No matter how well you care for your asphalt, it will eventually develop cracks. Asphalt crack repair is an essential part of asphalt maintenance. By understanding how cracks form, the risks they pose, and the techniques used to repair them, you’ll be able to improve the quality and expected lifespan of your asphalt.
How Asphalt Cracks Form
Several different factors can cause asphalt to crack. They include:
- Wear and tear: Over time, asphalt, like any other material, degrades naturally due to wear and tear. This occurs no matter what additives or topcoats you use—asphalt has a finite life span.
- Water damage: Water can make its way into your asphalt; when this occurs, temperature changes can cause the water to expand and contract, causing your asphalt to crack. This problem is particularly common in the winter.
- Poor installation: When your asphalt has been installed improperly, it can be prone to cracking for a variety of reasons.
- Excess heat: Heat from the sun can cause your asphalt to expand—the pressure caused by this expansion (and the subsequent contraction) can then cause the asphalt to crack.
- Other factors: Tree roots, ground shifting, heavy traffic, oil spills, and more can contribute to asphalt cracking. Some of this is accounted for in wear and tear, but things like tree roots can cause sudden damage.
When You Should Look To Get Cracks Fixed
There are several different types of asphalt crack, and the type of crack will dictate, in part, how quickly you should get the crack repaired. They include:
- Alligator cracks: These interconnected cracks can make your asphalt resemble the skin of an alligator. They’re a sign of structural failure—the asphalt will need to be repaired.
- Block cracks: Large rectangular cracks that can develop over much of your asphalt’s surface—they usually form when the asphalt binder has lost flexibility due to age. They should be repaired, but they’re not as urgent as alligator cracks.
- Transverse cracks: These cracks run perpendicular to traffic, and are often caused by fluctuations in temperature, like the freeze-thaw cycle. You should seal these cracks to prevent more water from seeping in, which can cause the cracks to grow.
- Longitudinal cracks: The reverse of transverse cracks, these run parallel to traffic and can be caused by failures in the base. Repair is not usually urgent, but the cracks should be sealed.
- Edge cracks: They appear along the edge of your asphalt, and can be caused by poor drainage, overgrowth, and other problems. These are usually among the less urgent cracks, but the underlying issues should be addressed.
- Reflection cracks: These cracks “reflect” cracking in the old pavement that was paved over with asphalt. Low-severity cracks can usually simply be sealed.
- Slippage cracks: Slippage cracks are crescent-shaped, and usually occur because asphalt did not adhere to the substrate properly. These are severe cracks, and the asphalt may need to be replaced entirely.
Beyond the type of cracks, the speed at which cracks need to be repaired depends heavily on the size of the crack. Large cracks should be repaired as soon as possible, while smaller cracks can often be sealed to prevent water infiltration, with little to no other work.
Preparing for Crack Filling
Whether you’re dealing with asphalt crack repair on an asphalt driveway, a parking lot, or anywhere else, you’ll need to prepare the asphalt surface before you start to fix cracks. Here are a few of the steps you’ll want to take:
- Clean the area in and around the crack: To ensure that sealant or other repair materials can be used on asphalt, it needs to be cleaned. Hot crack cleaners or wire wheel cleaners may be used—in other cases, hand-held tools like trowels might be used. The goal is to remove any large objects, like weeds, large pieces of gravel, and other contaminants. From there, high-pressure air from a compressed air gun should be used to blow out any loose pea gravel.
- Dry the crack: High-pressure hot air can be used again to ensure that any moisture in the crack is dried. Cracks should only be filled on mild days with no rain or snow in the forecast—days with low humidity are also best.
How Asphalt Cracks Get Repaired
Small Cracks
For small crack repair, a rubberized asphalt filler is often used. This filler might be applied by a crack-filling machine that heats the filler; alternatively, it may be applied using a caulking gun. The asphalt binds with the surrounding asphalt, preventing water and other contaminants from entering the crack.
Medium-Larger Cracks
For larger cracks, more intense cleaning methods may be used, including power washing with a pressure washer and routing (where a crack is enlarged before being filled). Hot asphalt is typically used on large cracks—it will cool and harden after being applied. For some types of cracks (like alligator cracks), full-scale replacement may be necessary—replacement isn’t always possible.
Depending on the size and nature of the cracks, an asphalt patch may also be used.
Asphalt Sealcoating
Asphalt sealcoating can be used to slow oxidation, prevent water from entering cracks, protect your asphalt from being damaged by fuel, and even help your asphalt resist pressure. Sealcoating is commonly used on asphalt driveways, but it can also be used very effectively on asphalt parking lots.
Sealcoating should not be used as a crack filler or to repair cracks—think of it as a preventive coating that will stop some cracks from forming in the first place.
When To Seek Asphalt Crack Repair and Crack Filling Services
We recommend professional asphalt crack repair services to any business with asphalt pavement; DIY crack filler and other repair options can lead to more problems down the road, especially if you do them improperly. By working with professionals, you can limit your risk of damage to your pavement—and the risk of damage to your customers’ vehicles.
The pros at Infinity Asphalt can help you with any asphalt repairs you need; we can even help you protect your asphalt from damage in the future. We serve all of Calgary and the surrounding area. Get in touch with us today.