What is Blacktop? Blacktop is a mixture of stone (about 95%) and liquid asphalt (5%). The two are mixed at about 300 degrees in order to coat the stone and give the mix workabilityfor compacting and placing. After cooling, the liquid asphalt hardens and acts as a heavy glue or mastic to hold the stones together. During the first year or two, your driveway will remain slightly pliable and flexible. This allows the “mat” to conform to small settlements and indentations underneath.

Why doesn’t my driveway harden right away? As explained above, your driveway will remain pliable for a year or two. This same pliability makes the surface susceptible to indentations caused by women’s high heels, chair legs, ladders, moving tires, etc. It’s the liquid asphalt that allows this to happen. At normal temperatures, the asphalt oxidizes or hardens at a constant rate, until it becomes brittle. Please be patient!! We could heat the mixture to 500 degrees, accelerate the hardening process, and give you immediate protection from indentations and power steering marks But, the life of your driveway will be substantially reduced. Which do you prefer?

Should I seal my driveway? While not necessary, in our opinion sealing a driveway may lengthen the life bya couple of years. The following graph shows the relationship between the liquid asphalt properties and sealing.

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