What are ideal temperatures for driveway sealing?
Question:It has been like 80 degrees everyday for the past two weeks, but now temps are going down to 40's and even low 30's for lows and only upper 60's for next 2 weeks.
is this okay or not? why?
should i wait until it warms up again?
Answers:
When planning for sealing asphalt driveways (sometimes misspelled as "ashphalt" and also known as "hot top" or "blacktop"), wait till the ground temperature is 45 degrees Fahrenheit or greater and no rain is expected for 3 days.
Much of the work in sealing asphalt driveways is preparation. That includes preparing your body for the job. Asphalt driveway sealers are rather unpleasant products, so avoid skin contact with them. Also avoid inhaling the vapors given off by asphalt driveway sealers.
Grass overhanging the edges of the surface should be removed. With a stiff-bristled brush clean any oil/gas stains using a detergent specially made for this purpose, which can be found at auto supply stores. Sweep the surface clean with a push broom. Patching compounds are available at home improvement centers to fill in large cracks or depressions; if your surface is plagued with either, fill them in before continuing with Step 4. Follow label directions for drying time for these compounds.
With the garden hose, hose down the surface with a vigorous spray to remove dirt missed in the sweeping process. A pressure washer would make this job easier and more effective, but is optional. Allow the surface to dry.
Well before prying off the lid of the tub of asphalt driveway sealer, turn it upside down. This will pre-mix the contents. Once the tub is opened, continue to stir periodically so that the asphalt driveway sealer remains well mixed.
Beginning in one corner, pour some of the asphalt driveway sealer on the surface. You'll probably find it easiest to work on one small square section at a time (a section, say, 10-20 feet square), rather than doing long narrow strips. Apply your asphalt driveway sealer in thin, overlapping coats with a long-handled application brush or squeegee.
Drying time is a minimum of 24 hours, during which time you should not allow traffic of any kind on the surface, but especially automobile traffic. Place barrels at the entrance to your yard to prohibit vehicular access, or simply use the empty sealer tubs. For greater visibility, drive a post on either side of the entrance and string some yellow construction tape between the posts.
Wait till the daytime temps get into the 80's or even 90's.
The best time for application is very very early AM when the driveway has not heated up. Once applied you want the coal tar based sealer to heat sufficiently to melt down into the very minute cracks and seal them.
Once this happens the tar loses it tacky characteristic and becomes a solid mass and driving and walking on the drive is then possible. The heat of the daytime sun, wherein the asphalt reaches a temperature near 125 degrees, is an important part of sealing those small cracks and saving your asphalt against further damage.
Coating drives in early spring does not accomplish sealing very well for it does not melt down the sealer deep enough into the cracks to do a good seal job due to the fact the temperature of the asphalt does not reach a sufficiently high temperature for that to occur.
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