Sealcoating, Asphalt Resurfacing or Repaving?
Sealcoating, Asphalt Resurfacing or Repaving?
As durable as asphalt pavement is, it is not going to retain its pristine beauty for eternity. It may suffer from cracks, water penetration, potholes or fading. Having cracks repaired as soon as they occur can help extend the life of your pavement, but the time will come when you realize that you need to do more if you want an attractive, safe pavement. Here are three procedures that can be used to give your parking lot or roadway a new lease on life.
Sealcoating, Asphalt Resurfacing or Repaving? -An Overview of Asphalt Repaving
There are many times when the best thing to do is tear out your existing pavement and replace it from the foundation up. Asphalt paving contractors refer to this as repaving. After removing the existing pavement, the foundation is rebuilt to ensure that it will provide a stable, strong base for the new pavement. Multiple layers of asphalt are then applied and rolled into place. The results will be at least as durable and attractive as new construction. Although asphalt repaving can be expensive, in many instances, it can actually save you money in the long run over piecemeal repairs that may need to be repeated frequently. As a general rule, if you have a damaged foundation or alligator cracking, numerous potholes or large cracks that continue to expand affecting more than 25 percent of your pavement, you should consider repaving.
An Overview of Asphalt Resurfacing
Resurfacing has one similarity to repaving — it will produce an attractive, undamaged surface. However, resurfacing does not require the removal of your existing pavement. Instead, the contractor will apply an additional course of asphalt directly on top of your pavement. Cracks and potholes will need to be repaired first or new breaks will quickly occur in the new surface at the same locations. To be a successful candidate for resurfacing, the foundation should need few or no repairs, and the surface of the pavement should have cracks, potholes or other damages over less than 25 percent of its area.
An Overview of Sealcoating
There are two things that should be stated about sealcoating. The first is that it is not a repair procedure — it is a maintenance procedure. The second is that it is one of the most critical maintenance procedures you can perform. Sealcoating can return faded asphalt pavement to its original color and mask minor flaws in the surface, but its greatest value is in the protection it provides. Sealcoating acts as a sunscreen to filter out harmful UV rays that fade asphalt pavement and leave it too dry to remain flexible and resilient. It also slows the rate at which harmful chemicals can reach the binders in the asphalt pavement and cause premature deterioration. Because sealcoating has limited repair abilities, cracks or other damage will need to be repaired before the sealcoating is applied.
Let MCE Dirtworks Evaluate Your Pavement
At MCE Dirtworks, we have been providing a full range of commercial and driveway asphalt paving services throughout Cape Cod for more than two decades. In addition to asphalt repaving, we offer new construction, asphalt repairs, pavement markings, sealcoating, excavation services and site work. We are a locally owned business committed to delivering superior results and 100-percent customer satisfaction at competitive rates. To request a free estimate, you can call (508) 240-5541 or submit the convenient online form.
See “What is Site Work” below and what MCE Dirtworks does!
