Improve Your Driveway’s Curb Appeal and Protect Your Asphalt Investment
Savvy homeowners appreciate cost-effective ways to protect their property investment. Since your driveway is one of the most visible and vital parts of your property, it makes sense – functionally and fiscally — to regularly protect it with quality sealcoating.
A sealcoat sealant is a mixture of emulsified asphalt, water, and mineral fillers that is applied directly to the surface of prepared asphalt pavement.The sealant sits on top of the asphalt base, to form a barrier that prevents water, ice, car fluids, the sun, salt and other chemicals from staining, fading and eroding the driveway surface. Sealcoating prevents water from penetrating the pavement surface, and protects the driveway from oxidation and wear caused by exposure to the sun and air. Sealcoating also beautifies the pavement by providing a smooth, black, even surface.
The Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC 11-Step Driveway Sealcoating Process:
Enhance Your Driveway’s Appearance, Safety and Longevity
Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC clients are consistently impressed by our proven process of professionally sealcoating their driveway. You will be, too, once you take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the facts.
Let’s face it: on the surface (sorry, we couldn’t resist) sealcoating doesn’t appear to be a big deal. But especially in our harsh New England climate, it IS a big deal – and one that will cost you dearly if you don’t know the proven process, and the four major components required for sealcoating success.
Each step in our Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC 11-Step Driveway Sealcoating Process is vital to ensuring the appearance, safety, and longevity of your sealcoated driveway and driveway-perimeter property.
The key components of sealcoating are: Preparation, Protection, Application, and Follow-through.
Thorough PREPARATION of Your Driveway Surface
To pave the way for a successful sealcoat application, the Curb Appeal team thoroughly prepares your driveway’s asphalt surface, and your driveway-perimeter property.
Step 1: Place traffic cones around any vehicles and equipment in the street/roadway.
Step 2: Trim any overhanging vegetation or grass in the driveway area with professional tools.
Step 3: Clear the driveway surface with a professional blower to remove excess dirt and debris.
Step 4: Scrub any heavy dirt areas in the driveway with a professional wire broom.
Step 5: Clear dirt, vegetation and roots out of driveway cracks with a professional power wire wheel, and professional torch as-needed, which also dries up excess moisture.
Step 6: Apply a hot rubber crack sealer to driveway cracks as needed, and carefully dust the rubber seal with fine Black Beauty Sandblasting Sand; remove the proper amount of excess sand.
Careful PROTECTION of Your Driveway Perimeter Areas
Once the driveway surface is prepared, the Curb Appeal team works to protect your driveway-perimeter property, such as walkways, perimeter grass, garage doors, and sides of your home.
Step 7: Tape off all exposed walkways, walls or garage doors around perimeter of driveway.
Meticulous APPLICATION of Your Driveway Sealcoat
Step 8: Perform driveway border preparation; Tape 3-4 feet from garage doors, and 1-2 feet from grass.
Step 9: Apply professional-grade sealcoat product, taking care to hand-brush or squeegee as needed around the perimeter.
Post-Application CLEANUP & FOLLOW-THROUGH
Step 10: Block off driveway entrance with ribbon and stakes, and place Curb Appeal Asphalt Services yard sign.
Step 11: Advise homeowner of the appropriate wait-time to allow for curing of sealcoat, and remind them of other considerations, (i.e., turn off perimeter irrigation to keep the sealcoat surface dry).
What Makes Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC Your Best Choice?
It may seem that you have many choices for sealcoating your driveway. For example, you can try to do it yourself using consumer-grade products, and your own (or rented) tools and equipment. Or, you can hire an inexpensive sealcoat-applicator that may or may not use professional-grade products and equipment, or follow a proven process of preparation, protection, application and cleanup. Or, you can call us at Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC to discuss your needs and concerns, and get a free estimate for preserving the appearance, safety and longevity of your driveway.
Once you consider that Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC provides the successful mix of professional people, professional-grade products and equipment, and professional follow-through – as well as a genuine desire to earn your repeat business and client referrals – you’ll conclude, like many clients throughout New Hampshire and northern Massachusetts, that Curb Appeal Asphalt Services is your best, most cost-effective choice for overall value.
Professional People
Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC team members are chosen for their professionalism and skill, and trained by our firm’s owner/operator, Henry Cook – who also personally oversees each driveway sealcoating project. It’s easy to recognize your Curb Appeal Team, since we all wear Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC uniform shirts. This level of professionalism demonstrates respect for you as our client, and pride that our company is working to enhance the value of your driveway and property.
Professional Products
The professional-grade products used in Curb Appeal Asphalt Services, LLC 11-Step Sealcoating Process range from the heavy-duty tape and materials we use to protect the perimeter areas of your property, to the high-quality, fast-drying rubber crack sealer and Black Beauty® fine sand we use to repair cracks, to the high-quality professional-grade Tarconite® sealcoating product that we’ve found is ideal for successful driveway sealcoating in our harsh New England Climate.
Professional Tools & Equipment
Professional-grade sealcoating tools and equipment are more robust and effective than their commercial-grade equivalents. Sealcoating equipment and tools range from equipment transport-vehicles to high-velocity blowers and steel brushes used for preparation and cleanup, to application tools, brushes and squeegees, to the thick rubber boots our team wears so they can step right into the sealcoating product as they push and pull it into the pores and cracks to achieve a proper seal for your driveway.
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Sealcoating:
Why Sealcoat Your Driveway?
Sealcoating protects your asphalt driveway investment. Without a sealcoat, asphalt will deteriorate when exposed to gas, oil and other spills. Also, just like unprotected skin, your unprotected driveway is also susceptible to cracking and discoloration due to natural oxidation from sunlight.
What makes Professional Products Ideal for Sealcoating driveways in New Hampshire?
Although our seasonal New England region can be picturesque, New Hampshire driveways certainly take the brunt of seasonal weather extremes! To keep your driveway safe and attractive throughout every season, we only use professional-grade products such as Tarconite® sealer. Among its many other benefits, Tarconite® has sand in the mix, which is very important for traction, to ensure the safety of anyone who walks on your driveway.
Is Thicker Sealcoating Better?
It’s very important to understand that despite the “more is better” attitude that permeates our society –more is in fact NOT better when it comes to sealcoating thickness for your driveway. The goal of sealcoating is to accurately and completely fill in all the pores of the asphalt sub-base. If the sealcoating application is performed thicker than necessary, the product will not cure properly, which can lead to cracking and flaking. If the sealcoat is applied thinner than necessary, the surface may cure to be slick/slippery if there’s not enough traction-enabling sand in the application, creating a fall hazard.
How Often Should a Driveway be Sealcoated?
Driveway sealcoating frequency is based on the climate. Since our New England climate brings harsh winters and several freeze-thaw cycles, driveway sealcoating is advisable every 2-3 years.
