How to Prepare Your Asphalt Driveway for Sealing: Step-by-Step Guide

Good sealing is mostly good preparation, and preparation goes better on a schedule. Follow this countdown from a week out to the morning of the job.

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A week out: choose the window and clear the decks

Start with the label. Read the product's minimum temperatures, its rain limits and its reopening times, then look for a stretch of settled weather that fits them. Pick a main date and a backup, since Ontario weather can move both.

• Tell the household and any neighbours who share the street that the driveway will be closed.
• Plan where cars will park for at least a day or two, and how people will get in and out of the house.
• Move planters, basketball nets, toys, bins and bikes off the surface.
• Trim back branches and shrubs that hang over the edge, so they do not brush the wet film.
• Note the position of sprinkler heads and switch off any timers that will run.

Four days out: pull, fill and patch

Repairs need time to cure, so they come first. Pull weeds from cracks and along the edges, roots and all. Fill open cracks, patch small holes and treat oil stains. The guide to crack filling before sealing explains why the coat cannot do this work for you.

Use products made for asphalt, and check their labels for temperature limits and cure times. If the weather turns damp, move the whole schedule back rather than filling wet cracks. A repair sealed in too early can stay soft under the coat and fail.

Two days out: clean it and let it dry

1. Sweep and blow the whole surface, including the edges and the cracks you filled.
2. Scrub any remaining grease or oil with a cleaner made for driveways, then rinse well.
3. Wash the surface with a hose or a pressure washer. Keep the nozzle moving, since concentrated pressure can gouge old asphalt. A professional pressure washing visit is one way to get this step done.
4. Let the pavement dry through. A damp driveway looks darker than a dry one, so judge by hand and by eye. Press a paper towel to a suspect patch and see whether it picks up moisture.
5. Keep everyone off the clean surface, since footprints and tyre tracks bring dirt back.

If rain is forecast after you wash, stop and reschedule. Wet pavement is the most common reason for a failed bond.

The night before and the morning of

The night before, give the surface a last sweep and blow, and set out your tools and protective gear. Check the forecast again and run through the go or no-go questions: temperature, dry pavement, no rain or dew before the film sets and calm wind.

On the morning, wait until the dew has gone. Protect the base of the garage door, the walkway edges and anything you cannot afford to splash, using tape, plastic or a board. Stir the sealer thoroughly. Plan your route before you start: begin at the far end and work back towards the exit, so you never have to stand on fresh sealer. Leave the last strip for the spot where you will step off.

Put up barricade tape or cones at the street end, and keep pets and children inside.

Prep shortcuts that come back to bite

• Skipping the dry time. Sealer over damp pavement blisters or peels, and shaded corners dry last.
• Washing too hard. A narrow, close jet can etch old asphalt and blast stones loose.
• Forgetting the edges. Dirt and grass along the border stop the coat from bonding where wear is worst.
• Sealing over uncured filler. The filler can stay soft, and the coat can lift.
• Leaving a sprinkler on a timer. One early-morning cycle can spoil the first coat.
• Letting the household walk across. A single set of footprints in soft sealer stays for years.

Every shortcut on this list saves an hour and can cost the coat. Ontario's short sealing season makes redoing one expensive in time as well as money.

If you would rather hand off the prep

Preparation is most of the labour, and it is the part DIY jobs most often cut short. A crew that lists cleaning, repairs and edges as separate lines has usually done this before. D&D Home Services offers driveway sealing with free quotes that are confirmed in writing before work begins, so you can see what will be prepared and how before you agree to anything.

Devon Moore, Operations Lead Co-Founder & Operations Lead, D&D Home Services

Devon Moore is the co-founder and Operations Lead at D&D Home Services, with hands-on experience cleaning hundreds of homes across Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, and Guelph.