Meet asphalt’s worst enemies and help keep them away from your asphalt.
Asphalt is a favorite material for driveways and other pavements, and it can last a long time if it’s taken care of and maintained. However, asphalt has some serious enemies that it needs to be protected from. If you’re serious about helping your asphalt driveway or other pavement to last for decades, you’ll need to keep asphalt’s worst enemies at bay.
Asphalt’s Worst Enemies
Asphalt’s worst enemies are the things that are most likely to cause damage to your asphalt driveway or other asphalt pavement. If you want to keep your asphalt in good repair for as long as possible, then you’ll need to ensure these things and your asphalt don’t meet in any long-term way.
- Standing Water. It’s fine for your asphalt to get wet, say from a rain shower or a sprinkler, but standing water that puddles on asphalt for an extended period of time does immense damage to your asphalt. Standing water wears away at asphalt’s protective top layer, and then the water gets into the asphalt itself and weakens the asphalt. If it’s not fixed, standing water will lead to potholes, cracks, and crumbling asphalt. The solution is to have your asphalt driveway or other asphalt pavement seal coated regularly and have any areas fixed where water is able to pool.
- UV Rays. The sun’s UV rays are damaging to asphalt’s tar, oxidizing it so that it ages and breaks down faster than other parts of the asphalt that are shaded. While you can’t control the sun, you can make sure to have your asphalt seal coated regularly to protect it from UV rays.
- Tree Roots. A good rule of thumb is that a tree’s roots can extend out below ground as far as the branches do above ground, and even farther for some tree species! Tree roots can cause upheaval and cracking to the concrete as they grow. Be careful about planting trees near asphalt pavement, and consult with an asphalt pavement expert if you’re having problems with tree roots. For large roots, you should also consider consulting an arborist as removing large roots can lead to the death of the tree.
- Motor Oil and Other Chemicals. Chemicals from your vehicle, like motor oil, cause your asphalt to degrade and break apart. Keep your asphalt driveway clear of oils and chemicals from vehicles, clean up spills as soon as possible, and have seal coating done at regular intervals, usually every one to three years.
Tucker Paving has decades of experience in the asphalt and concrete paving construction industry, from residential jobs like asphalt driveways to large commercial jobs like theme parks, schools, developments, and more. Contact us online, or give us a call at (863) 299-2262, for your next driveway paving project!