The Best Time for Sealcoating Maintenance
Asphalt pavement can endure for decades, provided you have maintenance completed on time. Whether a residential sidewalk, driveway, or commercial parking area, preventative upkeep and timely restorations are critical to helping your pavement last.
Over time, weather circumstances and everyday wear and tear begin to impair the surface. One of the initial indications of deterioration is cracks. Noticing and restoring these during early phases is straightforward, affordable, and less time-consuming.
Nevertheless, additional damage and weather changes can worsen the pavement if you overlook the cracks, leading to expensive repairs. At this juncture, you have several alternatives, including pavement sealcoating, to restore your investment. This post will examine the best weather circumstances for a sealcoating undertaking. However, first, let's discuss the benefit of sealcoating and when you need it.
Compared with crack filling, sealcoating is a more enduring solution that protects your pavement and boosts your property's curb appeal. Sealcoating doesn't replace your pavement's top layer, but sufficiently applied sealants produce a tough finish so that cracks do not expand or contract, even if temperatures vary. As a result, Sealcoating safeguards your pavement from gasoline stains, oil spills, climate, and traffic wear and prolongs the vitality of your asphalt. Other advantages of sealcoating include:
- Minimal long-term restoration costs.
- Quick melting of ice and snow on the paved surface.
- Protects asphalt from oxidation, petroleum, and chemical spills.
- Protects asphalt from rain, ice, and snow deterioration.
- Improves curb appeal.
- Extends pavement life.
Professionals recommend sealcoating every two to three years. But, of course, this leans on the structure's condition and the traffic frequency it is exposed to.
Now, let's examine the best weather conditions for initiating a sealcoating project. You should keep three weather elements in mind when considering sealcoating your asphalt.
Humidity and Its Consequences
Humidity is one of the leading weather conditions preventing sealcoating from providing optimum execution. When humidity is elevated, sealcoating needs plenty of time to cure and dry. Unfortunately, this also leads to delays and disturbances in traffic flow. Therefore, experts recommend checking for humidity before applying the sealant. The optimal humidity rate should be under 90% to guarantee that the sealant dries fast and effectively.
Wind Velocity and Its Influence
The next critical weather element to contemplate when sealcoating is wind velocity. It seems instinctive that heavy winds would be useful when sealcoating as it should assist in drying the sealant. However, when the wind velocity is more elevated than 10 miles an hour, it can spread the sealant around, potentially damaging nearby buildings or vehicles.
Temperature and Its Impact
Temperature is the next significant weather circumstance to take into consideration before sealcoating. It would help if you considered both the air and surface temperature. Occasionally, the air temperature may be suitable for spreading the sealer, but the surface temperature might not be. If the temperature is low, the sealcoating will take a prolonged period to dry, while extremely high temperatures can drive hyper evaporation, damaging the pavement. Thus, you should confirm both the air and surface temperatures are appropriate to encourage rapid evaporation. The best temperature for sealcoating is between 50 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.