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Home & Garden Articles
Asphalt Paving on Your Driveway
Thu 24 May 2007 - 16:32
Asphalt Paving on Your Driveway
By Ken Wilssens
When you have asphalt paving on your driveway, you will have a basic black driveway leading to your garage. The cement like quality of the asphalt is very consistent and is formed by the distillation of cruse petroleum. When asphalt is being made additives such as sand, filler and bitumen help to give it the tough qualities that you need to withstand the heavy load of vehicles driving over it. First the sand and bitumen have to be dried and then they have to be heated to make what is called "hot mix".
Since asphalt is totally recyclable, you can tear up the old asphalt on your driveway, heat it up to melt it down and repave the driveway. However, over time asphalt will begin to show its age. A typical driveway will last about 25 years, but you do need to reseal it on a regular basis. This helps to keep the pavement from cracking because of water seeping into the tiny cracks and creating potholes.
Some of the factors that lead to the destruction of asphalt are:
* The sun will not only fade out the black color of the asphalt but it will draw the cracks apart even further. This is because the heat of the sun dries out the natural oils.
* Sometimes the aggregate that holds the asphalt together will start to ravel out.
* Grease and oil will stain the asphalt and you will need to clean the stains. There are various ways of cleaning these stains, which include using cat litter and a stiff scrubbing brush. If the driveway is stained too much, you may have to consider repaving the driveway.
There are benefits to using asphalt rather than concrete. It is economical and lasts longer. It is quick and easy to lay the pavement, but you do have to allow the asphalt time to cure. This means that you will have to find another place to park your car until it is dry.
For lots of information on
driveway paving
and other paving related topics, visit The Paving Guide at
www.thepavingguide.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ken_Wilssens
http://EzineArticles.com/?Asphalt-Paving-on-Your-Driveway&id=576282
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