Asphalt CRACK SEAL
As asphalt pavement ages, cracks may begin to appear. Cracks develop for a variety of reasons – among the most common are thermal stresses (frost heaving), fatigue and reflective cracking from underlying pavement conditions.
Asphalt crack seal is a routine pavement maintenance service to prevent water from penetrating the aggregate base and sub-grade material below the pavement. ARS Asphalt recommends that cracks with a surface opening of 1/4 inch or more be sealed. This process begins with a thorough cleaning of all sand, dirt, debris and all non-compressible materials with high-pressure compressed air.
From there, crack sealant is applied as hot-poured or cold poured. Hot-poured sealant is heated in an on-site melting pot and applied to the cracks via a hose and wand applicator under pressure. The crack sealant must be banded or spread on the pavement next to the crack and cover a width of 3/4 to 1 inch on both sides of the crack. Banding of the crack seal product is done with a “V” shaped hand squeegee. The sealant will leave a permanent solid black line where it is installed.