Complete Guide Of How To Maintain Cement / Interlocking / Asphalt Driveway ?

Complete Guide Of How To Maintain Cement / Interlocking / Asphalt Driveway ?

A well maintained driveway gives a nice first impression on your house exterior. There will be wear and tear in the driveways because of normal use and weather conditions. We are not talking only about the surface imperfections or dirt in the driveway surface. There will be some deep cracks , engine oil , grease or tire marks from your vehicles.

The buildings in Toronto experience settling in time. Even in houses you can observe cracks at the joints. It is caused by buildings settling in time. Almost every driveway gets unshaped and has cracks for the same reason.

We will mention how to fix the cracks and do a detailed cleaning in driveways first. Most of the driveways have engine oil and dirt marks some spots badly. If you have an old vehicle, it must be leaking some engine oil or antifreeze. The dust and dirt will be absorbed by the leakage and in time you will see some permanent marks appearing there. You need to make your driveway surface dust , dirt , oil and grease free to be able to coat it properly.

It is not easily cleaned if there is heavy dirt and grease on the surface. It will be a good idea to take a couple days to rid off the heavy grease by using degreaser , dish detergent on these spots. You need to apply a generous amount of degreaser or dish detergent on these spots to soak them. You should let it and get softened for a day then try to power wash to get the rough part out. Each case is different but if you observe it is resisting more than you think , going a couple more rounds will help. Bleaching might help if you don’t have a nice garden next to your driveway. Be aware that the chemicals you are using can cause damage to your plants and grass.

When you think it is clean enough and grease free , you should do a detailed cleaning on the whole driveway surface by power washing. You need a gas operated pressure controlled power washer and it should be at least 3000 psi or bigger.

Asphalt driveways can be coated with airport grade asphalt sealer. Before applying the sealer, fixing the deep cracks with liquid asphalt crack filler is necessary. You need to fill all the deep cracks in the asphalt driveway and wait overnight to see if they are sinking. If you see the filler sinking , you need to go a couple rounds and fill them properly.

You can apply the asphalt sealer with a 25 mm thick roller. You should apply it generously and wait overnight to dry completely. You can go a couple more rounds and make sure there is a thick enough layer on the surface. If you have a cement or interlocking driveway , you need to perform the same cleaning process we mentioned above. When you have a completely clean driveway , you can apply clear sealer to give a solid and resisting surface to your driveway.

There are several brand names that manufacture different kinds of clear driveway sealers. Unfortunately, water-based sealers are not performing well for exterior surfaces. We highly recommend you to use solvent-based clear driveway sealer. It requires PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to avoid hazardous fumes and possible risks.

C&S Painting has been serving the Greater Toronto Area ( GTA ) since 2000.

We do the work with our own professional painters crew. We don’t subcontract.

C&S Painting is offering a 2 years warranty on every painting project. We are insured and WSIB registered.

Please call / message us for a no obligation , free estimate.