No one wants to deal with potholes—not when they seem to appear out of nowhere on the road while you’re driving and not when they pop up in your driveway.
Asphalt sealing—called sealcoating in the industry—is one way to lower the risk of your driveway developing cracks, potholes, and other damage. Let’s dive into how sealcoating works, how long it lasts, how often you should reapply it, and more!
What Is Asphalt Sealing?
There are several different kinds of asphalt sealing, which we’ll refer to as sealcoating for the rest of the article. Sealants vary from acrylic-based sealing paints to coal tar-based sealants. No matter which sealcoating you choose, however, they all serve the same role: Protecting your driveway from moisture, UV radiation, oils, and other damage.
Asphalt sealing is designed to prolong the lifespan of your driveway, but it’s not a cure-all. Water can still infiltrate below your asphalt driveway and cause potholes. Sealcoating is designed to protect the surface—it can be used to seal minor cracks and stop the elements from entering your driveway from above.
How Long Does Sealcoating Last?
There are a number of different factors that can affect the lifespan of your sealcoating. These factors include:
- The type of sealcoating you use
- How much traffic your driveway gets
- How exposed your driveway is to the sun (tree cover, your driveway’s orientation, and other factors can impact this)
- Weather, oil and chemical spills, and other exposure to the elements
In Calgary, you can generally expect sealcoating to last from 18-36 months, with the 2-year mark being the limit for most sealcoating. Our weather takes a toll on sealcoating—but all that damage would otherwise be done directly to your driveway.
Proper care of your sealcoating can improve its lifespan. Don’t overapply; sealing every year can lead to peeling, cracking, and other damage. It’s one of the reasons you should always trust professionals to reseal your driveway—we won’t apply sealant if your driveway doesn’t need it!
Why Driveways Need Resealing
Eventually, the sealcoating on your driveway will no longer offer the same level of protection. The elements that your sealcoating protects your driveway from will eventually wear it down. That leads to small fissures in your driveway becoming exposed again—water and other substances can then leak in. When winter comes, the water will expand into ice, damaging your driveway.
When To Seal a Driveway
Dry, warm, and a bit windy—these are the ingredients to create the perfect application of sealcoating. When the weather is dry, there’s no risk of the sealcoat trapping moisture. When it’s warm, there’s no risk of the sealcoat becoming brittle before it bonds with the surface of your driveway. Finally, when there’s a nice breeze, the sealcoat will dry more quickly—and you’ll be able to use your driveway sooner.
Basically, if the weather makes you want to go for a nice walk, it’s probably perfect for applying sealcoating. This means that spring, summer, and fall are the best times to apply sealant. Late spring and early summer are particularly good times, because weather is less volatile.
My landscaper just dropped off some mulch and fertilized the lawn. How will this affect the sealing process on my driveway?
Negatively. The pH of mulch and fertilizer can cause it to have negative chemical reactions with common sealcoating materials. While this won’t lead to any dramatic explosions, it will have a negative impact on the effectiveness of your sealcoating.
We recommend waiting a week or two after the mulch and fertilizer have been applied before applying sealcoating. Alternatively, you can powerwash your driveway to remove any mulch or fertilizer.
How Long It Takes To Seal a Driveway
The length of time it takes to seal a driveway depends largely on the size of the driveway. With our level of experience, even large driveways can be sealed within a day, while smaller driveways take a few hours.
It’s important to stay off of your driveway as the sealcoating dries. In ideal weather, foot traffic is okay a few hours after the sealcoating is applied; vehicle traffic, on the other hand, should be avoided for 24-48 hours.
By calling Infinity Asphalt for sealcoating, you’ll get:
- Access to fast drying sealcoating
- Professionally applied, longer lasting coating
- Sealant that’s applied properly and quickly
- A driveway with a longer lifespan
There are a lot of reasons to love sealcoating; call Infinity Asphalt today, and you’ll see the difference that professional quality makes!
Brent Schuldhaus is the founder and president of Infinity Asphalt. He grew up in Calgary, Alberta, played junior hockey for three years, graduated from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University in Ontario with a Bachelor of Commerce and went on to found Infinity Asphalt in 2019.
