Winterizing Your Asphalt: Protecting Your Puyallup Driveway
- By No Author
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- 04 Feb, 2025
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Winter can be harsh on your driveway, especially in Puyallup, WA. Cold temperatures, ice, and snow can wreak havoc on asphalt, leading to costly repairs if not addressed early. At Sealtech Asphalt, our team of experienced asphalt professionals in Puyallup, WA, knows exactly what your driveway needs to withstand winter weather.
Below, we’ll explore how the freeze-thaw cycle affects your asphalt, what winterization steps you can take, and why hiring an asphalt contractor in Puyallup, WA, is a smart investment to keep your driveway in great shape.
Why Winter is Tough on Asphalt
In Puyallup, WA, winter brings the freeze-thaw cycle, which can cause cracks and potholes in asphalt. Water seeps into small cracks, freezes and expands, widening the damage. When it thaws, the process repeats. Hiring a professional like Sealtech Asphalt can help protect your driveway from winter wear by providing preventative maintenance.
Key Winterization Steps to Protect Your Driveway
1. Fill Cracks and Sealcoat
One of the most effective ways to prepare your driveway for winter is to fill any cracks and apply a sealcoat. Crack filling prevents water from seeping into the asphalt, reducing the chances of expansion-related damage. Sealcoating, on the other hand, adds a protective layer that helps keep water and chemicals like road salt from penetrating the surface.
A professional sealcoating job by an asphalt contractor in Puyallup, WA will not only help your driveway look better but also extend its lifespan. Sealtech Asphalt offers sealcoating services tailored to withstand harsh winter conditions, ensuring your driveway stays intact.
2. Ensure Proper Drainage
Poor drainage is another factor that can lead to asphalt deterioration. If water pools on your driveway, it increases the likelihood of freeze-thaw damage. Our team at Sealtech Asphalt can evaluate the drainage around your driveway and recommend solutions to keep water from accumulating, such as installing small channels or adjusting the asphalt slope.
3. Regular Cleaning
Debris like leaves, dirt, and branches can trap moisture, accelerating wear on your asphalt. Regularly sweeping your driveway and keeping it clear is an easy but effective way to prevent damage. Consider hiring an asphalt professional in Puyallup, WA, to perform a pre-winter cleaning and inspection to catch potential issues before they escalate.
4. Minimize Salt Use
Salt is commonly used to melt ice, but it can harm asphalt if applied too frequently. As a trusted asphalt contractor in Puyallup, WA, Sealtech Asphalt suggests using sand as an alternative, which can provide traction without causing as much harm. If you must use salt, try to limit it to areas prone to ice buildup and avoid over-application.
Why Trust Sealtech Asphalt for Your Winterization Needs?
Sealtech Asphalt is a local expert when it comes to asphalt maintenance and protection in Puyallup, WA. Our experienced team uses high-quality materials and proven methods to ensure your driveway is winter-ready. Whether you need crack filling, sealcoating, or drainage improvements, our services are designed to keep your asphalt durable, safe, and attractive.
Winter weather can quickly turn minor cracks into costly repairs. By investing in professional asphalt services with Sealtech Asphalt, you’re not only protecting your driveway but also preserving your property value.
For expert help from trusted asphalt contractors in Puyallup, WA, visit our website; or give us a call today to schedule a consultation.
Taking steps to protect your driveway now can save you from costly repairs down the road. Let Sealtech Asphalt be your go-to asphalt professional in Puyallup, WA for winterizing your driveway.
Paving contractors carry out the process of compaction using heavy-duty machines appropriately known as compactors. But not all compactors are the same. These machines may differ in terms of the particular types of compaction forces they utilize.
This article will help to further your understanding of paving installation by discussing the four types of compaction forces used to ensure stable, long-lasting paving results
4 Reasons Your Asphalt Parking Lot Needs Patching
Asphalt parking lots may look relatively invulnerable, but like anything else left out in the weather, they can degrade over time. Whether you've fallen behind on maintenance or whether the asphalt is cracking and crumbling because of faulty construction or installation, seeing potholes and alligator cracks appear can be quite a disconcerting experience.
If this does happen to you, you may want to find out what the underlying problem is in order to make informed decisions about repairs. Here are four reasons these types of damages can occur.
1. Weathering
The weather doesn't have any immediately apparent effect on your parking lot, but over time, the damage builds up. Different types of weather, such as UV rays, fluctuating temperatures, and freeze-thaw cycles, can affect the asphalt in various ways:
- UV rays degrade the quality of the tarry substance holding the pavement together, making the pavement less supple and more crumbly.
- Fluctuating temperatures cause the asphalt to expand and contract, causing cracks, especially after the pavement has sustained some UV damage and is more brittle.
- Freeze-thaw cycles attack your asphalt by causing water that's settled in little crannies in your pavement to expand, forcing the cranny's edges apart to cause cracks.
As you can see, the outside world is no friend to your parking lot. Even if this is the only factor causing cracks, you still need to keep up with maintenance if you want a long-lived asphalt surface and hope to avoid potholes.
2. High Traffic
Heavy traffic levels (especially extremely heavy vehicles) can not only cause cracks but also other types of damage such as buckling — and they can eventually lead to potholes as well.
The more customers you get, the more stress your pavement takes, which is why experts recommend that you occasionally have your parking lot re-painted. By repainting your parking lot and designating new parking areas, you allow different areas of the parking lot to take the heaviest traffic, extending the life of your parking lot.
3. Incorrect Installation
You may have inherited your parking lot from the previous facility owner, and if so, you may not have been around when the parking lot was installed. But you can probably imagine how many problems can occur if the contractor did a poor installation job. Here are just a few of them:
- Alligator cracking
- Sunken areas/depressions
- Buckling
- Slippage cracks
- Ruts
Some of these, such as alligator cracking, can be caused by other problems. However, if your pavement is only one or two years old and already has alligator cracks, that's not normal.
4. Oil Leaks
Depending on the type of business you have, your customers may leave their cars in your parking lot for hours at a time — and some of the cars may have slow oil leaks. Oil leaks are a problem for you because the oil breaks down the tarry glue holding your parking lot together, leaving the spot unprotected. If they are not cleaned up, these oil spots can actually lead to potholes.
The initial damage is less extreme. First, the oil eats away at the surface of the asphalt and allows water through. Next, the water works its way all the way down through the layers and causes water damage to the parking lot's foundational levels. Then the entire area of asphalt deteriorates, becomes shot through with cracks, and eventually breaks up until a crater forms.
If you don't patch the area before the pothole finishes forming, the damage could already be spreading to the surrounding asphalt and weakening it as well.
Knowing that your asphalt needs patching is the first step towards getting it patched. The next step is contacting a reputable and experienced company in your area for a quote, so give Sealtech Asphalt Inc. a call today to discuss how we can help you.
