Tuesday, June 3, 2014

How Driveway Repair Somerset County Contractors Can Help You

By Nora Jennings


You may use gravel, concretes, shell, or asphalt in constructing your driveways. Each of the different materials has its own pros and cons. If you have installed asphaltic driveways, the pavements will deteriorate and develop defects such as cracks, upheavals, sinkholes, potholes, and depressions. A driveway repair Somerset County contractor would be of great help in maintaining pavements. Cracks will form when the asphaltic material dries and hardens.

After you have installed asphaltic pavements, you have to dedicate your time in maintaining them properly. Regular inspection is crucial to help identify defects that may be forming on pavements. Asphalt material is a preferred choice for paving surfaces because it last for long and requires less maintenance.

Crack sealers will help prevent moisture from entering the sub base and causing your pavement structure to become weak. Water loosens up the soils underneath pavements resulting to a weak foundation, which cannot support heavy weights. If not sealed immediately, crack will allow moisture to continue penetrating below asphaltic blacktop thus increasing the frost heaving when the next winter season arrives.

The oxidation process entails shuffling and rearranging of molecules as they try to seek for an equilibrium state. It is a process that takes place the entire lifespan of asphaltic pavements. The first sign that the blacktop is beginning to deteriorate is the change in color and development of light raveling. As the paving material ages, it will lose its elasticity property and become dry and brittle.

The crack fillers need to be applied as soon as you see the cracks. In most cases, cracks become more pronounced in late spring. When they are not dealt with immediately, water continues seeping down the driveways and erodes the soils under the pavements. With time, you will have your asphaltic structure forming mini sinkholes in areas where soils have been eroded.

The freeze-thaw cycles also contribute to wearing and tearing of asphaltic pavements from inside out. When there are cracks on pavements, they allow water to penetrate and settle underneath the blacktop. That water will freeze during winter and expand. As it expands, it enlarges the fissures and creates bigger cracks. During spring, the frozen water unthaws and leaves empty spaces, which cause the material above to crumble down and fill over the area.

There is a variety of these fillers, and your paving contractor will advice you on the best quality to use. The type of applicator to be used will be determined by the width and depth of cracks. The fillers come in two broad categories, which are the hot applied sealers and the cold applied emulsions. No matter how good your pavement is constructed, it will not last forever. This implies that at some point, you will say bye to your structure and have to install a new one.

A sealcoating procedure is not meant to repair damages on driveway pavements. However, when applied on surfaces with fine hairline cracks, the sealcoats can address the problem. If the fine cracks become more visible and extended, they require a more effective method such as an overlay. With the pavement repair contractors, you can restore the quality and strength of such structures.




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