Is it worth sealing your driveway? How about we answer that question with a question? Is it worth it to paint your house? What about staining your deck? See what we mean? Sealing your driveway isn’t an absolute necessity – but few things truly are when you get down to it. It’s about what you value in your driveway surface and how long you want it to last.
Sealing Your Driveway Does One Thing…
Sealing, or sealcoating or any of a few other terms, is made to do one thing above all – extends the life and appearance of your asphalt. That’s the big idea, and it does this through a few different benefits.
Sealing Driveways…
Fights Oxidation
Oxidation is the scientific word for destruction due to exposure to sun and air. That’s right, it’s not just water that is the enemy of asphalt, just laying out in the sun unprotected allows for Mother Nature to start breaking down the asphalt. Oxidation hits the binding elements in asphalt almost immediately after paving – which at first is ok! Oxidation on a small level is needed to help the pavement harden. But, as is so often the case, too much of a good thing turns to bad!
When asphalt is forced to endure too much oxidation the pavement dries out and begins to crack. That crack then opens up more of the asphalt’s interior to the elements, causing the cycle of oxidation and deterioration to increase rapidly.
Sealcoating protects your driveway by slowing down that process.
Improves Appearance
There is something particularly nice and pleasant about a deep, dark, clean looking asphalt driveway. This is especially true for businesses! When the asphalt looks dingy, faded, cracked, and beat up it can even actively deter customers from wanting to drive or park there. Sealing your driveway will keep it looking fantastic, giving it the clean, uniform, and professional looking surface. And, since it fights oxidation, it will keep the asphalt from fading and looking rough,
Water-Resistant
We have talked at length about how water is the number one enemy of asphalt everywhere. It’s the thing that breaks into the asphalt and triggers the events that lead to a full on pothole. Sealing creates a physical barrier between the elements and your asphalt driveway keeping moisture out. And you know how we mentioned it will help prevent cracks? That’s doubly effective in stopping potholes as the small cracks created from drying asphalt are especially susceptible to water, so sealing helps prevent those cracks in the first place.
In performing these three critical services sealcoating protects and extends the life of your driveway. That means you’ll get years more use out of your surfaces preventing excessive repairs and reinstallations all for just the cost of sealing once and maintaining it every few years as needed.
When you look at it like that, is it worth sealing driveways? From a purely financial point of view that’s an overwhelming yes! Sealing might not be free, but when compared to other repairs and new paving jobs it’s an obviously better deal.
Ready to get your asphalt driveways sealed? Give Sunrise Asphalt a call today and get a free estimate for your asphalt job. We’ve been serving the Tucson area for over 40 years and in our business you don’t last that long without delivering the best quality and service available.
