Know Your Pavement

For Michigan’s climate, every 2–4 years depending on traffic, sun exposure, and the condition of the surface. New asphalt should get its first sealcoat about 12 months after installation — it needs a season to cure first.

Typically 24–48 hours depending on temperature, humidity, and sun. Foot traffic is usually fine sooner. We’ll give you an exact window when we finish, and we recommend keeping vehicles off as long as possible for the hardest cure.

No — and any contractor who says otherwise is cutting corners. Cracks must be filled with hot rubberized crack filler before sealing. Sealcoat protects the surface; crack filler seals the openings. They work together, which is why we quote them together.

That’s oxidation — UV light and oxygen breaking down the petroleum binder that holds asphalt together. Gray asphalt is dry, brittle asphalt that cracks and unravels more easily. Sealcoating restores the protective barrier and the black finish.

Because of water. Every crack lets water reach the gravel base under your asphalt. In winter that water freezes and expands, heaving the pavement and widening the crack — the freeze-thaw cycle. A crack sealed for a few dollars today prevents an alligatored area or pothole that costs a hundred times more to repair.

Cold-pour products shrink, harden, and pull away from the crack within a season or two. Our polymer-modified rubber is melted to 375–400°F and bonds to the crack walls, then stays flexible for years — expanding and contracting with the pavement through every freeze-thaw cycle.

Infra-red excels at potholes, low spots that hold water, failed patches, and rough areas in visible locations. It welds new asphalt seamlessly into old with no joints for water to attack. When damage goes all the way into the base, remove & replace is the better fix — we’ll tell you honestly which one your pavement needs.

When the damage runs deeper than the surface: widespread alligator cracking, deep ruts, or areas where the base has shifted or washed out. Patching over base failure just buys months. R&R rebuilds the section from the ground up so it performs like new pavement.

Sealcoating and striping need temperatures of roughly 50°F and rising, with dry weather — in Michigan that’s generally May through October. Hot rubber crack filling has a longer season. Book early: prime summer weeks fill up fast.

Sealer and paint need dry pavement and dry cure time, so rain pushes the schedule. We watch forecasts closely, communicate proactively, and reschedule promptly — we’d rather move a job than apply material in conditions where it won’t last.

Quotes are usually scheduled within days. For the work itself, 1–3 weeks of lead time is typical in peak season. Commercial projects that need off-hours or phased work should reach out earlier so we can plan around your traffic. Call 269-993-5005 to get on the calendar.

Yes. Lots can be sealed and striped in phases so your business never fully closes, and we can schedule around your busiest hours. We plan the phasing with you before work starts.

It depends on square footage, surface condition, and how much crack filling is needed first — which is why we quote in person after seeing the pavement. Quotes are free, no-pressure, and itemized so you can see exactly what you’re paying for. As a rule of thumb: maintenance costs pennies per square foot; replacement costs dollars.

Yes — free, no obligation, and honest. If your pavement doesn’t need work yet, we’ll tell you that too.

Fully insured. Certificates of insurance are available on request for commercial property managers and HOAs.

Both. We serve commercial properties across West & Southwest Michigan — including the Greater Grand Rapids area, Kalamazoo, Portage, and Battle Creek — and residential driveways throughout the same region.