We can all agree that asphalt’s value and durability make it a popular choice for roads, driveways and parking lots. However, aging, weather, high traffic load, lack of maintenance, and even lousy side preparation can cause severe problems that may end up with cracks and other issues as well.

You should click here to learn more about asphalt paving. The main idea is to find ways to extend the life of your asphalt pavement by performing regular preventive maintenance. These processes and measures should include keeping surface free from sealcoating, debris and repairing each issue as soon as you notice it.

However, before choosing a repair company, you should get familiar with different problems that may arise. We decided to present you common asphalt paving options and their causes, as well as the ways to repair them properly. Let us start from the beginning.

Raveling

You have probably noticed and walked through a specific parking lot and noticed loose grit or gravel. If that is the case, you have seen raveling process first hand. We are talking about breakdown of pavement by the loss of rocks and asphalt, which is vital to remember.

After a while, the pavement thickness will decrease and loose gravel will affect the remaining parts. The moment gravel enters the asphalt; the water can easily seep inside and create worse issues. Raveling can leave you wish standing water and uneven surface.

If you wish to deal with asphalt crack sealing Anaheim, you should understand the steps that will help you deal with raveling and loose material altogether.

For instance, if the raveling is limited to a small area, you can take advantage of asphalt patch and ensure the best course of action. On the other hand, if you have considerable raveled areas of pavement, this particular idea suggests general asphalt failure.

When this particular problem occurs, the best course of action is removing the damaged pavement and use fresh asphalt as overlay. Therefore, you should call professional to handle each step along the way.

Depressions

You should know that depressions are low areas of pavement that cannot penetrate the asphalt, meaning they are typically caused by lousy compaction during the paving process. If you avoid fixing it quickly, the debris and water can typically collect in depressions, which can weaken the integrity of asphalt surface.

A temporary fix for minor issues is adding an asphalt patch on the top of the existing pavement. However, patching cannot solve the underlying issue that happened due to lousy compaction, meaning the affected area will sink further as time goes by.

If you wish to invest in more permanent repair, we recommend you to remove asphalt depression in the affected area and replace poor sub-grade by adding full-depth patch over the repaired area.

Potholes

You probably know that potholes are bowl-shaped and small depressions in the pavement surface that can penetrate through the asphalt layer and down to the base course. The edges of the pothole can be sharp, while the pavement will increase in size after a while, especially because moisture can enter inside the affected area and cause havoc.

Remember that potholes in asphalt can happen as the result of alligator cracking, which may happen due to fatigue cracking. Of course, when cracking becomes significant, the interconnected cracks can create chunks inside the pavement, which can be dislodges as more people drive over.

A pothole is what we know as hole that is left after the chunk of pavement is dislodged. This particular problem represents a safety hazard, meaning we are talking about the most common pavement defect. The depth of pothole and roughness on edges can lead to severe damage to vehicles, while affecting pedestrians due to potential trip hazards that may occur.

We can differentiate a few ways to deal with such problems, including:

Throw and Roll

The main idea is to use the patching material inside the pothole without taking advantage of debris/water removal and penetration. At the same time, compact patching material uses truck tires, which may require between four and eight passes depending on your preferences.

Finally, you should check the compacted patch for slight crown. In case a depression is present, we recommend you to add more compact and patching material for better consistency. Check out this site: https://www3.epa.gov/ttnchie1/ap42/ch04/final/c4s05.pdf to learn about asphalt paving.

Semi-Permanent Patch

First step is removing excessive debris and water from the pothole. At the same time, you can square up the pothole sides so they are vertical, meaning you will have intact pavement on both sides.

Next, you should place the patching material into dry and clean hole. The material should taper down to the edges and mound int eh center, which means it will flush with surrounding edges of pavement.

When you use a patching material, we recommend you to take advantage of vibratory plate compactor or vibratory roller, which are heavy-duty equipment professional’s use. They will compact in the center and work towards edges, while checking that the patching material has a slight crown.