A crack in asphalt is not a cosmetic problem, it is a plumbing problem. Water that enters a quarter inch crack does not stay in the crack. It travels into the aggregate base, saturates it, and reduces its bearing capacity right where wheel loads concentrate. One monsoon season through open cracks can undo years of otherwise good maintenance.
In This Article
The Right Window
Valley monsoon activity typically runs from mid June into September.
How The Work Is Actually Done
Proper crack sealing is not pouring material into a dirty crack.
What It Saves
Crack sealing is measured in linear feet and is among the least expensive services on a pavement maintenance plan.
The Right Window
Valley monsoon activity typically runs from mid June into September. That makes late winter through spring the ideal crack sealing window: cracks are near their widest from cool weather contraction, so sealant reaches full depth, and the work is complete well before the first storm.
Sealing in the middle of summer is possible but less effective, because thermal expansion has narrowed the cracks and the sealant cannot penetrate as deeply.
How The Work Is Actually Done
Proper crack sealing is not pouring material into a dirty crack. Cracks are routed or cleaned to create a clean reservoir, blown out with compressed air to remove dust, vegetation, and moisture, then filled with hot pour rubberized sealant that stays flexible through thermal cycling and bonds to the crack walls.
Cold pour products from a bucket look similar on day one and fail within a season in Arizona heat. The difference shows up the following summer. See our crack sealing and filling page for the full process.
What It Saves
Crack sealing is measured in linear feet and is among the least expensive services on a pavement maintenance plan. Full depth repair of a failed area is measured in square feet of removal, base correction, and replacement, at many times the cost per unit of pavement protected.
Properties on a consistent one to two year crack sealing cycle routinely postpone major rehabilitation by a decade. Properties that skip it fund that rehabilitation early. Our maintenance and repair programs schedule the cycle so it does not depend on someone remembering.
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