How To Repair Cracks In a Driveway

Cracks are common in driveways. But you need to treat them at the earliest. If left untreated, they may poise a bigger threat at a later stage. Cracks have a tendency to seep in moisture, thus widening the cracks and causing greater damages to the driveway. The cracks will start to accumulate water, ice, debris, and dirt. To make matters worse, weeds will also start growing through these cracks.

As soon cracks appear, get them sealed at the earliest. This will help in extending the lifespan of the driveway. You can purchase the best sealants from driveway contractors in San Jose to get the repairing work carried out. Doing it yourself may not be the best idea. Hiring a professional contractor makes the process easier and more effective.

 
Choosing the correct crack filler sealants
 

There are different types of sealants or crack fillers available in the market. But you need to find the most appropriate filler to meet your purpose. See, cracks can be of different size and shape. You need to look at the key characteristics of different sealants to understand the best option available to serve your needs.

Asphalt crack filler sealants are mostly made from acrylic, epoxy, coal tar, and asphalt. However, the most used options are sealants made from coal tar and asphalt.

 
Coal Tar crack sealants
 

Made from coal, this type of filler is sticky and thick. Coal fillers are used for covering an entire driveway. They are diluted with polymers and water to level the thickness consistency before spreading. However, coal tar sealants are prone to staining and UV degradation. They also seem to be non-environmental friendly.

 
Asphalt crack sealants
 

These are considered to be the most popular. They are environmentally friendly and extremely durable. Be it filling up a specific crack in the driveway or sealing the entire driveway, asphalt sealants work perfectly towards the process. Asphalt filler ropes are also used for crack sealing process. However, asphalt fillers are also susceptible to solvent staining and UV degradation.

 
Acrylic and Epoxy crack sealants
 

These fillers are environmental friendly and offers strong resistance from UV rays. They have a greater lifespan and offers strong resistance against stain marks caused due to oil and gases. If your driveway is located in a region with tropical climate, epoxy and acrylic sealants are better choices due to their resistance against UV rays.

The driveway crack fillers also include components like latex and sand apart from the base ingredient. Sand helps in offering surface traction, thus preventing the surface from getting slippery. Latex helps in extending the longevity of the sealant. Take professional help to fix your driveway crack using the best sealant.