Essential Summer Maintenance Tips For Your Asphalt Driveway

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The next time you are in a driveway or parking lot, look down. You'll see pavement. Unless you have ever had a parking lot paved yourself, you probably have not spent a lot of time thinking about pavement before. Well, that's about to change. See, you happen to have arrived on a blog about pavement and paving contractors. We really like this topic, and so we write about it a lot. You're invited to read our articles. At first, you may not be too excited by that prospect, but we promise — there's a lot to learn about paving, and it's far more interesting than you'd think.

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Essential Summer Maintenance Tips For Your Asphalt Driveway

24 June 2022
 Categories: , Blog


Asphalt paving has gradually become a staple for residential applications, and this is not without reason. Indubitably, the inherent durability of this material makes it a top choice for homeowners looking for robust exterior flooring supplies. Additionally, the dark sheen of this material makes asphalt a decorative element on your property while still providing you with enhanced functionality.

Yet, asphalt does not have an infinite lifespan. To enhance the shelf life of the asphalt paving, you need to provide it with occasional upkeep, or minor defects could steadily worsen and jeopardize the integrity of this material. To ensure external factors are not taking a toll on your driveway, here are a couple of essential summer maintenance tips to keep your asphalt paving in pristine condition.

Keep an Eye Out for Puddles

Although the summer months are characterized by scorching hot temperatures, you do get a reprieve from time to time with summer rains. And while these rains are a welcome change since they create a cooling effect, they can wreak havoc on your asphalt paving if this material is already compromised. Certainly, asphalt is renowned for being moisture-resistant as long as it remains sealed. However, over time, dips can form on the surface of the asphalt.

When it rains, water pools inside these depressions, increasing the likelihood of it seeping into the asphalt through tiny fissures that could be present on the surface. Left undeterred, your asphalt paving becomes at risk of potholes. To avoid having to install new asphalt paving, you should keep an eye out for puddles. Any pooling of water should urge you to hire paving contracts to install an asphalt overlay to mitigate worsening damage.

Switch Up Where You Park

A drawback of the sweltering temperatures in the summer is the gradual degradation of the asphalt's surface, which occurs due to two main reasons. Firstly, extended exposure to heat will cause the surface of the asphalt to oxidize. This oxidation occurs when the ultraviolet rays dissolve the lightweight oils in the asphalt, causing them to become more viscous than normal. As a consequence, the surface of the asphalt hardens, and this increases its vulnerability to cracking.

Secondly, the higher the temperatures get during the summer, the higher the risk of the top layer of the asphalt softening, which makes this material susceptible to melting. Whether the asphalt becomes brittle or exceedingly soft, it is inadvisable to apply excessive pressure to it. Therefore, your best bet is to change your parking spot frequently, so you are not increasing the risk of damage to part of your driveway.

For more information, contact an asphalt paving service in your area.