As you can see, the liquid asphalt portion is pliable for about two years, hard and serviceable for up to 15 years, then hard and brittle. If you are going to seal your driveway. we recommend waiting about one and a halt years, then again every two or three years. The sealer seals out the air which oxidizes and hardens your driveway. This can actually extend the ‘Hard and Serviceable” period for a year or two, On the other hand, if sealed too early the liquid asphalt will remain in the pIiable’ period longer. This is not harmful in the long run, but it could give you up to three years of susceptibility to indentations, etc.

What about Cracking? The Asphalt Institute lists six different causes of cracking in blacktop. Only one is caused by the asphalt itself, the other five are caused by poor construction practices or the material underneath and adjacent to the blacktop. The most common types are minor cracks on the edges of the driveway, cracks which occur over concrete joints underneath, and cracks which occur if a driveway has been widened. If these occur, merely fill the cracks with a good crack sealer. Also very useful is the new type of black asphalt caulking found in hardware stores. These crack filling procedures are commonly used by highway departments.