3 tips for effective asphalt maintenance

It’s well known that the temperature in Québec isn’t particularly kind to asphalt surfaces. Between the various freeze and thaw cycles that the seasons constantly bring us, simply and effectively maintaining your asphalt surface helps you preserve it for longer and – above all – keep it in good condition.

Regular deep cleaning

As obvious as it might sound, regular asphalt maintenance lets you remove any debris that may be hiding there. Indeed, regularly cleaning your asphalt surface allows you to detect any faults or imperfections in your asphalt earlier, making it easier to subsequently handle any issues or make repairs.

Preventative repair involves simple maintenance

To repair potholes or other cracks in your asphalt surface, regularly maintaining that surface lets you target the various imperfections that you’ll have to repair as soon as they appear. Clearing away debris such as leaves, sand, rocks, etc. from the surface will make it easier for you to directly see the areas that need to be repaired. The steps involved in this cleaning and maintenance are simple procedures that you can perform methodically whenever you go outside to do your household chores; you just have to really consider your asphalt, and that’s all! By making it easier for you to identify the imperfections that can be fixed, you make way for the third step.

Protect your asphalt surface with a high-quality sealant

As you can guess, if your asphalt has cracked in the past or shown signs of aging such as cracks or other larger splits, it may be a sign that the condition of your pavement is deteriorating. It becomes especially advisable in this particular situation to apply a high-quality pavement sealant to protect your courtyards or any other asphalt surface. By having already adopted the good habit of cleaning your asphalt and repairing or targeting imperfections in advance, you’ve made your job easier when it comes time to apply the sealant. Once the cracks and other holes have been filled, you just have to clean your asphalt thoroughly and then apply a sealant to give a fresh, smooth look back to your surface.

At this point, you just have to properly mark off the ground and your surface to make sure that you’re not pointlessly getting any sealant outside your surface. Bearing in mind that applying an asphalt sealant is done in the same way as painting the walls of a house, you can lay down some industrial adhesive tape along the boundaries of the surface and put down some cardboard to make sure you don’t go too far and ruin your other nearby surfaces (ceramic tiles, grass, stone, wood, and other surfaces). Once you’ve found the right protective product, equip yourself with a good paint roller tailored to asphalt and then apply the sealant to your clean asphalt surface. Occasionally, you’ll need an extra layer of protective coating, and in that case, it would be a good idea to lay down an adhesive product first to make sure that the different sealant layers can properly adhere to your surface.

It’s not too late!

Even if your asphalt surface is more than ten or even twenty years old, it’s still possible to give your surface back its youthful glow. Although, over time, asphalt can become rough and therefore hard to clean, it’s still possible to take the time to clean it thoroughly, seal the cracks and gaps that time has inflicted on it, and prepare the surface for the sealant application. It’s like a facelift for your asphalt, which just goes to show that anything is possible with the right products and professional service!