Maintenance guide
Sealing an asphalt driveway
in New Jersey
Sealcoating is the cheapest work you can do to a driveway, and the easiest work to sell you when you do not need it. Here is how we decide, after sixty years of paving driveways across Monmouth, Ocean and Mercer counties.
What sealcoat actually does
Asphalt is asphalt binder, stone and sand. The binder is what holds it together, and sunlight, traffic and salt break it down. As the binder oxidises the surface turns grey, the fines dry out, and small cracks open. Sealcoat is a new wearing skin over that surface. It takes the sun and the salt instead of the asphalt, and it keeps surface water from working into the pores of the pavement.
It is a protective layer, not a repair. A sealed driveway still fails if the base under it is soft, and no amount of sealer closes a crack that reaches the base course. Anyone promising that a sealcoat will fix a crumbling driveway is selling you a coat of paint.
How often, in this climate
Every two to three years is the honest answer for a residential driveway in central New Jersey, because our winters are the hard part. Road salt and plow blades abrade the surface, and the freeze-thaw cycle opens whatever the salt loosened. Sealing too often is its own cost: build up layers year after year and the surface turns brittle and cracks in sheets. If your driveway was just installed, wait a full season before the first coat so the asphalt can cure and the oils can work out.
What we do on a sealing visit
- Clean the surface of dirt, grit and vegetation from the edges and joints.
- Fill and tamp any cracks and depressions worth saving.
- Mask the garage apron, walkways and any surface that should not be coated.
- Apply two coats by squeegee and spray, then block the driveway off while it cures.
The right weather matters as much as the product: the surface needs to be dry and the overnight temperature well clear of freezing, which is why sealing season here runs from late spring into early autumn.
The winter habits that protect it
Plow with a rubber-edged blade where you can, keep the blade off the surface rather than scraping it, and go easy on rock salt. Calcium chloride blends are gentler on asphalt and on the plantings along the edges. Clear the snow before it refreezes into ice, and keep downspouts and gutter outlets running away from the driveway instead of across it.
If your driveway is past protecting, our driveway paving page covers what a replacement involves, and the asphalt vs. concrete guide covers the other decision people ask us about.
Time to seal
- The surface has turned from black to dull grey.
- Water no longer beads, it soaks straight in.
- Hairline cracks are spreading out from the edges or wheel paths.
- Loose grit and stones keep working their way to the street.
- The last sealcoat was more than three years ago.
What sealing won't fix
- Cracking that runs all the way through the slab.
- Soft, sunken or heaved areas from a failing base.
- Potholes, alligator cracking and broken edges.
- Standing water after rain, which means the grading is wrong.
Free on-site estimate
Let's pave it once,
and properly.
Call the crew directly or send us the details — we'll walk the property, put the estimate in writing and tell you honestly whether you need a replacement or a repair.