Blacktop driveway Sealer ?

[CheckeredFlag]

Ok, this is kinda O/T, but here we go

I have a blacktop driveway, leading to my garage (there ... now I tied it in = LOL)

Time to coat the driveway, and I thought I might try it myself this time

My driveway is due for a good coating

There are a few minor cracks, but I started filling those in with some crack filler.

When I go by my local home improvement store, they have a variety of coating / sealers priced from about $15 bucks to $50 bucks.

I've watched several "how to" videos on YouTube - looks easy enough

Have you ever tried it ?

What would you recommend ?

My driveway is approximately 28' wide by 40' long

... or should I just hire a pro to put down some "slurry" ??

 

[Paco Pena]

Never been a fan of coating blacktop. I get a kick out of those that label the product as "airport " grade. Even seen a blacktop runway? Its paint for the driveway.

Paco

 

[CheckeredFlag]

thanks

thats exactly why I was asking !

 

[thebreeze2012]

I would do it yourself, it's a lot cheaper (atleast around here) then paying someone, and it's very easy once you get in the groove.

I tried the longest lasting sealer a couple years ago and it doesn't seem to last any longer then the stuff in the middle(years wise).

If you do have someone do it,make sure they don't spray it on,many years ago I had someone spray mine for cheap,and it didn't last very long,it was a waste of money.

 

[fury9]

Don't wear anything that you don't want to throw away, it will be trashed no matter how careful you are, That being said, I pay the 80 dollars to have mine done.

 

[Chaznsc]

Asphalt pavement requires a seal coat every few years to maintain its surface, seal cracks, and rejuvenate the driving surface. If you don't do this, you will replace it sooner. Remember that asphalt doesn't have the life of concrete, nor the initial cost. I'd get the good stuff if this were mine. The correct product isn't paint, and it will extend the life of your asphalt.

Civil-engineer

 

[STANIMAL]

Asphalt pavement requires a seal coat every few years to maintain its surface, seal cracks, and rejuvenate the driving surface. If you don't do this, you will replace it sooner. Remember that asphalt doesn't have the life of concrete, nor the initial cost. I'd get the good stuff if this were mine. The correct product isn't paint, and it will extend the life of your asphalt.

Civil-engineer

Define ''good stuff'' . I need to do my driveway as well.

 

[Crusty Nut]

Asphalt pavement requires a seal coat every few years to maintain its surface, seal cracks, and rejuvenate the driving surface. If you don't do this, you will replace it sooner. Remember that asphalt doesn't have the life of concrete, nor the initial cost. I'd get the good stuff if this were mine. The correct product isn't paint, and it will extend the life of your asphalt.

Civil-engineer

Also, please explain why the county doesn't seal their roads, yet the county road I live on is ancient and still together, although showing it's age. A private drive will see 1% of the traffic and 1% of the weight of truck traffic everyday. It should last a long time.

 

[7th Kahuna]

^ most driveways aren't built to the same standards or using the same mixes as a highway. Still, if the agency that is responsible for the road can afford it, it should most likely be sealed from time to time.

The large pieces of aggregate are held in place by the small ones. The sealer replaces the small ones on the surface that have weathered away and adds a bit of asphalt to bond it all and help keep the water out.

I bought a house a number of years ago with an asphalt approach that was in really rough shape. I gave it a good cleaning, filled the cracks, and sealed it well with a coat of Henry's I believe. I no longer own the house, but I don't think the new owner has needed to recoat it yet. It appears to have held up well. Installing it was easy. Buy yourself a decent quality, decent sized squeegee. It will make the job go faster and easier. Also, make sure the driveway is clean and dry before you seal it.

 

[Vinko]

Even seen a blacktop runway?

Yes. But not in the first world for years!

 

[Chaznsc]

Also, please explain why the county doesn't seal their roads, yet the county road I live on is ancient and still together, although showing it's age. A private drive will see 1% of the traffic and 1% of the weight of truck traffic everyday. It should last a long time.

Public roads do not typically get a seal-coat application, but rather an overlay or in some rural areas, a chip-seal where finer aggregate is mixed in with a tar base to rejuvenate the surface or wearing course. This is due to the heavy volume of traffic that would likely quickly erode a typical seal-coat.

Public Roads are generally constructed to a much higher standard that a residential driveway. In this case, the driveway is probably 1.5 inches of blacktop over a sand-clay mixture. A typical road section might have 2-10 inches of asphalt of an aggregate base and a well prepared / compacted subgrade.

Because asphalt is a flexible material, it must be protected from damage. For instance, a crack in the asphalt will allow moisture, which degrades the strength of the subgrade, producing pavement failure. Asphalt will eventually "give up the ghost" but if cared for can last 20 years or longer.

In contrast, concrete is a completely different product. It is rigid (IN-flexible), so we add steel to it for transfer and tensile strength. It doesn't like water in the subgrade, but is much more forgiving and can withstand much more subgrade anomalies than its cousin.

Bottom line is seal coat wont repair anything and its NOT itself a crack sealer. It does, however, help to rejuvenate the surface and does provide protection from the elements, sun, etc.

 

[CheckeredFlag]

Lots of good info

thanks

 

[Milton Shaw]

Don't fall for the sales pitch of the people with spray tanks offering to coat your driveway while they are in the area. A group of them comes around every couple of years. What they are spraying is motor oil and diesel mixed. They get your money and then they are gone. Had a friend do this after I advised her not to do this. Sure enough just oil and diesel. Looks good until the first rain and then it washes off. It actually ruins the asphalt as diesel is a solvent for the asphalt binder. Con men love this quick money it gives them.

 

[Chaznsc]

What Milton said x1000

And its worth getting it done right. Prep is SO critical to get it to work. You cant just sweep it off and spray........the stuff wont bind. I recommend a good stiff brooming in all directions, then apply a commercial cleaner, broom that in, rinse, repeat and let it dry. You need to try and lift off the surface oils, etc that would prevent bonding to occur.

THEN and only then apply the stuff. Its going to work best on a nice hot day if you have one in your area

 

[JimVonBaden]

What Milton said x1000

And its worth getting it done right. Prep is SO critical to get it to work. You cant just sweep it off and spray........the stuff wont bind. I recommend a good stiff brooming in all directions, then apply a commercial cleaner, broom that in, rinse, repeat and let it dry. You need to try and lift off the surface oils, etc that would prevent bonding to occur.

THEN and only then apply the stuff. Its going to work best on a nice hot day if you have one in your area

Is powerwashing adequate? Do I need any chemicals to prep for the sealer?

Jim

 

[Chaznsc]

Is powerwashing adequate? Do I need any chemicals to prep for the sealer?

Jim

Powerwashing is good, but if it were mine, I would get me a really stiff shop broom and scrub it as well. Chemicals? Not so much anything harsh, but something capable of picking up the grease, oil, etc. You only have one chance to clean it right. Any kind of residue will cause adherence to fail.

 

[Jim_No_Garage]

It must be commercially profitable. There was a flyer stapled to a little ziplock bag of sand in my driveway Sunday - advertising for a sealcoat company. They tossed them in HUNDREDS of driveways in my neighborhood.

The flyer looked pretty professional but I'm not sue for sealing quite yet.

Cheers

Jim

 

[Mgbringo]

I did mine last year and used the top of the line 10 year sealer from Menards. My daughter and son in law used the same brand cheap stuff 1 year sealer from Menards. Theirs cracked right away all over the driveway. Mine still looks like the day I applied it.

Like others have said make sure it is clean first and the cracks are sealed/filled. I used some degreaser for the couple of oil spots and scrubbed it all with a broom and water. Then let it dry over night.

I waited for an 80 degree day. Went well with a good broom/squeegee. But your clothes and shoes will be history.

Much cheaper to do it yourself and not difficult. Mine withstands tough Minnesota snow and cold. I use my small tractor and drive on it with a 1 ton truck and large 24 foot trailer. Like I said it still looks like new.

 

[Chaznsc]

I did mine last year and used the top of the line 10 year sealer from Menards. My daughter and son in law used the same brand cheap stuff 5 year sealer from Menards. Theirs cracked right away all over the driveway. Mine still looks like the day I applied it.

Like others have said make sure it is clean first and the cracks are sealed/filled. I used some degreaser for the couple of oil spots and scrubbed it all with a broom and water. Then let it dry over night.

I waited for an 80 degree day. Went well with a good broom/squeegee. But your clothes and shoes will be history.

Much cheaper to do it yourself and not difficult. Mine withstands tough Minnesota snow and cold. I use my small tractor and drive on it with a 1 ton truck and large 24 foot trailer. Like I said it still looks like new.

Would be helpful to post the specs from the two experiences so folks can compare the "ingredients" against each other. Some of the newer flavors of this stuff have a urethane base.

 

[Mgbringo]

http://www.menards.com/main/search.html?search=Blacktop+sealer&sf_categoryHierarchy=

I used the Sealbest 1000 and they used Sealbest 100.

 

[Rookie2]

fill the cracks! water will get under the asphalt and freeze in the winter. the sealer will prevent gas and oil leaks from dissolving the asphalt and creating a pot hole. most commercial sealers are cut with 30-45% water. maybe google 'NEAL'

 

[Cemoto]

Use a power mixing paddle to mix it. This will save you a lot of time.

 

[Den69rs96]

Went through the debate of doing it myself or hiring someone last year. My driveway is 170 ft long and widens at the top for our oversized two car garage. We paid for a new driveway when we built our house 8 years ago. I thought they just did a poor job, but the I found out that only included the base asphalt. Anyway the base stuff is very pourous and began to start coming apart. I figured out how much sealer I would need etc and is was actually comparable to the price of having a pro do it. I hired someone who has been paving, sealing, etc for over 30 years. Driveway came out great and the asphalt is no longer loose and coming apart.

My advice is figure out what product your going to use, calculate the cost, then get a few estimates and compare the cost. You might be surprised to find its not much cheaper doing it yourself.

 

[gsport]

i've had it done both ways.... next time i'll pay again to have it done professionally.

 

[Chaznsc]

Went through the debate of doing it myself or hiring someone last year. My driveway is 170 ft long and widens at the top for our oversized two car garage. We paid for a new driveway when we built our house 8 years ago. I thought they just did a poor job, but the I found out that only included the base asphalt. Anyway the base stuff is very pourous and began to start coming apart. I figured out how much sealer I would need etc and is was actually comparable to the price of having a pro do it. I hired someone who has been paving, sealing, etc for over 30 years. Driveway came out great and the asphalt is no longer loose and coming apart.

My advice is figure out what product your going to use, calculate the cost, then get a few estimates and compare the cost. You might be surprised to find its not much cheaper doing it yourself.

The "base" asphalt is commonly known as a binder course. It has more large aggregate and is substantially stronger than a wearing or surface course. That said, it is rough, and as you mentioned, isn't a good all weather surface. It's meant to be between the aggregate base course and the top or wearing course.

 

[gahrajmahal]

I've done iit both ways on my old crumbling blacktop. When the pro's do it I get hot tar applied to all the cracks. If you are doing it yourself with caulk or from a bucket it is not as good and costs a lot for materials. The pro job lasts about two years. I'm just saving up for complete replacement.

 

[mr_sob]

Never been a fan of coating blacktop. I get a kick out of those that label the product as "airport " grade. Even seen a blacktop runway? Its paint for the driveway.

Paco

I don't know anything about the product but there are many-many-many "blacktop" runways, taxiways, and ramp areas at airports around the world. Parking areas and runway touchdown zones for large, heavies, and supers are concrete.

 

[Kevin54]

DO NOT get rooked into going with the fly by nighters going around doing it that are coming out of the woodwork right now. If you are going to get it done, get it done by a reputable company that does it year after year and has a longevity record of being in business. The fly by nighters use a water based product and when they buy it, they cut it some more to stretch it out. A legitimate company will not be cutting their product.

If you do it yourself, don't cheap out on it. You will find there are two products. One will be water based or coal tar based and the other asphalt based sealer. The coal tar is a better sealer to some, to others they may argue the other is better. You will also find that some will have sand in them and others won't. The sand based products will give you some gription, whereas the others may leave the surface real slick, and especially slick when wet. So if there will be elderly people walking on the drive, you may want to go with the type that has a traction additive.

My neighbor lady just had hers sealed the other day. She hasn't had it done in years, so she sent the guy over to talk to me about what was to be done. I spoke with him for a while and she came over to confirm what was being said. I specifically asked him about filling the cracks and he said he was going to do it, then seal it. I had to go get gas for the mower and when I came back, they were almost done. He didn't do what he said he was going to do, and he didn't use the product he said he was going to use. I went over to see what sort of job he did. ****** for sure. He didn't edge the drive, they swept it off with a broom and a little leaf blower, then sprayed the sealer. No cracks were filled. When he started to be questioned by me, he got on the defensive real quick and wanted her to pay full price and he would be back next week to give it another coat to make sure the cracks were filled. But he told me that he had to pay for the sealer, that's why he needed the money now. I asked him then how was he going to coat it next week for free. No answer. He finally settled for $50, which wasn't bad for what it was, but by far not a real decent job. He's flashing this pamphlet which was not the product he was using. And when I asked him how long before you can drive on it.....three hours.

Listening to the scanner this morning, someone called the sheriff about being taken by guys sealing driveways. Same truck that was over to her house the other day.

Here's a little bit you can read about the sealer types http://www.dykespaving.com/blog/types-of-asphalt-sealers/

And I always use the guy that did my driveway to seal mine. That way if there is any major problems, he will cover it. Plus I have sent him enough business, I usually get a free sealing out of it.

 

[CheckeredFlag]

thanks again

 

[scab]

DO NOT get rooked into going with the fly by nighters going around doing it that are coming out of the woodwork right now. If you are going to get it done, get it done by a reputable company that does it year after year and has a longevity record of being in business. The fly by nighters use a water based product and when they buy it, they cut it some more to stretch it out. A legitimate company will not be cutting their product.

If you do it yourself, don't cheap out on it. You will find there are two products. One will be water based or coal tar based and the other asphalt based sealer. The coal tar is a better sealer to some, to others they may argue the other is better. You will also find that some will have sand in them and others won't. The sand based products will give you some gription, whereas the others may leave the surface real slick, and especially slick when wet. So if there will be elderly people walking on the drive, you may want to go with the type that has a traction additive.

My neighbor lady just had hers sealed the other day. She hasn't had it done in years, so she sent the guy over to talk to me about what was to be done. I spoke with him for a while and she came over to confirm what was being said. I specifically asked him about filling the cracks and he said he was going to do it, then seal it. I had to go get gas for the mower and when I came back, they were almost done. He didn't do what he said he was going to do, and he didn't
use the product he said he was going to use. I went over to see what sort of job he did. ****** for sure. He didn't edge the drive, they swept it off with a broom and a little leaf blower, then sprayed the sealer. No cracks were filled. When he started to be questioned by me, he got on the defensive real quick and wanted her to pay full price and he would be back next week to give it another coat to make sure the cracks were filled. But he told me that he had to pay for the sealer, that's why he needed the money now. I asked him then
how was he going to coat it next week for free. No answer. He finally settled for $50, which wasn't bad for what it was, but by far not a real decent job. He's flashing this pamphlet which was not the product he was using. And when I asked him how long before you can drive on it.....three hours.

Listening to the scanner this morning, someone called the sheriff about being taken by guys sealing driveways. Same truck that was over to her house the other day.

Here's a little bit you can read about the sealer typeshttp://www.dykespaving.com/blog/types-of-asphalt-sealers/

And I always use the guy that did my driveway to seal mine. That way if there is any major problems, he will cover it. Plus I have sent him enough business, I usually get a free sealing out of it.

There is a special place in hell for scammers.

 

[Cpeters]

I am new to this forum. I live in Minnesota.The weather is 50 degrees to about
70 degrees. I live close to SealMaster in St. Paul. Should I wait for warmer weather next spring before doing the driveway. Have done the driveway once myself and the other time a contractor did it. Any experience with SealM aster products and what would you suggest? Thanks Carl

 

[58Yeoman]

I did mine a couple years ago, using Menard's sealbest 1000. The next year it was almost all gone. Called two different paving companies to look at my driveway and tell me what to do. Both said to seal it (both longtime local companies). The second one ended up spraying a coating on it for $50 less than what I paid to Menard's, and has held up well so far.

 

[stikman56]

I've tried all kinds, cheap to expensive. It all was bad in two years, no matter what it promised. Cheapest I can find is what I use now.

 

[chops101]

The last house I was in for 15 years, and I resealed it 7 times. Two years max out of the higher grade buckets at the big box stores. And in our latitude the sun can be brutal.


It was a semi circle driveway, I don't know how many square feet, but it was 25 gallons worth each time.

It is rather easy to do. The commercial spray people= big joke. They use thin runny stuff that lasts about 3 months. The guys that come around to apply out of buckets, they will use the absolute cheapest product they can buy in bulk.

Fill your larger cracks one week before you apply sealer. The sanded sealer (higher grade) fills small cracks. A large pole mounted squeegee works the best.