Rehabilitate Your Asphalt Driveway

Have you ever had a crack in your asphalt driveway? If so, Grand Haven Asphalt Company has some tips for you. Repairing an asphalt drive can seem daunting, but with the right materials and some time spent on it, anyone can do it! Follow these steps to repair your own asphalt driveway:

Find the source of the leak, so that you can replace the damaged material. If it is a small crack, you can repair it with hot oil-based asphalt patching compound . This product is available at your local hardware store or online. Apply enough of this product to completely fill in the hole and allow for one inch of new asphalt on both sides. Use a putty knife to smooth down any ridges left by the applicator, then use a rolling pin or scrap piece of wood to flatten out that area as well. If there are larger holes, you will need more extensive measures! First remove all loose debris from around the hole using an ice pick , screwdriver/hammer combo tool (this is also good for removing old patches), hand tamper , rake , bucket full of water, and broom . Then pour hot asphalt into the hole until it reaches about one-inch below ground level. Pack down all loose particles using a hand tamper or similar tool (optional) then let this dry for 24 hours. Once that is done, mix up some patching compound as previously mentioned and pack it into the holes to fill them in completely. Use a putty knife or trowel to smooth out any ridges left by the repair product before letting it cure overnight again.

Take care of those pesky potholes! If you have an issue with larger craters on your driveway, first make sure they are not too deep – if there’s more than three inches of material missing from within these potholes, then they will need to be filled in with a special product such as asphalt crack filler . This material is incredibly sticky and it only takes about 30 minutes for the solvent of this compound to evaporate. It dries quickly and can hold up against wear and tear on your driveway! Use a putty knife or trowel (or even an old credit card) to carefully apply this asphalt crack filler into any holes within the potholes. Be sure not to get too close to the edges when applying so that you don’t have over-filling issues later! Let dry overnight before hitting these areas with some cold water from your garden hose – just enough pressure will pop out all of those pesky air bubbles that would prevent long lasting repairs from being done.

Finish off the final product! After allowing those potholes to dry overnight, smooth out any ridges or lumps with a putty knife and broom . Then apply hot asphalt patching compound as explained above to completely fill in all of those cracks and holes within your driveway. For best results use a trowel for this step – just pack it down until there are no more air pockets left behind before letting that area cure overnight again. When you come back tomorrow, hit that newly patched up area with some cold water from your hose (just like when filling potholes!) then allow these last repairs to fully harden over night one last time before parking on them again.