Tips To Help You Prevent, Treat & Repair Asphalt Alligator-Pattern Cracking
Asphalt maintenance is important for keeping your pavement long-lasting and prevent surface cracking damage. Cracks can normally occur over time, but when they form a web-like or alligator cracking pattern, you have serious damage that needs to be repaired properly. Here are some tips to help you deal with and prevent your asphalt's alligator cracking.
Prevention
The best way to prevent alligator cracking or pattern cracking on your asphalt pavement is by completing the pavement installation properly. The flexible surface layer of your asphalt depends upon having this durable layer of compacted, angular gravel to provide the asphalt its support to withstand the weight of heavy vehicles. A gravel layer also remains stable and in place despite moisture runoff below your asphalt layer. A layer of sand or soil below asphalt can erode and deteriorate away, leaving your asphalt layer without the support it needs.
Preparation of the installation site foundation requires an excavation of the site's soil to provide space for the base gravel layer. Then, depending on the climate in your area and the type of soil on the site, several inches of gravel should be installed and compacted before the asphalt is poured.
For example, if the soil in the site contains a great deal of clay, the soil will not drain properly of moisture and you will need a thicker layer of gravel than if the soil is sandy and drains moisture well. And if the weather in your area has extreme temperature variances from hot in summer and cold in winter, you will need a thicker layer of gravel than if the weather is moderately level throughout the year.
Temporary Treatment
Treating alligator and other pattern cracking on your asphalt surface is important to prevent further damage and erosion of the pavement until you can have a full repair completed on the site. Keep in mind this temporary will not permanently repair the problem, which you will need to complete as soon as possible.
First, block off the damage site to vehicle traffic, as further traffic over the pavement can cause the damage to spread. Then, fill the cracking with an asphalt crack filler and apply a seal coating layer to protect and prevent further damage.
Repair
As soon as you can repair your alligator cracks, hire a professional asphalt company like Lien Transportation Co to complete this. They should remove the damaged asphalt layer and inspect the sub-base and foundation layers of the pavement to find out why the asphalt failed. Once a proper sub-base foundation has been installed to support the pavement, your asphalt pavement can be reinstalled. You should have no further alligator cracking as long as the repair was completed properly.