How to Maintain Your Concrete Driveway
One of the best attributes of a decorative concrete driveway is how
little maintenance and routine care it will need over its lifetime. But
no driveway paving material—including concrete—is truly
maintenance-free. Here are some tips for preserving the life and
appearance of your investment.
Clean and reapply sealer as needed.
Cleaning
your concrete driveway on occasion and keeping it sealed are the best
measures you can take to keep it looking its best. How often you clean
and reseal will depend on the weather conditions the concrete is exposed
to and the amount of vehicle traffic it receives. Generally, you should
reseal a concrete driveway every two years or so, or when the finish
begins to show wear. Good commercial sealers are available from concrete
material suppliers and hardware stores. Or ask your contractor for
recommendations. Always apply the sealer according to the manufacturer's
recommendations.
Remove stains immediately.
While
a sealer will help to protect concrete from stain absorption, it's
still a good idea to remove oil, gasoline, grease and other spills as
soon as possible. If the concrete does discolor, pressure washing and
certain cleaning chemicals will remove most stains (read
Avoid using deicing chemicals.
Using
deicers on your concrete driveway in the winter can cause surface
damage—primarily scaling and spalling—by forcing the thawing and
refreezing of moisture. Products containing ammonium nitrates and
ammonium sulphates are especially harmful because they will actually
attack the concrete chemically. Rock salt (sodium chloride) or calcium
chloride will do less damage, but they can harm vegetation and corrode
metal. Avoid the use of any deicers the first winter after driveway
placement, since new concrete is more susceptible to the harmful effects
of salt. As an alternative, use sand for traction.
Treat it with care.
Although
concrete is one of the most durable paving materials for driveway
construction, the typical residential driveway isn't engineered to
support heavy vehicles (like a huge moving van) and large construction
equipment. Also use care when plowing or shoveling your driveway. Avoid
the use of metal blades that might scrape or scratch the surface.
www.wellspavingmd.com | wellsasphaltpaving@gmail.com
Properly
cared for it should give you many years of service. These aftercare
guidelines have been drawn up to help you look after your drive and to
help you overcome problems if they arise.
Your
new drive is made from asphalt, a mixture of hard aggregate bound
together with bitumen, a flexible, black, waterproof substance derived
from crude oil. There are many different types of asphalt surfacing
that are used on driveways, the more common being Stone Mastic Asphalt
(SMA). Dense or Close-graded Bituminous Macadam, (DMA) and Hot Rolled
Asphalt (HRA). Some of these are stronger and more durable than others,
but the same basic principles apply to looking after all of them.
Guidelines
Hot Weather
Because
your drive is black it can absorb heat in sunny weather, becoming quite
hot. Under such conditions, the bitumen binding agent becomes softer
and the surface becomes more prone to ‘scuffing’ from tyres and
indentation from point loading from ladders and the like. It is
sensible to take care not to overstress the surface in hot weather,
particular by sharp turning of wheels with power steering when your
vehicle is not moving, as this can distress the surface. This is
particularly important in the early life (first summer) of your
driveway when it will be black and shiny and prone to soften. As it
ages, the surface will turn grey and the material will harden and the
risk of damage will be much less. It is however wise to remember that
there is always a risk of such damage in very hot weather. Whilst
scuffing damage like this may give you concern, it is usually only
superficial and will largely disappear as the surface which has been
‘turned’, weathers and blends into a uniform appearance with the rest
of the drive. This guidance is particularly appropriate to sheltered
south facing drives where surfaces retain heat for longer periods and
to heavy vehicles, such as people carriers and four-wheel drive, off
roaders.
Oil and Chemical Spillages
Bitumen
bound surfacings are resistant to occasional oil droppings but can be
softened and damaged by significant oil spillages. If left in contact
with the asphalt, any oil product will dissolve into the bitumen binder
and soften it. Where oil spillages have occurred, the best course of
action is to soak up the oil before it has time to damage the asphalt.
Use the best available material close to hand to do this such as cat
litter, sawdust, dry same, paper or cloth. If the oil has already
penetrated the asphalt, you should protect the surface from stress
(keep traffic off where possible) and give the contaminant time to
evaporate away. With petrol this will be very rapid whereas diesel fuel
will take several months to evaporate but should eventually return to
normal. Such spillages will leave marks, which should diminish with
time. Great care should be taken trying to wash such marks away as this
could wash away the asphalt itself. Where appropriate, it is
recommended to wash the surface of the asphalt with luke-warm water and
a brush. Alternative cleaning products are available from DIY stores
but it should be noted that water-base solutions are preferred and a
small discrete area be tested before treating larger areas. If
chemicals such as gardening products have spilled onto the surface care
should be taken to read the guidelines on the bottle with regard to
dilution. In many cases simply washing the driveway with copious
amounts of water is recommended.
Point-Loading, Trailers, Caravans, Motorbikes and Ladders
The
jockey wheels of trailers and caravans, and feet of ladders concentrate
a large load over a small area and can give rise to indentation of the
driveway surface. Newly laid driveways and warm south-facing driveways
are particularly prone to this kind of damage. You are advised to use
items such as a block of wood, a plank, a sheet of plywood, or a paving
slab to spread to load.
Weeds, Vegetation and Soil Debris
Older
driveways can be prone to growth of vegetations through the asphalt.
The best course of action is to first kill this by means of a leaf
acting weed killer such as Roundup. Carefully remove the dead foliage
by scraping, but do not attempt to pull out roots as this could disturb
the driveway. If necessary treat the root with an appropriate
water-based brushwood or root weed killer. If soil or similar gardening
products are to be placed onto an asphalt driveway a plastic sheet is
recommended to prevent clay and soil getting stuck into the surface of
the driveway presenting a difficult cleaning problem. In extreme cases
clay in a macadam surface can cause damage by shrinkage when it dries.
Soils and sand deposited directly on to an asphalt driveway should be
carefully brushed from the surface whilst dry and the remainder removed
with water and a stiff brush.
www.wellspavingmd.com | wellsasphaltpaving@gmail.com
