Driveway sealer

Hello, I hired a company to seal coat my driveway. They said they would be there Saturday. They were a no show and at 4:30 I texted him. He replied I will check with the crew. No response, now I have decided to do it myself. I have been looking for a deal on sealer. Prices are $11.99 to $71.99. No two people sell the same brand so I can’t do an apples to apples comparison. Does anyone have any advice on a good brand or supplier. Any insight would be appreciated.
the driveway is empty and clean, so I would like to get it done this week.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kevin nee

Hello, I hired a company to seal coat my driveway. They said they would be there Saturday. They were a no show and at 4:30 I texted him. He replied I will check with the crew. No response, now I have decided to do it myself. I have been looking for a deal on sealer. Prices are $11.99 to $71.99. No two people sell the same brand so I can’t do an apples to apples comparison. Does anyone have any advice on a good brand or supplier. Any insight would be appreciated.
the driveway is empty and clean, so I would like to get it done this week.
Thanks in advance, Kevin

---

I always use the middle price point. The cheap seems to be too thin. The better stuff often has grit in it like sand to help with traction. Never felt I needed anything better like the expensive stuff.
One tip- Take a look at the buckets and see if they are sun faded/ old. Stuff that looks old is often stock from last year and sat outside during the winter for storage. If it was frozen it is often like muck in a bucket and terrible to spread.

My take on the grit is it depends on the slope of your driveway. Mine is pretty steep and when I used one with minimal grit, is was real slippery when wet. The next time I used one with more grit and it was much safer when wet. That’s all I got.

When I bought 5 gallon buckets of the aluminum roofing coat tar base I had the paint shaker machine at Home depot shake them up for me. I have no idea how thick the road tar stuff is. Do you have to stir it before use?
Bill D

It's generally a major PITA for me to prep my driveway for sealer, and I don't get many sunny days to do it, so I don't go cheap with the stuff. I get the best stuff available at the time. It's only a few bucks more per 5 gallon bucket, and I will generally use three or four - so it's not a big hit in the wallet.

The last stuff I used was a water based product from Lowes. I think it is a 15 year product. It has some sand in it that helps fill in voids between the asphalt aggregate. It is super easy to apply, but you will spend a lot of time hunched over, so keep that in mind of if you have back problems. Whatever you do, do not let the stuff freeze. Something happens to the stuff and the sand will separate and you can not get it back into suspension. I think it uses a polymer to keep the sand in suspension and make it workable. The polymer must break down if you let it freeze.

Hello, I took a combination of the advise given. Sealed the cracks Tuesday and applied the sealer Wednesday. It took 9 pails & it was 95 degrees that day. I am pleased with the the results. Just started driving on it today. On to the next project.
Thanks to those that gave advice, Kevin

Attachment 483240

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by kevin nee

Hello, I took a combination of the advise given. Sealed the cracks Tuesday and applied the sealer Wednesday. It took 9 pails & it was 95 degrees that day. I am pleased with the the results. Just started driving on it today. On to the next project.
Thanks to those that gave advice, Kevin

---

Just a note of caution. What you see now and what you see in January may not be the same. You sealed at 95°. Any cracks you have in your driveway were about as small as they were likely to be. Some may have been so tight they were impenetrable to the filling properties of your sealer.
You live in Massachusetts. This winter the asphalt will contract and the cracks will widen. The amount of crack sealer in those cracks may not be sufficient to prevent water from infiltrating your driveway this fall and winter.
Late fall when the temp hits 50° or so, inspect the drive and refill any cracks that open up.
If you want, you can even fill cracks in the dead of winter if it is dry and you have the right product.

Sealcoating is definitely a warm weather job (>55° thereabouts) but crack sealing doesn’t have to be.

Always curious about sealer. The guys who sell it tell you that it's essential, the guys who lay asphalt tell you it's a waste of money and does nothing useful other than make your driveway look pretty for a while. My folks had a long asphalt driveway in Ohio that has lasted more than 60 years without ever being sealed. I see driveways in my old neighborhood that were sealed every year being replaced after 15. Is there really a benefit to sealer?

I have some big cracks at joints in my drive that I think I should fill with hot tar or somesuch thing, I have no faith that sealer or big box store "crack filler" would last a season.

When I was a teen i picked up hunks of broken concrete and asphalt to pave a parking spot for my car. I got them at the beach near a dump. The concrete was all basically the same. The asphalt pieces were very different. Some solid well compacted others less dense and visibly less compacted with small voids. The well compacted stuff was about the same density as concrete. I assume it will last as well as concrete.
I have noticed in my city they often seal residential streets, but only the traffic lanes. This seals about 1/2 of the street not touching the parking areas. they do go full widths at the intersections. Seems like a logical money saving step to me for every other time or so.
At the house I grew up at the driveway was two concrete strips maybe two feet wide with three feet of lawn in between.
Bill D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by roger wiegand

Always curious about sealer. The guys who sell it tell you that it's essential, the guys who lay asphalt tell you it's a waste of money and does nothing useful other than make your driveway look pretty for a while. My folks had a long asphalt driveway in Ohio that has lasted more than 60 years without ever being sealed. I see driveways in my old neighborhood that were sealed every year being replaced after 15. Is there really a benefit to sealer?

I have some big cracks at joints in my drive that I think I should fill with hot tar or somesuch thing, I have no faith that sealer or big box store "crack filler" would last a season.

---

Pretty much where I'm at with this. I still have no idea if there's any real benefit other than aesthetically.