WASHINGTON'S PREMIER
ASPHALT TEAM
Sealcoat Questions?
The pavement of asphalt driveways are made up of stones, fine sands, and asphalt binder. The binder acts as the glue to hold all of these aggregates together and provides the pavement with the rich, black color.
However, over time, the binder begins to oxidize with exposure to sun, rain, snow, and other elements – this is shown by the pavement color fading to gray. As the asphalt oxidizes, it becomes less flexible and cracks more easily with loads (such as cars) and with weather changes (such as freezing). Combine this deterioration with exposure to harmful chemicals, like motor oil, landscaping or household chemicals, and your driveway won’t stand a chance.
To prevent the harm caused by leaving your pavement unprotected, sealcoat is applied to “seal” out the sun’s UV rays, rain, snow, and harmful chemicals. In fact, studies have shown that maintaining pavement with sealcoat prolongs the life of your driveway and will prevent the need to repair or replace it for many years.