Living in the country can be a relaxing choice for many people but may be challenging for anyone with asphalt driveways in Wausau, WI . Many country homes have very long paths on which to drive that can test the paving procedure. Even worse, living in the country may simply cause hard-to-predict problems.
Thankfully, sealcoating a country driveway helps to protect it from a variety of problems that would otherwise impact its overall strength. The following information is critical to understand if you are interested in sealcoating your asphalt on your own or with professional help.
Country Living Exposes Driveways to Many Types of Damage
You’ve lived in the country your whole life and plan on never leaving. However, you’ve also had a hard time keeping your driveway in good shape, particularly your asphalt one. While this material type provides many benefits for those in the country, it can also be a challenge to maintain because of a variety of issues, such as:
- Weather changes – Extreme weather changes can be a significant challenge for asphalt driveways , but are a particular concern in the country. The extreme length of your driveway could cause problems that are hard to manage without proper care.
- Mold risk – While mold may grow on any asphalt, it is more likely to occur in the country. Simply put, there is more food and moisture available for mold to take hold. Unfortunately, mold can cause problems with your driveway that are hard to fix.
- Animal damage – While even city dwellers will have to deal with bird droppings on their driveway, yours is going to experience much more in the country. You’ll not only likely get a large volume of animal droppings on it but could suffer damage from burrowing animals like moles.
These issues are unique to those in the country and can be a real challenge to overcome without professional help. Thankfully, a high-quality sealcoating application can help to provide your driveway with the enhanced protection that it needs to last for years to come.
Sealcoating May Protect Your Driveway
If you live in a country and own one or more asphalt driveways that are suffering from damage, you need to add a coat of sealcoating right away. This process provides a multitude of benefits that are more than worth considering for your driveway. Just a few of these benefits include how it:
- Increases your driveway’s resistant to weather – Avoid severe weathering damage by adding a coat or two of sealcoating to your road.
- Decreases crack spread – Small cracks in your driveway can be kept minor by adding a little sealcoating to its surface.
- Improves driveway strength – Sealcoating will increase the overall strength of your driveway and add years to its life.
- Avoids sun-related damage – The sun beating down on your driveway for years at a time can cause damage that sealcoating helps prevent.
- Waterproofs asphalt surface – Sealcoating keeps water damage to a minimum on your driveway and keeps expansion problems from becoming a reality.
- Increases aesthetic appearance – A good sealcoating will improve the appearance of your driveway by making it darker and also making it easier to clean and maintain.
All of these benefits are matched by the fact that sealcoating costs mere pennies per square foot to apply versus the cost of repairing or maintaining your driveway in other ways. But before you use this treatment on your driveway, you need to make sure you understand the proper application procedure.
Applying Sealcoating to Your Asphalt
Thankfully, adding sealcoating to asphalt driveways isn’t necessarily a complicated process. However, it is one that has a lot of variables that you need to consider carefully. Just a few aspects that you must understand before application include:
- Proper application time – You need to add a sealcoat to asphalt driveways when the temperature is at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher over a 24-hour period of time. Summer makes a good time for this process because you also need dry conditions – no rain should fall on the asphalt.
- Proper curing time – Don’t apply a sealer to your asphalt the moment it is poured. There will be too many oils on the surface that can interfere with its sealcoating. Instead, apply a coat at least 30-60 days after your initial asphalt installation. Often, 45 days is a good midway point between these two extremes.
- Vehicle removal time – Take all of your vehicles off of your driveway when sealcoating it and park them on the lawn or in another area. You need to give the driveway a full 24 hours to cure before you drive on it again, so try to do this on a weekend during which you don’t plan on going anywhere.
- Preparing the asphalt – Your driveway must be cleaned as much as possible to eliminate dirt and other debris. Any oil and gas stains should be removed using an appropriate cleaner to ensure that they don’t affect your sealcoating curing process. Any damage to the surface should be repaired using a suitable mixture of hot or cold asphalt.
- Applying sealcoat – There are several ways that you can apply sealcoating to your driveway. For example, some people prefer to do it by hand while others will prefer squeegees or spraying equipment. Sprayers help to speed up the process but do take some training to get right. Make sure that you mix clean silica sand in your sealcoat to ensure its success.
- Adding coats years later – Though a good sealcoating should last several years, you typically need to replace it once every 5-10 years or so. Follow the same process to ensure that it goes smoothly. If necessary, switch the brand you used if you were unsatisfied with its prior performance.
Though these aspects are by no means incredibly challenging to understand, making a mistake on one of them can be a serious issue. For example, you may try to sealcoat when your asphalt hasn’t cured and end up causing complications. Follow these steps carefully to minimize this risk.
Sealcoating Provides Too Many Benefits to Ignore
As you can see, sealcoating helps to protect asphalt driveways in Wausau, WI . from a lot of damage. Adding one to your driveway is a significant step if you live in the country and are worried about problems affecting your driveway. However, you should still turn to a professional to get this job done.
Professional help from us at Custom Paving & Sealcoating ensures that your driveway is evenly covered and protected from any severe damage. We will seal even the most extended country driveway and will work hard to ensure that it is protected from corrosion for years to come.