Hi To all,
As I hang around looking out at the remaining snow, I am doing stuff to the house on the cheap. , took dryer all apart, vaccum massive lint balls, and I was always a clean the hose guy! It was a surprise!
Now I am looking at a few driveway cracks.
In past I used dap black asphalt based(not silicone or latex) from the depot, about 1/2 the time I bought tubes were junk, all hard, had to return.
No I real heat expand and cold contracts, so i assume the crack i am seing when its cold is wider than it will be in warm weather. Whats the ticket to GOOD crack filling (ok to start the jokes now). Can it be done in cold?
Thanks to all, Dave
Edited 2/18/2009 10:33 am ET by cudavid
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
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I've worked on an asphalt sealing/crack filling crew for a number of years. Clean the cracks of debris with stiff wire broom/brush and blow it out with air like from a leaf blower or a push blower. Really scrub it, I would often park the push blower on a crack while whisking it with the wire broom to blow the debris away as I got the crack clean.
Then some sort of a bitumous rubber or apshalt stuff was heated to about 375 degrees F in a propaned fired kettle. This is what was poured into the cracks from a container that had a simple on/off mechanism that allowed precise metering of the hot liquid up and down the length of the crack. Then a U or V shaped ( I preferred the V) squeegy on a long handle was used to smooth the bead flush with the asphalt or concrete surface before it congealed.
All in all a pretty intensive process. I think the basic charge for crack filling a driveway was $400. It certainly is the "pro" way of doing it.
I don't know much about the stuff from a tube. I imagine the prep is the same. I don't know if it results in a good job although I am sure it can.
If you heat the tube stuff it will flow way better.
I'll bite-
First of all, you should never use an asphalt product for crack filling (large or small). Yes, I know it's called "as"phalt, but that doesn't mean it's for personal use! These products usually fall right out of the crack, then MAJOR skin irritation sets in. This then leads to itching, which in turn can lead to an undesirable odor emulating from the itching implement. THIS SCENT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO REMOVE, even with "commercial" cleaners.
A safer and more popular method for crack filling is Plaster of Paris. In this process, Plaster of Paris is poured into the crack and removed when solid, thus forming a perfect mold of the crack. This mold is then used to make an opposing crack mold, which in turn can be used to make a hard rubber or plastic crack filler. The advantage of this method is that multiple crack plugs of different materials can be made for the same crack.
As you asked, this method should not be done in the cold. Reports have shown that Plaster of Paris crack molds poured in cold temperatures can cause the crack to "flex", which in turn leads to a poorly fitting plug.
Finally, with our current economic downturn, many people with cracks have been resorting to the lower cost method of "expansive foam crack filling". In this method, expansive foam is shot into the crack, and IMMEDIATELY covered with duct tape. The advantage to this system is that many cracks can be filled with one can of expansive foam and a roll of duct tape. However, studies have shown that this crack filling method can be hard to remove if the need ever arises, plus the expansive foam may "migrate" to other areas near the crack, possibly causing a filling of unwanted areas. Therefore, this process is better performed with two people, one acting as a "spotter" for excessive foam migration.
Guess who's not working today.