When Should You Replace Your Asphalt?

As asphalt pavement gets older, fading and some imperfections are to be expected. Although lots of older pavement is still in great shape and can be fixed with sealcoating and minor patches, sometimes it’s necessary to completely repave a driveway, road or parking lot. Even though repaving can be pricy, it’s worth it to have pavement that looks great and is structurally sound. Keep an eye out for some of the most common signs that it’s time to fully replace your asphalt:

  • Potholes: Hitting potholes can cause major damage to your vehicle. If you’ve noticed several potholes developing in your pavement, it’s time to call an asphalt contractor in Saratoga Springs, NY. Having potholes in your pavement doesn’t just detract from its appearance—it also poses a safety risk to anyone who drives on your asphalt. Although a small pothole can usually be patched, you should consider completely repaving your asphalt if there are several sizable potholes.
  • Ineffective drainage: After a storm, you should observe how water drains away from your pavement. When water accumulates on pavement or pools in a specific area, it’s a sign that the slope of your driveway is off. Although rainy weather shouldn’t affect your driveway, it can cause problems if the water sits for prolonged periods of time on your asphalt. You may be able to fix the problem by having an asphalt contractor install water-channeling features, but you will need to replace your pavement completely if water pooling has already caused structural damage.
  • Major cracks: Small cracks usually aren’t a big deal, and they can often be fixed with small patches, but cracking throughout your pavement indicates that your asphalt needs to be replaced completely.
  • Insufficient maintenance: Asphalt needs to be regularly cleaned and maintained, and it should also be resurfaced every few years. If these steps haven’t been taken, it can significantly shorten the lifespan of your asphalt pavement. Even if your asphalt is only a few years old, it may need to be replaced if you haven’t kept up on maintenance.
  • Weathered appearance: Appearance isn’t everything, but it certainly plays a role when it comes to determining whether it’s time for asphalt replacement. Some issues with pavement occur beneath the surface, but a lot of problems can be clearly identified with a cursory visual inspection. Consider replacing your pavement if it looks faded and excessively weathered.

When it’s time to repave your asphalt, contact the team at Asphalt Industries for services that you can depend on. For nearly 20 years, we have offered comprehensive paving, excavation and drainage services to commercial, residential and industrial customers. We have worked on a variety of jobs of different sizes and scopes, and we are confident that we can handle the specifics of your project. We are happy to provide our customers with a guarantee on our services so you can feel confident that you are getting quality work. If you need an asphalt contractor in Saratoga Springs, NY, find out more about what we do and how we can help you by giving us a call today!