An asphalt driveway makes your exteriors more beautiful and also increases property value. But the durability of your pavement depends on proper maintenance and care. 

At Surface Solutions, we help homeowners in Delmar and all over Maryland pave and maintain stunning asphalt driveways. Click here to get a free estimate. 

In today’s blog, we discuss four ways to maintain the structural integrity of your residential pavement. 

1. Fix And Seal Cracks

Cracks can easily develop in the absence of proper asphalt maintenance. Cracks develop due to daily wear and tear and weather conditions.

Extensive cracking can also be indicative of deterioration in the foundation. 

Whatever the reason, cracks are bad for your curb appeal. They also cause tripping hazards for your family and guests. If cracks are left open, they will allow water and oil to penetrate into the base and sub-base, causing ongoing degradation.

When water enters the cracks during winters, it freezes and expands. As a result, the pavement gets pressured from inside, and soon you will see extensive cracking and chipping on the surface. 

That’s why you shouldn’t ignore the cracks and get them fixed immediately. Depending on the cracks’ size, asphalt paving companies perform filling or crack sealing to rectify the damage. 

2. Asphalt Patching

Potholes can also develop on the surface with ongoing damage.

Potholes can damage your vehicle when you drive over them. Moreover, during rainfall, potholes on a drive become water pools, which lead to drainage issues and erosion of the pavement. 

Asphalt patching is an effective way to get rid of potholes, provided that the foundation of the driveway is still intact. 

3. Sealcoat Your Driveway

Asphalt sealcoating is a great way to maintain the shiny, blacktop surface of your driveway. It also protects your pavement from weather damage, oil spills, water, and UV rays. 

During winters, a sealcoated surface will speed up the melting of snow and cause the water to flow away from the surface. For all these reasons, sealcoating is an integral component of asphalt maintenance. 

You should go for asphalt sealcoating every 2 to 3 years. 

4. Milling & Overlay

Finally, if your driveway has aged and developed surface-level damage, you can renew its look with milling and overlay. This is an effective way to create a new surface without damaging your driveway’s foundational layers.

During this process, the pavement’s top layer is milled away, and a new asphalt mix is laid out and smoothed with a roller. This gives your pavement a fresh lease on life and prevents you from the cost and hassle of repaving. The milled asphalt can also be recycled, which saves you money. 

These are the top 4 ways to maintain your asphalt driveway. Of course, you will have to go for more extensive procedures or even total replacement if there is any underlying damage. 

At Surface Solutions, we help homeowners in Delmar and all over Maryland pave and maintain stunning asphalt driveways. Click here to get a free estimate.