A crumbling pothole or a bad crack opening up in your driveway right before the winter freeze sets in in Goshen, IN requires immediate attention. Dealing with asphalt damage early keeps a minor nuisance from turning into a full-scale pavement failure. Here is what you need to know before you grab a shovel, what actually happens during the process, and how to figure out if you should fix the asphalt yourself or call a professional asphalt contractor.
Before You Start: Assessing the Asphalt Damage
Take a walk down your driveway in Goshen, IN and look closely at the problem areas. If you are dealing with hairline cracks or a tiny surface depression, you can usually handle that on a Saturday afternoon with a bag of cold patch from the local hardware store. But if the edges of the hole are crumbling away, or if the sub-base feels spongy when you step on it, surface patching will not cut it. In northern Indiana, our wet springs and heavy winter snowpacks put serious stress on driveways, and a soft base means water is sitting underneath your pavement.
During the Project: DIY vs. Pro Methods for Asphalt Repair
If you are doing a quick fix on a small surface pothole, clean out all the loose debris, dump in your cold patch, and compact it down hard with a heavy tamper or the tire of your car. Do not skip the compaction step, or the patch will just scatter the first time a snowplow comes down the street in Goshen.
On the other hand, if you have got a larger failing section, a permanent fix requires proper saw-cutting, removing the damaged material down to solid sub-base, applying a tack coat, and laying down hot mix asphalt. That is where Absolute Asphalt Inc comes in. Absolute Asphalt Inc brings out commercial plate compactors and hot material that bonds right into the existing edges so the Asphalt Repair patch does not pop out loose a month later.
After the Patch: Protection and Curing for Asphalt Driveways
Once your Asphalt Repair patch is in place, give it time to cure properly. Cold patch takes weeks to fully harden under traffic, while hot mix needs a solid 24 to 48 hours before you start parking heavy vehicles on it again. Keep an eye on the edges where the new material meets the old driveway in Goshen, IN. Sealing those joints once the patch has cured completely will keep water from seeping back in and restarting the whole cycle.