The Luxury of a Paved Surface

An asphalt pavement driveway or parking pad is an upgrade from your previous gravel or dirt-covered surface, but it also needs some upgraded care and professional services to keep it in order. From patching cracks and cleaning the surface after regular use, your pavement will look great when you understand how to take care of it and plan for essential updates. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your new asphalt paved driveway.

Hire a Professional Installation

One of the first important decisions you can make about your asphalt driveway is to hire its installation by a professional contractor. When you arrange for bids on the driveway installation, look at details of the installation, such as the foundation preparation and the installation and formation of your driveway's edges. A successful asphalt driveway needs a solid foundation with drainage qualities so the surface asphalt remains smooth without cracking damage and sunken spots. Your professional contractor should compact the surface grade so it will withstand years of winters and heavy rainstorms to stain intact.

Arrange For Regular Maintenance

When small cracks begin to appear on your asphalt driveway, the way that you deal with them will make all the difference in the condition of your pavement and its life. Be sure you fill cracks and repair damage to the surface with the right fill product. Extensive surface cracking over your asphalt needs to be repaired with a professional repair to the foundation. Your asphalt crew can help you with this repair and apply a new sealcoating to seal in patches and to restore the surface of your asphalt. 

Clean Your Pavement

In addition to forming cracks and damage, your pavement is going to accumulate dirt and debris over time. For this reason, it is essential that you keep it cleaned off regularly. Watch out for dirt accumulation on the seams and within the variations of the surface material on your pavement because dirt accumulation can later promote weed and vegetation growth. The roots of vegetation growth will cause the pavement to form cracks faster and become damaged. Sweep the surface clean to keep it in tip-top shape.

Also, watch out for asphalt staining that can happen when you park vehicles on your driveway. For example, if your vehicle drips oil or if you refill your vehicle's brake fluid reservoir and it spills onto the pavement, this fluid will erode the pavement and cause softening. If vehicle stains remain on your pavement, they will eat through the pavement and leave a hole in its place. 

Use an absorbent sand or cat litter to pull up any excess fluids and rinse them from the surface of your pavement with a pressure washer or garden hose and high-pressure nozzle sprayer. You can also clean the surface with a grease cleaning solution. Contact a company like Virginia Asphalt Services Inc for more information.