Best Asphalt Driveway Sealer

As part of the process of maintaining and securing a driveway, sealer is an important tool to add extra life to a driveway by way of strengthening and treating the driveway to resist the harsh elements of heat and cold alike. Normal asphalt driveway sealer (and other types of sealer) are available at standard home improvement retailers such as Lowe's and Home Depot. When choosing the right type .

An asphalt driveway should be sealed at least three months after it has been made (at least 90 days is required for the asphalt to properly set and cure before it can be sealed), and every three years or so after that to maintain its appearance, protect it from damage and increase the longevity of the surface and underlying foundation materials.Any driveway surfacing material, especially asphalt, can become lighter in color as a result of extended exposure to direct sunlight, which sometimes creates patterns between areas that were predominantly in the sun and those in the shade. Sunlight can also cause a premature drying of the asphalt, causing it to become brittle, which can lead to cracks and breakage points.Rain and ice can be especially damaging to an asphalt driveway; not only by eroding the paving material (especially where water may pool in lower areas) but in seeping through cracks and causing extensive damage to the underlying foundation materials.In addition to natural hazards, man-made elements can also cause damage to a driveway. Various fluids from vehicles parked on the driveway can cause stains and damage the surfacing materials. Motor oil, transmission fluid and even gasoline spills can be damaging to unprotected asphalt surfaces.There are a variety of asphalt sealers, starting with asphalt-based to coal tar emulsion sealers. The coal tar sealers have better resistance to solvents like oil and gasoline, and are also more durable than the asphalt sealers.In addition to those two mainstays there are also various types of residential driveway sealers on the market that use polymers and other types of materials. Because the ingredients are often proprietary, the best way to identify the best asphalt driveway sealer is by the length of the product's warranty and its price.And for sealing driveway openings like expansion joints and cracks in the asphalt, sealers that are applied using heat are typically the best asphalt driveway sealers.More information regarding the best asphalt driveway sealers can be found at the Natural Handyman and Gardner-Gibson websites.