Maintain Your Asphalt Driveway

An asphalt driveway needs care and attention to keep it looking its best. Without the proper maintenance and repair, driving up the driveway can be like navigating an obstacle course. An important part of asphalt maintenance is to promptly fill any cracks and holes and clean oil spills.

If you proactively make repairs as soon as you notice trouble spots, your driveway should last for years without needing to be resurfaced.

Your local True Value hardware store has the expert advice and products you need to keep your driveway looking great and in working shape.

Step 1. Prepare the Area
Before you begin, carefully inspect your driveway to see what materials you'll need. If you have to patch or seal any large cracks, plan on making the repairs as soon as possible. This will give the patches enough time to cure.

If you plan to apply a sealer, make sure the sun has warmed the driveway for an extended period of time. Check the forecast and try to seal it when you will have two days of dry weather. Mask any adjoining surfaces to protect them, and wear old clothes and shoes.

Use an ice chipper, a lawn edger or a spade to scrape away any grass or weeds in the cracks or encroaching on the driveway's surface. Then use a stiff broom to remove dirt and debris from the driveway. Use a wire brush to dislodge loose material from the edges of small potholes and large cracks. You can also blast away loose material with a garden hose or an air compressor.

• Wear eye protection during this process to protect against flying debris.

For best results when using crack filler or compound and driveway sealer/filler, scrub the entire driveway with a diluted driveway cleaner to remove all dirt and oil film. Pay particular attention to areas to be filled or patched. Oil stains may need repeated cleaning. Seal any remaining stains with an oil spot primer.

• Consider wearing kneepads – this job requires quite a bit of kneeling.

Step 2. Wash the Driveway
Hose the driveway with as much pressure as possible. It might be worth renting a power washer, especially if you have other exterior cleaning chores to do. Work from the center out to the sides or from one side to another. Start uphill, too, so the dirt won't wash back onto the cleaned area.

Hose the driveway until it's completely wet, then sprinkle a thin layer of environmentally safe detergent. Use a broom to work the detergent into the surface and then hose the driveway again until the water runoff is clear.

Step 3. Vacuum Debris
Use a shop vacuum to remove all remaining dirt from the cracks to be filled. These must be very clean and dry before filling. Don't use compressed air for this step or the dirt will blow out of the crack and onto your just cleaned driveway.

Step 4. Fill Cracks
For the sake of the environment – for easier application and cleanup – choose a water-based acrylic filler/sealer. You can expect to cover 300 to 500 sq. ft. per five gallons of sealer, depending on the general condition of the driveway and if it has been sealed previously. For best results, use sealer/fillers that fill cracks up to 1/8” wide and look for crack fillers that have “rubberized asphalt emulsion.”

For cracks up to ½”, use crack filler packaged in no-mess cartridges for a caulking gun or in pourable squeeze bottles. Squeeze the caulking gun trigger steadily as you pull the tip along the crack. If using pourable filler, fill the crack and smooth with a putty knife. Be sure to keep the filler in the crack, not on the driveway surface.

For cracks over ½” wide, fill the crack with a non-porous foam backer rod material before sealing.

For potholes or wide cracks, you'll need to do a little more repair. Shovel packaged blacktop into the well-cleaned hole, then use an iron rake to level the large patches. Use a cold chisel and a hand drilling hammer to undercut the edges so the hole is wider at the bottom than it is at the driveway surface. This will lock in the patch once it has been compacted.

• Clean tools immediately after use with warm soapy water. You don't want the filler to set on your tools for good.

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Step 5. Tamp It Down
Press down the material as best as you can with a tamper or the end of a 2 x 4, adding more material as you go, until the hole is slightly overfilled. Then place a piece of scrap plywood over the patch and drive a car back and forth across it to further compact it.

Step 6. Apply Sealant
Once the cracks are filled, it's time to seal the asphalt. Make sure you keep the sealant/filler well mixed. Mix sealant/filler well before you start and once or twice during the process. After masking adjoining areas, mist the driveway with water. Then pour a 1'-wide ribbon of sealant across the driveway. Push and pull the sealant with the squeegee side of the applicator to spread it until you've covered an area that's about 3' or 4' wide. Repeat this process until you've covered the entire driveway.

Step 7. Finish Sealing Process
Using the brush, pull the sealant toward you and apply enough pressure to remove all excess sealant. Continue down the driveway. Two thin coats are better than one thick one. Allow the first coat to dry about 12 hours before applying the second. Block the end of the driveway to keep cars off until it is completely dry – at least 24 to 36 hours.

• You can use silica sand additive to make coatings less slippery when wet.

Great job! Your driveway looks like new and is protected from the elements. For all your maintenance and repair projects, head to your local True Value hardware store to get the tools, products and expert advice you need to start right.

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