How to Repair Your Blacktop Asphalt Driveway

If you are a DIY kind of homeowner looking to do repairs for the first time, there are a lot of simple yet effective tips you really need to know as long as the asphalt driveway is still in decent condition. However, if you have an old blacktop or asphalt driveway with so many alligator cracks or potholes, then you may be better off to have your asphalt driveway resurfaced with a new one. 

 

Common Problems in Asphalt Driveway 

First, let us begin by explaining the primary problems with the blacktop asphalt driveway. This will help you make a decision if you really need to perform initial repairs or you will only need to fill the cracks and sealcoat that are actually just simple preventative maintenance jobs and not really repairs.  

Spider Web and Alligator Cracks 

Does your driveway show a group of small cracks which looks like a giant spider web or an alligator’s back?  

Spider web cracks or alligator cracks, also known as gator cracks, look like a spider web or scales of an alligator. As a matter of fact, if dinosaurs were still living with us, some would be calling the cracks as T-Rex cracks. If you are fortunate enough, you only have a bit of an area of the alligator cracks which you will be required to repair on the asphalt driveway however, they are not that difficult to repair at all. On the other hand, if you have a large area of cracks, it is basically going to take so much of your time, some extra materials as well as money. 

Potholes 

Does your asphalt driveway have a lot of potholes? 

Potholes are portions of an asphalt which are no longer present in your driveway. It literally makes a hole in your asphalt driveway. The origin of this word is slightly confusing but you can actually use your creative imagination to derive with the idea of how it became and known to be a pothole. In addition to that, potholes are areas of your asphalt driveway which will also require repairs. Size of the potholes can differ from several feet to even a bit of an inch in diameter and most of the time, they may lead to unmaintained alligator cracks if not taken care of. 

Bird Baths and Sink Holes 

Bird baths and sink holes are commonly caused by primary setting of the ground right after the asphalt driveway was surfaced with a new asphalt. They are formed either by a poor constructed foundation or a base that has been washed away for several years, and the light of the sun has heated the asphalt enough which it already contours to the lacking base.  

In high traffic areas or colder climates, these depressions will stress your asphalt and may cause it to crack that eventually results to potholes over time. Minor sinkholes known as bird baths are usually one to two inches deep and they have the same repair methods with alligator cracks. While these repairs can be done easily, it’s still highly recommended by experts that you leave it to the hands of qualified and experienced sealcoating Hanover PA service providers. 

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