Your pavement will eventually fail. It doesn’t matter how well you maintain your paved surface, it will eventually deteriorate and crack. However, how you deal with those cracks will determine how long your pavement will last. Sealing and/or filling cracks in existing pavement is the single the most effective procedure that can be performed to extend pavement’s lifecycle. This will prevent water and other foreign materials – sand, dirt, et.c – from seeping down into the asphalt where it can cause major distress and failures by weakening the base and sub-base.
This article from PaveManPro.com explains how filling or sealing pavement cracks is the most cost effective way to extend the life of your asphalt pavement.
Crack filling and crack sealing, while similar in nature, offer very different benefits.
Crack filling is less costly and will require less initial investment, but this solution may only be a temporary fix. Once the crack begins to move or expand, the crack filling material will lose its effectiveness and the crack will need to be re-filled. For this reason, crack filling is more effective in milder climates with less temperature change.
Crack filling materials include liquid asphalt, asphalt emulsions and cutbacks.
Crack sealing is a more costly option, but provides a longer life expectancy than crack filling – lasting 8 years or more. Crack sealing – which utilizes a flexible, specially prepared hot pour rubberized sealant – is considered a permanent treatment and is the only effective treatment for active cracks that contract and expand between seasons.
Crack sealing materials include asphalt rubber, rubberized asphalt, low-modulus rubberized asphalt and self-leveling silicone.
So explain your situation and budget to your pavement specialist and come up with a solution that meets your needs and your budget. If you have any questions, contact PTG Enterprises aka My Pavement Guy by calling 410-636-8777 or click here
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