Your driveway is a hard surface at your home or business, but it still requires maintenance, repairs, and renovations from time to time to continue performing its best. There are several factors that will come into play that determine the timing of these tasks, including whether it’s asphalt or concrete, the quality of the initial installation, how regularly it’s been maintained and repaired, and how deeply damaged it is. In this article, we’ll cover these issues and give an idea of when repairs can be made and when you need more thorough driveway and pavement renovations for your Rochester property.
When Do You Need Driveway and Pavement Renovations?
Keeping your driveway in a well-maintained condition improves your home’s curb appeal. Some parts of the maintenance you can manage on your own, such as sealing and filling cracks. However, others are more detailed and require a professional touch to work properly.
Signs Your Driveway Needs Help
Cracks
Cracks may be a sign that you need driveway or pavement renovations for your Rochester property. There are several different types of cracks that can happen on your driveway or pavement, and they indicate different issues. Minor surface cracks can be filled and monitored to see if they get wider or deepen and are typically just signs that the surface is beginning to spread. Cracks that resemble scales that are interconnected are signs of weakening connection, structural problems, or poor drainage. Cracks at the edge are signs that the pavement is thinning and weakening, typically due to heavy traffic.
Crumbling Edges
As edge cracks continue to age, they can begin to crumble. This is due to poor support underneath or erosion of soil, weakening the support beneath the surface. This is a sign that your driveway is headed towards failure, and budgeting to cover repaving should happen at this point, because failing to fix this issue can lead to a complete driveway replacement.
Faded Color
As sun, rain, cold, and heat all impact your driveway’s overall health, it causes the color to fade, mainly in asphalt pavement. This is a relatively simple fix, as it requires your driveway to be resealed before additional damage takes place. You can often DIY this process with products from a home improvement store, but make sure you follow the instructions exactly to ensure good results. Otherwise, many home improvement companies are happy to handle the process for you.
Signs Your Driveway Needs Repaving
Pooling Water
When you have drainage issues or water pooling on the surface of your pavement, it can cause serious damage, especially when freeze and thaw cycles follow to create cracks in the surface or potholes in the area of poor drainage. Failing to fix the issue can lead to potholes, cracks, and crumbling. In these situations, it can be difficult to fix the problem, as the entire surface will need to be regraded to allow water to flow away from the pavement, and repaving or replacement is required.
Potholes
Potholes most typically form for two reasons: ice lensing beneath the surface causing a subsidence, or water seeping into pavement cracks that causes freeze/thaw damage to the pavement. Potholes can also cause significant damage to your tires and vehicle, costing you a lot in repairs or replacements, along with being a serious risk for trip and fall hazards. Though these can be filled, they often are only one part of a larger problem, which needs to be addressed to keep the problem from reoccurring.
Uneven Surfaces
There can be several reasons for uneven surfaces on your driveway or pavement, but they often point to a range of poor preparation of the underlying soil prior to paving. This can include improper grading that creates weak points in the pavement, settling over time due to improper compaction of the subsoil, or installation on poor soils. This type of surface can also lead to cracking and drainage issues, which will accelerate the decay of your driveway. In some of these situations, you may need to have the entire driveway replaced, while in others, treatments from the surface to firm up the soil beneath the driveway or pavement may be enough that repaving can fix the problem.
By understanding how your driveway works, you’ll be better able to determine when simple repairs will work as compared to needing a complete renovation or repaving of your driveway. If you’re considering residential driveway or pavement renovations for your Rochester home, the experienced team at Maressa Remodeling can help. We’ll work with you to find the best solution to your pavement issues, then get the work done while delivering value and quality throughout the process. Contact us today to get started!