Seal coating is the process of sealing your asphalt driveway or parking lot with a petroleum product that will protect the underlying asphalt. Asphalt is a great material for driveways and parking lots because it resists heat and cracking, yet is flexible enough to absorb impacts and to respond to changing temperatures. The amount of giving in an asphalt parking lot might be unnoticeable when you are walking or driving on it, but those factors do make asphalt surfaces some of the most structurally sound.
Asphalt Dangers
Your asphalt is vulnerable to some influences, though. For one, asphalt is vulnerable to substances that can dissolve the asphalt little by little. One such substance is actually the acorn – the tannins in acorns leach into asphalt and pavement. They can stain the asphalt, and the small amounts of oil and acid in the acorn can cause a reaction in the asphalt.
Seal coating in Norwich, CT protects against such dangers. You can contact us to find out more dangers to your asphalt. Very few things are an existential threat to your driveway, but the effects do add up.
Reapplying the Coat
Seal coating has to be reapplied every few years to keep your driveway in the best shape possible. If you reapply it as needed, you can actually go for decades without your driveway or parking lot cracking. It’s not often you see a driveway that’s fifteen years old without a single crack in it, but that’s possible with a seal coat.
The seal coat protects against dissolution from leaking oil, natural tannins, and other substances. It also protects against the impact of changes in humidity that can affect an unsealed driveway. When the humidity and temperature rise, the asphalt tends to expand slightly; when the temperature drops, the asphalt contracts. That motion can create problems in an unsealed driveway.
