Asphalt paving is the backbone of many good driveways. It makes your drive a little smoother and helps keep tires in pristine condition over just parking over gravel. In today’s day and age, wherever you look, you’re bound to see asphalt as far as the eye can see. You most likely have your own driveway at home or at your business and you want to make sure that it lasts as long as it can. Look no further as there are two distinct ways to keep your driveway in top condition over the years: Sealcoating and Paving.
Sealcoating and Paving
These two methods make sure that your driveway will stay fresh for the lifetime of your driveway. Both will eventually need to be done on your driveway. What sets them apart from one another is that each has their own purpose in preserving your driveway.
Sealcoating
Sealcoating can be compared to a fresh coat of paint on an old home. It is mostly inexpensive when compared to the cost of paving and can help extend the lifetime of your driveway. Without sealcoating your asphalt driveway is exposed to the elements and the binding agent it uses to stay in one piece will slowly degrade. That all changes with a good layer of sealcoating however.
Applying sealcoating involves using a special sealcoating formula that creates a layer on your pavement.This layer makes sure that the sealcoating is the one taking the hits instead of the pavement. Sealcoating ends up saves you money in the long run since the sealcoating layer is much easier and cheaper to replace than the pavement itself. It also ends up doubling the effective lifespan of your pavement making your initial investment much more cost effective.
Paving
If sealcoating is a fresh coat of paint on an old home, then paving is either replacing a wall or even tearing down your old home and putting up a brand new one. Paving is what you need when your pavement looks like it can’t handle another year in service. Compared to sealcoating this is much more effective at keeping your driveway pristine but also comes with a higher price tag.
Paving involves either putting new asphalt on old asphalt or scraping off the old asphalt and replacing it. The reason why it’s much more expensive is that it needs more specialized equipment and materials to get the job done.
The amount of damage to your asphalt is what determines if you should layer or replace it. If it looks like your driveway has more holes than a sponge, then you might be better off just replacing your entire driveway. It is highly recommended to replace old asphalt as putting a new layer just means that your new asphalt has an older, more degraded foundation. This makes it deteriorate faster.
Which Is Better?
The short answer is neither.
Each one has its own use and purpose. Sealcoating is your preventive measure that needs to be frequently done to make sure your asphalt pavement stays in top condition. Paving is your last resort and gives your driveway a new lease on life completely replacing the old asphalt with a fresh new layer. They work together to make sure that your pavement stays pristine over the years its in service.
