Toronto Asphalt Driveway Sealing
Have you been thinking about having your driveway sealed? Now is the time of year to protect your driveway, home and property by sealing your asphalt driveway. YSeal specializes in asphalt maintenance and protection, servicing Scarborough, Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area (G.T.A.) Big or small, our driveway treatment service will leave your home looking bright and your driveway looking fresh. We have answered some questions below that you may have about seal-coating.
For our quick jump feature, follow one of the links below:
YSeal? – Reasons to Seal
Benefits of Sealing your Driveway
Our Asphalt Sealant
Common Driveway Problems
- Gas and Oil Stain Treatment
- Oxidation: How it is destroying your driveway
- Crack Repair
The Difference Between Asphalt Sealants
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YSeal? – Reasons to Seal
While you may not realize it, your driveway is the most abused piece of property in your home and it goes unnoticed. We turn a blind eye to problems daily, such as:
- Year-long exposure to ice, snow, rain and the scorching sun
- Heavy parked vehicles for days on end
- Oil, gasoline and other motor fluid leaks that eat away at asphalt
- UV Ray exposure, leading to Oxidation
- Daily wear-and-tear
Over time, any combination of these factors slowly eats away at your asphalt, leaving it grey, cracked and looking forlorn. In other words, these harmful factors do major damage to your asphalt driveway over time. Often times, it takes as little as 5 years for a new asphalt driveway to display symptoms of these problems. By this time, cracks have already formed, oil stains have sunk in deeply and now you’ve got a problem on your hands.
Sealing your asphalt driveway regularly (every 1-3 years depending on traffic) provides a shield to prevent damage from our extreme Canadian weather conditions. A properly sealed driveway disallows any water or moisture to settle underneath the paved surface, preventing cracks, sagging and pot holes. Sealing your driveway will also protect the asphalt from any motor fluid leaks that would otherwise soak in and eat away at the surface, further protecting from future damage.
Benefits of Driveway Sealing
While sealcoating your driveway has many protective properties, there is also a huge curb-appeal boost that comes with our service! By calling us and having your driveway sealed, you will:
- Prevent asphalt from turning grey and dull
- Instantly improve the value of your home
- Prevent cracks, potholes, heaving and buckling
- Protect against damaging UV rays and Oxidation
- Prevents oil, gas and other fluids from penetrating surface
- Give your home newfound curb appeal
Your home will look great with a fresh, sharp and jet-black driveway. The front of your home is the first impression to your visitors, so don’t let your driveway get away from you! We can help you transform the entrance to your home into a clean and inviting area in just moments! Read on for more information on sealing your driveway, and how we work to meet your needs.
Our Asphalt Sealant
We use only 100% Undiluted Blackmac Driveway Sealer from McAsphalt Industries Ltd. (mcasphalt.com). Blackmac Driveway Sealer is a top quality protective sealer that has been specifically formulated to preserve and protect existing asphalt pavements. Blackmac is ideal for any asphaltic pavement surface such as driveways, parking lots and walkways. It is a fuel resistant surface sealant and within as little as a few minutes after installation a tough, but ductile black satin surface protects the underlying asphalt surface from sun degradation and moisture penetration.
Blackmac is an oil-based asphalt emulsion sealer. It is composed of the exact same substances as your asphalt driveway is, allowing it to do more than just “cover” the surface. Our Blackmac sealant will actually soak into your asphalt driveway, which will restore colour and life while adding significant protection.
Common Driveway Problems
Here you will find our solutions to common asphalt driveway problems. If you have any further questions that aren’t answered here, please see our Frequently Asked Questions. You may also contact us at anytime, we’re more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
Gas and Oil Stain Treatment
We often get questions similar to this:
“My car has been leaking on my driveway for months, and there are dark oil and gasoline stains everywhere. Is there anything you can do? Will sealing my driveway help this?”
A properly sealed driveway will protect from these petrochemical leaks. Without a regular application of sealant, your asphalt driveway is left bare to fend against damages from these highly toxic chemicals. Here’s how we treat gas and oil stains.
Before sealing, it is recommended to remove as much excess oil or gasoline from the surface. These fluids do major damage to asphalt and interlock surfaces, as they accelerate natural breakdown. They include chemicals that interact negatively with the paving, weakening the asphalt and leading to major replacement costs.
Often times, your oil and gas stains aren’t as bad as you think they are. We are able to apply an oil spot primer to all affected areas before sealing. This will ensure that our sealant adheres to the asphalt despite the oil stain, protecting it from future spills and reducing any damage that may be caused by the current spots.
If you believe that there is a significant amount of oil on your driveway, there’s a great product to help you remove it quickly. Go to your local hardware store and purchase a box of T.S.P. (Trisodium Phosphate) Powder. Be sure to follow all instructions and safety precautions before using.
Once applied and rinsed off, you should find that your oil stain has been reduced and will hopefully save your asphalt from major damage. To protect from further stains, sealed asphalt repels oil and gas to prevent stains from daily use. Each driveway is different, call us to receive individualized treatment. If T.S.P. is needed and used, our oil spot primer will work much better and your end result will be even more spectacular.
To protect from further stains, sealed asphalt repels oil and gas to prevent stains from daily use. Each driveway is different; call us to receive individualized treatment.
Remember, it’s not just oil and gasoline that are harmful to your driveway! Any motor fluid will cause damage, and so will any sprays or lubricants for your vehicle. If you are servicing your own vehicle, be sure to cover any parts of your driveway that you may be using. It is better to avoid a spill than to remove one!
Before any job, we always prepare any stains that may blemish the surface of your pavement. While nearly impossible to completely remove the oil from your driveway, you can still save your driveway from some of the damage. By removing as much excess as you can and subsequently applying our oil spot primer, you will be amazed at the difference it will make once freshly sealed.
Asphalt Oxidation: UV Ray and Sun Damage
“What is Asphalt Oxidation and how does it affect my asphalt driveway? Will sealing my driveway help this?”
As soon as a brand-new asphalt driveway is laid, it starts to break down. The sun and its UV rays beat down on the surface of your driveway. The constant exposure to these damaging agents will harden and dry the asphalt driveway out, reducing asphalt thickness dramatically and encouraging cracking and potholes.
Over time, the UV rays and the sun will remove all the oil and sands from the asphalt, leaving behind the dry, dull and parched parts.
The oxidation process in asphalt can be likened to the drying of leaves. As a leaf gets older and dries, it becomes brittle, fragile and near impossible not to break. Similarly, after oil and sand has been evaporated from the surface of your asphalt driveway, it becomes very brittle and very fragile. At this point, your driveway is vulnerable to any of the damaging factors mentioned above.
This process can happen in as little as just five years. This process turns the asphalt from black and healthy to grey and brittle. Having your driveway sealed on a routine basis provides protection from UV rays and the sun, making it difficult to promote the oxidation process.
If you think you are suffering from asphalt oxidation in your driveway, call us and we’ll see how we can fix your problem! Once cracks have begun to form, you have waited too long. Don’t wait until it’s way too late, or else you’ll be looking at a completely driveway replacement.
Crack Repairs
The biggest problem that plagues asphalt driveways is cracking. Cracks are the first sign that your driveway is likely being affected by one of the harmful factors that have been mentioned above.
Cracks are extremely dangerous and threaten the structural integrity of your paved surface. Once a crack has formed, it creates an easy passage for water to pass through. This water sits beneath the surface, slowly eroding the layers beneath your asphalt. Before you know it, more cracks have formed and slowly the driveway begins to sag.
To repair cracks, we use a special crack filler named KoldFlo. KoldFlo is modified asphalt emulsion crack filler designed for maintenance of asphalt. KoldFlo prevents cracks from becoming potholes by sealing them from the weather’s destructive freeze and thaw.
KoldFlo is only effective for cracks up to maximum 1” width and depth. Anything larger than this will require a separate treatment using asphalt cold-patch repair.
Once coupled with our Blackmac Driveway Sealer to finish, your major cracks won’t be a problem anymore. It is recommended to monitor your driveway for any new cracks or old cracks that are expanding and leaving the filler behind. Any of these cracks should be treated yearly in order to prevent further and more major damages.
What’s the difference between asphalt sealants?
The most debated subject when it comes to sealing your driveway is almost always this: “What type of sealant do you use?” or “Which type of sealant is the best one?”. If you have done research into this subject, you may have found yourself overwhelmed with the amount of information on the issue.
First, lets break sealants down into two groups: oil-based (or petroleum-based) sealants and acrylic-based (or water-based or cold-tar-based) sealants.
Oil-based Sealers are formulated to penetrate the surface of asphalt. By penetrating the asphalt driveway, it acts as a stain rather than a paint. This provides more flexibility for the asphalt during freezing and thawing weather conditions.
Oil is a natural component of asphalt, and using a proper oil-based sealant replenishes and rejuvenates asphalt. Oil-based products are also protective and resilient against petrochemical spills.
Oil-based sealant will not peel, flake or crack. It is absorbed completely by the asphalt driveway and protects from the inside-out.
Acrylic-based Sealers are designed to cover and sit directly on top of the asphalt surface. While these sealants visibly change the appearance of your driveway, the sealant will do major damages to your driveway.
Acrylic sealants act like paint, covering asphalt and not allowing it to breathe properly. This often leads to surface cracking, buckling and heaving.
Acrylic sealant coats can still be effective in resisting oil and gasoline spills. But since the product sits on the surface instead of penetrating it, acrylic and cold-tar sealants have a history of flaking, cracking and peeling after drying out in the sun day after day.
Thank you for reading! We hope that we have answered any questions you may have had about sealing your asphalt driveway.
Ready for a quote?
Call: (416) 436 – 7559
E-mail: info@yseal.ca
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