asphalt sealer - pro/con

[varkpilot]

I did an "asphalt sealer" forum search but, surprisingly, didn't find anything.

Last fall, I had my driveway resurfaced. It was still in pretty good shape since I took the time to seal minor cracks over the years. However, our municipality had just finished putting in a new street and the higher crown created a pond at the bottom of the driveway. Their solution was to raise the pitch at the bottom half. I talked to the city's asphalt contractor and agreed on a price for resurfacing the half that the city wasn't paying for.

Of course, the contractor said, "Even if you don't believe in bi-annual sealing, you should have this done next spring." So here we are! I've done a fair amount of reading on pros/cons of asphalt sealing [definitely "tar-based" material, not latex]. Opinions are all over the map!

Outside of appearance, is there merit to contractor's statement?

[theeviltwinn]

Ask the contractor to coat your driveway when he does the street.

Twinn

[varkpilot]

Twin...I guess your remark is "tongue in cheek." I've never seen a municipality pay for an asphalt sealer application. Have you? I guess you're saying "don't spend the $$$ unless appearance is the driver." :&gt

[theeviltwinn]

varkpilot said:

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Twin...I guess your remark is "tongue in cheek." I've never seen a municipality pay for an asphalt sealer application. Have you? I guess you're saying "don't spend the $$$ unless appearance is the driver." :&gt

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Bingo!

[EatenByLimestone]

I like the dark look. I also think it'll help gather the sun's energy and melt the snow when black. I put an epoxy sealer on mine 6 years ago. It hasn't weathered in that time. It cost about 2x the regular sealer, and has so far lasted much better.

[fredhargis]

There was some discussion on this several years ago. I don't think it was any different than what you found elsewhere, opinions varied widely. My experience: I had our drive paved and then sealed it religiously with tar based sealer (can't even find that around here anymore). It was never resurfaced and lasted until we sold the place maybe 15 years later. By "lasted", it was still in place but most definitely showing it's age. But during that 15 years, I had a drive extension added and paved it; that's when I came here looking for opinions. At least some of them were don't do anything, which is what I did (nothing). It may have lasted just as well or better, and it was probably 8 years old when when that house was sold.

[tomsteve]

from t&k asphalt services:Asphalt pavements are made up of stone (aggregate) fine stone or sand, and asphalt cement. The asphalt cement is what gives the pavement its black appearance is the “glue” that holds everything together. New asphalt is jet black but soon begins to fade. That’s oxidation; this is the effect of sun, rain and snow oxidizing the asphalt cement in the pavement. Given enough time the pavement becomes brittle and has less resistance to the loads placed on it. Asphalt is a petroleum product so any other petroleum derivatives that contact it will dissolve into the asphalt, weakening or dissolving the “glue-like” properties. These products commonly include motor oil, transmission/power steering or brake fluids, gasoline and perhaps household solvents. A good quality sealcoating will protect the asphalt from all these damaging factors while providing curb appeal. Many years of research has proven that proper maintenance including sealcoating can double the life of an asphalt driveway.
https://www.tkasphalt.com/residential/se...oat_my_driveway


heres another read:


http://www.sealtechsealcoating.com/frequ..._questions

[Cooler]

My understanding is that asphalt sealer is important in cold climates as water gets in the cracks and freezes and makes bigger cracks, etc.

All the shopping centers get their parking lots sealed once in a while, so I guess there is some financial reason for the sealing. Maybe not in Florida though.