for a paved surface. |
|
4 |
It gives your
driveway a regular appearance. |
It makes your
pavement more attractive with unique shiny, darker
and even surface. |
|
5 |
With
asphalt paving, an overlay or a patch will have a typical life expectancy
around 20-30 years depending on usage and maintenance. |
It
can significantly extend the life of your existing asphaltic pavement. |
|
6 |
Depending on
extent of area, asphalt paving may disrupt traffic for longer time. You can
expect to wait for more than 3 days before being able to drive on the new
surface. Anyhow, the curing time of asphalt paving depends on the weather. It
takes almost 30 days for full curing. |
In commercial
sealcoating, there is not much disruption of the process. Special quality
additives are used to shorten the drying time. With a new sealcoat, you may
have to wait for 24 to 48 hours before being able to drive. Anyhow, the
drying time depends on humidity, temperature, and sun exposure. |
