General Sealcoating Questions:
How often should I seal coat my asphalt?
Every one to three years. Many factors must be considered including the amount of traffic and exposure to deteriorating elements. Too much sealer is detrimental. Sealer buildup will cause “mud cracking”, surface cracks throughout the pavement.
How much does it cost?
Asphalt sealing only costs pennies per square foot. Jet-Seal will give you a free, no strings attached quote.
Will Jet-Seal match a competitor’s price?
No. Will a Mercedes dealer match the price of a Chevrolet dealer? However, we are confident that when comparing “apples to Apples” Jet-Seal offers the best value for your dollar.
Does Jet-Seal offer group discounts?
Yes, give us a call and we’ll let you know how our group discount works.
How long should my asphalt last?
The cost of replacing non maintained asphalt costs seven times what it would cost to maintain the original asphalt. A properly maintained asphalt pavement will last up to three times longer than an unsealed pavement. This can amount to thousands of dollars, even for small parking lots or small driveways. A properly installed, well maintained asphalt surface should last 20 years.
How soon can I apply a sealcoat to freshly laid asphalt?
As soon as the asphalt is laid a chemical reaction takes place and it begins to oxidize. When some of the light oils leave the surface it can be sealed. A simple test will tell when it is ready for sealing. Spread some water on the surface. It the water spreads evenly without beading and shows no “rainbows” from surface oils you are ready. This is called a “water break test”. It usually takes about 90 days. We suggest twelve months.
FAQ Before Your Sealcoating Service:
There are a few things you should know before we come to your home or business to complete our sealcoating project. Please review these carefully as this will help you get the most out of your sealcoating and reduce the number of issues that may arise if not followed.
Cars/Other Objects: Be sure all vehicles are out of the garage by 8am and parked 25-30 feet from any asphalt surface to allow our team to work as well as limit potential of any accidents. For our commercial customers, clear all vehicles by 7:00 am or as agreed upon.
Sprinklers: Turned off 24 hours prior & until 48 hours after service. Avoid lawn cutting during this same period. The surface must be dry for our arrival.
Lawn Fertilization: Should not be installed 7 days before or after service.
Rain: If it is raining the day of scheduled service or a high probability of rain is in the forecast, assume we are not coming, and we will contact you to reschedule as soon as possible. We understand this can be especially frustrating as you could potentially be rescheduled several times depending on the weather in your area. However, this is something we cannot change so please stay patient with us and we will do our absolute best to get you scheduled on a clear day. If it rains after our installation, please contact your representative. We monitor the weather closely and can generally predict this very well. If an unexpected storm happens, we will touch up any areas where sealer has not bonded.
FAQ After Your Sealcoating Service:
When can I drive on my sealed Driveway? Barricaded Driveway: No rubber tire traffic (vehicles, bikes, trash cans, etc.) for 24 hours – 48 hours is vital for the best project. Even though the surface will appear to be dry in 2-6 hours, opening this up for any traffic will ruin this project. It is your responsibility after our crews leave your site to maintain all parameters of barricading after we leave the site.
Pavement Sealer: will take a minimum of 30 days to fully cure and is sensitive to animal droppings, tree droppings, water stains from irrigation systems, ponding water & tire markings during this time. This is normal and no reason to be concerned, it will fade over time. Areas of shade will take longer to dry and cure then areas in the direct sunlight.
Tracking: Maybe your kids, animal or mailman walked on the surface and tracked it on concrete, carpet, or your hardwood floor. We can only suggest helpful solutions to this issue. Contact our office and we will do our best to help you with this issue.
Sealer on Grass: You may expect a small amount of asphalt sealer on the edges where the grass meets the asphalt. This is normal and will disappear after the next mowing.
Existing Splashing/Overspray: If your existing pavement surrounding area has splashing or drip areas, we are not responsible for removal of that material.
Tire Marks: Once you start driving again on the newly sealed surface, avoid turning your wheels unless your car is moving. We understand this may be difficult to do but understand that when you turn wheels on a freshly sealed driveway scuffing and turn marks will be evident, no worries in time they will blend in with surrounding surface. Please Reference our blog post for more detail: https://jet-seal.com/why-are-there-tire-marks-on-my-driveway/
Discoloration/Streaking: Very infrequent but tends to happen more as the heat and humidity go up. The contrast in the color is between the difference in materials of an asphalt-based crack sealant compared to the coal tar-based sealer. Should this happen we will re-apply another coat 40% of the original cost.
Rust Stains: Rust in asphalt is caused by “Pyrite” inside the aggregate. The Iron in the pyrite changes into Iron Oxide (rust) when the aggregate is exposed to air and moisture when the asphalt is freshly laid. Rust stains will bleed back through the sealer but other than appearance is harmless. Rust stains will reappear sooner when the groundwater table is high.
Crack Sealing: Most residential crack sealing will fail either before or during the first winter after the service takes place, some will fail immediately upon service. Crack sealing is a subterranean problem (below the asphalt) and addressing the issue at the surface will result in the crack(s) opening again after servicing. All cracks will re-open, some sooner than others.