Laying Down the Pavement

Asphalt Maintenance Tips for Repairing and Managing Professional Service

21 July 2021 by Clifton Sullivan

Asphalt is one of the more popular pavement methods for installing a driveway or parkway on your property, and it looks great with its dark coloring and smooth flexible surface. But the care that you take with your pavement needs to be kept up with so it does not leave you with a cracked and eroded surface. Here are some recommendations to help you take care of your asphalt driveway and keep it in great condition.

Inspect For Indications of Damage

To keep your asphalt pavement functional so it lasts its expected lifetime, you will want to inspect it regularly for damage, which requires more than just looking at your driveway when you drive over its surface. Get out of your vehicle and walk the length of your driveway to look for specific signs of damage and trouble that can lead to deterioration and failure of the pavement. 

Some damage may present as cracks over the surface of your pavement. Pavement cracks are natural occurrences when your pavement ages, but when they show up in patterns like a web-like appearance on your pavement, this indicates the foundation has problems and it needs to be repaired. Or if a crack becomes wide in your pavement and you can see down through the crack down to the soil below, you need to repair it. 

These types of repairs with deep cracks will usually require a professional asphalt service to fully repair the damage to prevent it from recurring. Some types of damage cannot be simply patched over, as the damage will continue up into the new patch layer, which is the case also for sunken spots. Watch for lower spots that have sunken in your asphalt, especially when it collects water from your yard's sprinklers or after a rainstorm. When water pools on the pavement, it will seep down into the cracks and through the foundation layers, which requires a full asphalt and base foundation replacement.

Use Maintenance and Repairs

Just as you keep an eye on your pavement, you similarly need to be diligent in handling regular maintenance and repairs. When you see vegetation growing along the edges of your pavement or from a crack in its surface, remove the vegetation immediately and patch the cracks. If there is a drainage problem where water flows across your asphalt, as an example, hire an asphalt professional to add in the appropriate drainage under the driveway. When you put off repairs, the small deterioration factor will continue in the asphalt and can put your asphalt into a state where it needs more serious repairs.

For more information, contact an asphalt contracting firm, such as Northern Asphalt LLC, to learn more.

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