Driveway Maintenance

Hi everyone, today I’d like to talk to you about driveway maintenance.  Summer is drawing to an end and that means winter weather will be coming before you know it.  So I want to talk about sealing your driveway, the control joints and any cracks you may see as well as sealing the surface with a penetrating sealer.

First we have a crack we want to seal. The product we like to use is Vulkem 116; you can get it at any hardware or home maintenance store. The color you should get is limestone; it matches most concrete shades.

So, the reason you want to seal the cracks is when the weather drops and snow falls, water gets into the cracks. It freezes and then will bust open the top. We seal then in the summer so the water can’t get in. Sealing the control joints is important as well because it prevents moisture from soaking in the ground underneath the driveway.

When you apply the Vulkem 116, you don’t need a lot, just enough to cover the surface.  Now, this is a polyurethane sealant so it can be a little difficult to get off your hands. So if you want to wear rubber gloves you can, but you’ll take your finger and push the sealant in the crack a little more.

It will be pretty tacky and sticky before it dries. Sometimes you can spread sand over the sealant to help with the tackiness. After about 2-3 days it should be dry.

Another maintenance item is sealing the surface of your driveway. Concrete is porous on the surface and all the way through.  You want to seal that surface for the winter months when you are tracking in salt from cars. You want to use a penetrating sealant. Try not to use an acrylic sealer; that just goes on surface and doesn’t soak as a penetrating sealant would. You would just spray that in a pump sprayer on a clean driveway!

So if you have any questions give us call! Thank you so much for watching!