
From a high level of heat and humidity to extreme cold in winters and the occasional snowfall, asphalt has to endure the adverse weather condition that summer and winter offer.
Heat and ultraviolet rays from the sun are damaging to your asphalt in more ways than one, and excessive moisture can erode even the strongest pavement structures.
Fortunately, various paving service providers can help you in keeping your pavement intact and looking like new, no matter the weather.
How Does Weather Affect Asphalt?
With high average summer temps and heavy monthly rainfall, asphalt is subjected to excessive heat and moisture nearly every day of the year.
Asphalt driveways have to cope up with various weather conditions. Some of the situations are explained below:
- Wet Weather and Moisture
Excess moisture from wet weather can erode nearly any physical structure, but it’s especially damaging to asphalt pavement and concrete.
What’s more, damage sustained from inclement weather is not always obvious. Moisture from rain seeps into your asphalt’s porous surface, degrading the structural integrity of the slab. Don’t forget the freezing weather.
Once the thermometer drops below 30F, the moisture trapped inside the slab freezes and expands, resulting in stress fractures and cracks in your pavement. Frozen water expands the size of the crack and aggravates the situation.
- Excessive Heat and UV Rays
When asphalt pavement is exposed to the heat and humidity during summer, it becomes susceptible to cracking, fading, stress fractures, and soft spots. Asphalt absorbs heat.
When subjected to persistently high temperatures, the asphalt surface can soften, and its form can become distorted, causing it to heat up faster and unevenly in portions.
The fluctuation can cause the rigid asphalt slab to curl, leading to stress fractures on the surface and tensile stress fractures at the bottom of the slab.
Unfortunately, the heat is not the only concern when it comes to protecting your asphalt in the summer. Ultraviolet rays are incredibly damaging to your asphalt.
UV Rays increase the rate of surface deterioration, weakening the bonds between the asphalt components and causing your asphalt to fade to a dull grey.
How to Prevent and Repair Erosion & Damage?
The effects of heat, UV rays, and moisture of your asphalt can be damaging, but let’s not forget the effects of regular wear and tear.
Consistent, heavy use can eat away at the structural integrity of your asphalt, but you can protect your asphalt from any damage with regular preventive maintenance and by seal coating cracks as soon as they appear.
To maintain the good looks of your driveway even after the adverse weather conditions, follow the below-given tips:
- Sealcoating
This technique will help you in extending the life of your asphalt jet-black finish and wards off the damaging effects of ultraviolet rays. Also, it will bring back the luster of your driveway.
Sealcoating technique makes your driveway durable and new as it is newly paved. Once you have had your cracks, potholes, and broken pavement repaired, plan to have an asphalt sealer added to help maintain and increase the lifespan of your asphalt even more.
An expert in asphalt repairs such as asphalt repair Sydney contractors will typically recommend a seal coating. This can be applied to an entire area or parking lot, to give it a fresh paved appearance, or it can just be used on patched and repaired areas to keep the costs more economical.
- Cracksealing
With the technique, you can halt the spread of existing cracks and increases the overall lifespan of your pavement.
Do not let the water and debris accumulate inside the cracks of your asphalt surface. Otherwise, the situation of crack will go worse.
- Pavement Marking
Re-painting the parking lot area will replace the faded parking stripes with the brighter one, and this trick will help in restoring the visual appeal to your parking lot. Also, it will help the drivers to easily find the place for parking.
- Infrared Repair
Infrared light is used to heat a specific area of pavement, enabling to focus on a specific area of pavement, instead of removing and replacing large sections.
This technique is perfect for critical repairs, correcting, potholes, and maintaining rough surfaces in drive lanes. This is a new technique to fix the issues in your asphalt driveways.
Protect Your Asphalt from Unpredictable Weather
The only thing we can say for certain about the weather is that it will certainly remain unpredictable. There is no telling what sort of climate fluctuations could unfold between this season and the next.
That’s why it’s essential to protect your asphalt today, because the longer you wait to protect your asphalt, the harder it will be to repair it.
Whether it is large repair projects to basic maintenance and repair, never delay the situation to make it worse. Hire the best professionals in your area who can help you in tackling any situation.
If you’re ready to defend your asphalt from damage, then it’s time to let your driveway shine bright.