There’s no doubt about it – sealcoating pavement is one of the most important things you can do to protect and maintain your paved surface. And while the frequency of sealcoating will depend on other factors – such as the age of the pavement and how much heavy traffic it supports on a regular basis – most paving contractors would agree that fall is a great time of year to apply sealcoat.
Here are some of the reasons why that’s true:
- Sealcoat helps to repair the damage done over the summer. The harsh rays of the sun, combined with the heat and dryness of the summer months, can really wreak havoc on paved surfaces. So after the summer comes to an end, at the start of the fall season, is an excellent time to apply sealcoat to help repair the damage done during the hotter months.
- Sealcoat protects pavement from the weather conditions that occur in fall and winter. Just as the summer heat and UV rays can damage your paved surface, so too can the wetter and colder weather conditions coming in the months ahead. As strong and durable as pavement is, it’s inevitable that tiny cracks form in the surface. Often those cracks are barely visible, but they’re still big enough to allow water to seep in. Once that happens, the moisture expands and contracts when the temperatures change during the fall and winter months, and that can result in damage to the sublayers of the pavement. Sealcoating fills in those tiny cracks and prevents water from seeping into the surface.
- Weather conditions during the fall and spring are the best times to apply sealcoat. Ideally, sealcoat should be applied when temperatures are above 50 degrees and when no rain is expected for the next 24 hours or so. That means that from a paving contractor’s point of view, fall is a great time of year to apply sealcoat since the weather conditions are usually more favorable than at other times of the year.
- Sealcoating saves you money. Okay, we admit that this isn’t directly related to the fall months. But most of us would agree that any time of year is a good time to save money! Sealcoat is a relatively inexpensive way to extend the life of your paved surface. And, ultimately, having sealcoat applied will save you money in the long run since you won’t have to pay for more expensive repairs down the road.
To find out more about the benefits of sealcoating, contact a local, reputable paving contractor today and schedule an assessment.