Sealcoating Your Driveway Before Winter

It may seem like winter is still quite a ways off, but if you’ve lived in Maryland for any amount of time, you know just how hard winter will hit once it finally arrives. Therefore, it’s worth planning ahead and getting some of the jobs on your to-do list accomplished now, while the weather is still nice.

One of those jobs you should consider taking on this summer or early in the fall is sealcoating your driveway. If your driveway is paved with asphalt, sealcoating will help it to stay in good condition for a long time and protect it against the winter elements. Here’s some information from a paving contractor in Montgomery County, MD about why it’s a good idea for you to invest in sealcoating this year before the weather starts to cool down:

• Protect against the elements: As we briefly mentioned already, sealcoating gives your driveway some extra protection against the cold and the winter weather. The freezing and thawing cycles we go through in Maryland can wreak havoc on pavement, which can cause cracking in asphalt as it expands and contracts. However, sealcoating will help prevent these cracks from forming and can prevent water from getting into cracks that already exist. This means you won’t have to worry as much about potholes or other damage to your paved surfaces.
• Prevent more costly repairs: Sealcoating does require an initial financial investment, but it’s worth it when you consider how much money it can save you in future repairs that you might wind up needing without it. If you leave your asphalt paving untreated, you’ll need to totally replace it much sooner than you otherwise would, which is a large expense and a huge inconvenience for homeowners. Keep up with your sealcoating and avoid having to spring for those major costs when they’re not needed.
• Good time to do it: The late summer and early fall are good times to seal your driveway, because the temperatures are generally pretty moderate. You need temperatures to be consistently over 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and at least 24 hours free of heavy rain, but you also don’t want it to be too hot, or the sealant will have a difficult time curing. The leaves should still be on the trees, otherwise you’ll end up having to deal with leaves falling all over your driveway while you’re waiting for the sealant to cure.
• Promote longer pavement life: We already mentioned that sealcoating your driveway can help you avoid total replacement, but it’s worth expanding on this point a bit more. Your driveway will last much longer when it’s been sealed, because the sealcoat keeps the pavement smoother. A smoother surface has been shown to extend the life of the pavement by 10 to 25 percent. Plus, if you’re looking to sell your home anytime soon, a freshly sealed driveway gives the new homeowners peace of mind in knowing they won’t have to worry about their pavement for a while.

For more information about sealcoating in Montgomery County, MD, contact the experts at Maryland Asphalt LLC today.

Categorised in: Driveways, Sealcoating