How to Prepare for Asphalt Repair Services During the Fall Season

As the Summer season winds down here in Metro Vancouver, many homeowners are wrapping up outdoor projects and preparing for the cooler weather. Although it may be a little too soon to look to winterizing projects, the Fall season poses its own unique challenges to a home’s exterior surfaces and can be problematic if not prepared for. Between falling debris, summer wear and tear, and excess rain, fall conditions can threaten the integrity of your asphalt. Here are some tips on maintaining your asphalt through the Fall season and what to do if you find yourself in need of asphalt repair services.

After the Summer
While the heat of summer may be the ideal time for sunbathing beachgoers, it’s far less kind to asphalt surfaces. It can be particularly damaging to asphalt surfaces that have not been regularly coated with sealant or those that have already sustained damage such as cracks and edge curling. Once the bulk of summer heat has passed us by, it’s a good time to assess the state of your asphalt and plan to repair any minor issues you notice before the impending cold weather escalates the scale of the problem. Just as the summer heat can cause problems with the expansion and contraction of your asphalt as the temperatures fluctuate, a similar challenge is posed by the expansion and contraction of asphalt during winter freezes and thaws. If your asphalt already has existing cracks, lifts, and curls, this process of shrinking and expanding during freeze-thaw cycles can pull cracks further apart and result in a far costlier repair. Now that the milder weather is here, have a look for any new damage to your asphalt surface and connect with a professional for asphalt repair services this Fall rather than wait for a budget-breaking project in the Spring.

Simple Cleaning and Maintenance
Even though the burgeoning splendour of Fall colour has the Lower Mainland’s nature lovers enchanted, those changing and dropping leaves can build up into troublesome piles of debris on your driveway. Leaf mould left on a porous, unsealed asphalt surface can trap excess moisture and cause it to seep into the material. If this moisture remains there into the colder weather, it can freeze and become trapped under the surface, expanding and pushing hairline cracks apart until they become larger less manageable gaps. Piled leaves also tend to hide cracks and damage when not regularly swept.

One of the simplest solutions to maintaining a strong asphalt surface is to have an experienced professional, like the expert crew at King Services, apply a topical sealant to protect your asphalt from the wear, tear, and weather of the upcoming cold seasons. However, it’s wise to secure these asphalt repair services early in the Fall to avoid not just harsher weather during application, but also the onrush of other homeowners wishing to schedule the same service when they realize that winter is just around the corner.