In a study conducted by Girish C. Dubey, the chairperson of the Pavement Coatings Technology Center at the University of Nevada, Reno, it revealed that repairing and maintaining asphaltic pavements using sealcoats saves homeowners and business persons lots of dollars. From the study, if homeowners and business persons sealcoated their driveways and parking lots, they are able to save approximately $15.25 in every square yard of the road.
This amount translates to $152,500 for a parking lot or driveway that measures 10,000 square yard. What this means is that homeowners and business persons can save about 48 percent compared to unmaintained asphalt. Using sealcoats to cover pavements and protect them against environmental and manmade factors costs less amount but it can double or triple the lifespan of the driveways.
Driveways and parking lots are an investment for homeowners and business people because they not only enhance the aesthetic beauty of their premises but also improve the movement of traffic. But driveways and parking areas need proper maintenance. Asphaltic pavements are vulnerable to environmental conditions like ultraviolet rays, snow, anti-freeze effects, and rainwater. They may also be damaged by manmade elements like oil spills, vehicle transmission fluids, and salts and traffic loads.
One way in which the blacktop of roads can be protected is through use of sealcoating products. Sealcoating prolongs the lifespan of drives and parking areas. When sealcoats are applied, they provide a membrane cover, which is weatherproof. This means that the pavements are not directly exposed to effects of ultraviolet rays and rainwater.
Sun and water accelerate the natural oxidation of asphaltic material meaning that the paving surfaces will dry fast and become rigid. Initially, when you construct a new driveway, the asphaltic layer is flexible. It expands and contracts evenly without causing any distress. However, as it ages and continues to be exposed to weather conditions like sunlight and rainwater, it becomes inflexible. It is not able to contract and expand easily as it initially used to do.
With traffic turning over the driveways, coupled with the heating and effects of water, the pavements degrade in quality. Homeowners need to ensure that they constantly inspect their roads and driveways to ensure that they are in good condition. One way to detect that the drives and parking lots are deteriorating is the change in colour from jet-black to gray.
As the drives age, they begin to breakdown and this allows more problems like ravelling to start occurring. The first sealcoat should be applied after the asphalt has cured properly and this may take between 6 months to one year. This ensures that the sealants bind firmly on top of the blacktop. Other sealcoats can be applied after every 2 to 5 years depending on the rate at which the sealcoat loses its protection ability.
When rain water infiltrates the pavement layer, it settles on the bed and loosens the aggregate material. With heavy traffic, this causes the driveways to crumble. Similarly, when water settles on the bed, it may freeze during the cold weather and expand. Upon expansion, the frozen water widens the cracks underneath the pavement. When it melts, it leaves a void and this causes the blacktop layer to crumble down. Moreover, heat from the sun bakes the asphaltic pavement making it oxidize faster than usual.
This makes the pavement rigid and with continuous use, it begins to form cracks. If not repaired, the cracks allow water to collect in and settle on the bed. The cracks may intensify forming more pronounced cracking known as "allogatored cracks". These damages are very costly for the homeowner or business person but they can be prevented with use of sealcoats. One thing about the sealcoating is that it does not cure the problems in pavements. If there are cracks, they should first be repaired before a coat is applied.
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