Asphalt Driveway Repair

Regular Asphalt Driveway Repair and Maintenance will make your entry beautiful and more importantly save you money on costly asphalt replacement, and believe me it's not cheap to replace!

This task is not difficult if you follow some simple guidelines and don't take the cheaper faster way. (This will only cost you more) and we know there are a lot of "How To" websites out there but if you're on our site and reading this guide, your rubbing elbows with hundreds of Professional Contractors who purchase their asphalt repair equipment and maintenance products through us. If you feel that you're not up to the task yourself, use our Contractor Guide for professional assistance.

Besides making your home more appealing, the real reason to repair and keep your asphalt driveway in good condition is simply to keep the water from penetrating the cracks, which will eventually find it's way under the pavement, then freeze, busting up the pavement and then creating soft spots that turn into Pot Holes.

Look at this project as a big painting task. As with any paint job, preparation will be 90% of the task. You must properly prepare the asphalt before sealing.

So let's get started. What kind of repair Tools will you need? Unless your driveway is in really bad condition, you probably have most of what you need in your garage. Shovel, rake, brooms, and hand tools will be needed and you may want to purchase a few special items such as squeegee's which will last several years if taken care of.

Next, let's look at the products you will need to perform your own Asphalt Driveway Repair:

I want to be very clear on this topic; I will suggest that you purchase "Contractor Grade Products" simply because if you don't, you might end up re-doing your driveway and eventually have to replace the asphalt. This is VERY important. Your results completely depend on the quality of the products you use. Lumber store and hardware store brands are consumer grade and do not have the concentrated quality that a professional will use for asphalt driveway repair.

All of the products you purchase from this site will be "Professional Contractor" grade and will likely cost more in the front-end but you will be very pleased with the long-term results.

I will recommend certain asphalt driveway repair products for certain applications as we get into this guide.

In this guide we will cover the following topics which are designed for the DIY "Do It Your Selfer":

• Asphalt Surface Preparation
• Asphalt Crack Repair
• Asphalt Pot Hole Repair
• Alligator Asphalt Repair
• Asphalt Oil and Stain Priming
• Asphalt Sealcoating

Preparation

Remember that just like a big "painting" job, proper preparation for asphalt driveway repair will be the key to your success.
I personally do not like power washers for this purpose because they push water deep into the asphalt cracks which may deteriorate the sub-surface and create problems later.

Use a scraper to clean loose mud and vegetation and then dig vegetation and dirt from the cracks down to 1/2" below the surface of the asphalt. (Any deeper than that is only a waste of crackfiller)

If you have vegetation growing in your asphalt Driveway you should use weed and grass killer at least a week prior to removing the grass so you give it a chance to kill the roots.

Asphalt Driveway Repair Professionals will use high-pressure air and heat to clean and etch the crack, but for the typical Do-It-Your-Selfer, a homemade pick or sturdy screwdriver will do fine.

You might consider an Asphalt Crack Hoe if you don't like working on your knees.

Use air from a compressor or a stiff bristle broom to thoroughly clean the crack from any loose debris after you finish digging and cleaning the crack.

Please Contact Us for additional resources regarding Asphalt Driveway Repair Tips