Crack Seal
This is the least expensive preventative maintenance technique that you can use. Crack seal should be performed on a yearly basis.
Seal Coat
Seal coat will protect the asphalt surface from gasoline, diesel, grease and detergent deterioration. It will also give the lot a nice, uniform black color. Colorado winters are hard on seal coat so you can expect 1 to 3 seasons max from a seal coat. Seal coats that are sprayed instead of squeegeed are usually thinner and last less time.
R&R
R&R (remove and replace) is the only resort when the asphalt (or concrete) is broken-up and rocking or moving. It is the most expensive of the repair processes and is usually due to insufficient depth or soft sub grade. If you allow funds to reconstruct the sub grade, the new concrete or pavement will last a long life.
Overlay
Overlay is a preventative maintenance technique that is usually performed before the asphalt has broken up and needs to be torn out (R&R). The old surface is cleaned, tack coated and then overlaid. Cleaning is very important. A poorly cleaned surface is like painting a dirty car. It will look good when it’s done but it won’t last.
Milling
Milling is a process by which the asphalt surface or the entire asphalt cap is milled down to accept a new wearing surface or an entirely new asphalt lot. It is a relatively new process and been refined so that the new milling machines offer state-of-the-art “green” technology which generates usable road base as a byproduct. Removal and precise grading are performed in a single pass. This eliminates over-travel if the entire asphalt cap is removed, greatly reducing the possibility of “wicking”. Wicking occurs when there is moisture under the surface. Too much travel can cause this moisture to be drawn to the surface. This results in once hard ground becoming soft—-and a huge change order to the customer. Milling reduces this possibility to a much greater degree than any other method of removal.
Milling offers the ability of removing just the wearing part of the surface, so that another wearing surface can be installed instead of tearing out the entire asphalt cap. The savings is substantial and most municipalities have gone to milling 100% over R&R.
