What Is Sealcoating?

If you have any asphalt pavement on your property, it is likely that you are aware of sealcoating, but it could be that you are not entirely familiar with what the term means or what it can do for you. Common questions on the subject involved how sealcoat actually workes and what it typically costs. With any luck the following paragraphs offer some useful insights and will assist you in determining whether it should be an important part of how you maintain your asphalt.

The bottom line is that sealcoat is a combination of liquid as well as small solids such as sand meant to offer restoration and protection for asphalt surfaces. Commonly, it is comprised of different blends of mineral filler, dissolved asphalt, and water. It is easily applied by using a broom or squeegee, or even in spray form.

It should be noted that sealcoat products tend to be designed to incorporate materials and oil typically found in asphalt paving products. As it is placed on the existing surface, the oils sink down and help restore and replace binder that has dried and cracked with the passage of time. Also, the tiny solids such as sand and minerals work to fill gaps and cracking that plague the aggregate, causing the surface to become level again.

Once the cracking has been filled and the oils replaced, asphalt surfaces often look practically like new. In addition, sealcoating offers a barrier between the pavement and damaging elements such as rain, sun, traffic abrasion, and potentially harmful chemicals.

Reasons to Choose Sealcoating

Pavement is typically comrpised of over 95% aggregate particles, with the rest made of bitumen (asphalt), or the sticky, oily, black substance that holds sand and gravel together. For new pavement, these oils are pliable, which leads to a flexible final product. But with time, the oils become dry, and the asphalt becomes brittle. When the pavement has less binder within in, the tiny particles become exposed and loosen themselves from the paved surface. This process is referred to as raveling.

By applying sealcoat, these critical oils are brought back into the pavement, bringing back some of its lost flexibility. The sealcoating also serves to protect the aggregate and to thwart raveling.

The Cost of Sealcoating

The fact is that sealcoating is a wise investment in terms of the protection that if offers your paved surfaces. While all-new asphalt paving runs roughly $2.25 a square foot, it is possible to have sealcoating done for roughly $0.12 a square foot. Asphalt paving that is treated with sealcoating on a regular basis can have a life span of up to 30 years, something which offers property owners tremendous financial savings.