Private road maintenance

[Pontoon Goon]

Our home is in a small association of 18 homes on a private road that is approx a quarter of a mile long. Nine years ago the original road was taken out and a new road put in. Due to budget constraints at the time we did not seal the road and it has held up well. This year we are filling cracks and sealing but my question is how often does a road need to be sealed ? The contractor doing the job insists every two years for sealing and every year for filling cracks. Through work I happen to meet a paving contractor and asked him how often he thinks sealing is needed. He stated sealing is 95% cosmetic 5% effective. How often do you folks on private roads seal ? Thanks in advance for your answers.

[jmen24]

I have never seen a road get a coat of sealer. I don't even think they oil roads anymore. The rule of thumb for driveways is when the surface begin to silver.

I would save the association money and skip the sealing. It will see so much more traffic than a driveway and will be removed quite quickly. Waste of funds if you ask me.

[RLW]

The below/above thread gets my vote regarding sealing. Just a big waste of money, BUT the crack sealing in my opinion is well worth it as it stops water from getting under the road covering and stops the freezing and cracking up the roadway.:liplick:

[Lakepilot]

We have around 15 homes in our road association and we tarred the road several years ago. Our road is in pristine shape and there is never an issue spending money to maintain it. We have never sealed the road, but we do seal the cracks every year or two on an as needed basis.

[dpg]

Guy that repaved my driveway maybe eight years ago now told me he doesn't believe in sealing them and I haven't yet. He was an old-timer italian (literally around 75-77) at the time they did the driveway. Might seal it one of these days, have had cars on it leaking various fluids over the years and I don't like looking at that.

[Highlander]

We live in a small association with 2 roads that get a fair amount of traffic. We have never sealed them but do keep gravel at the edges to prevent wash out under the ashphalt and try to seal cracks every fall. They have held up good for 10+ years. The biggest problem is erosion under the road bed that leads to cracks and broken pavement at the edge of the road.

[VitaBene]

We have a private 800' asphalt driveway. We crack seal yearly and seal every 3 years (aesthetics only for the sealer).

I would not seal coat a road, but certainly would crack seal it.

[ishoot308]

Most quality paving companies and all public roads use two coats of asphalt. A base coat and a top coat. The top coat or "wear" has smaller aggregate and more asphalt binders which makes it smoother and tougher and also helps keep water from penetrating through. However some paving companies will sometimes use a one coat system on driveways and such and simply roll out a base coat only. The base coat consist of larger aggregate and less binding agent and has a lot more surface gaps and crevices which will allow water to eventually pool up and penetrate. If your driveway is done this way I would recommend sealing it every three or four years to help keep water from penetrating. With a proper two coat system sealing is really strictly for aesthetics. Sealing any cracks is a must for longevity.

Dan