Frequently Asked Questions

Call the office or fill out an online request. You should submit your full name, address, best contact number, and any specific issues with your driveway. Pro Seal will then provide a written estimate within two business days. We can leave a hard copy in your mailbox.

Just give us a call or send us an email. Pro Seal will give you a definite date that we will be out to your home, weather permitting.

Our services cannot be completed in the rain or in cold temperatures. We carefully monitor the weather through multiple resources. Pro Seal Services takes responsibility for any work that is affected by the weather.

The crew starts their route at 7:30 a.m. and can be expected anytime during the day. However, due to the variations between driveways and the nature of the schedule, we DO NOT assign specific time slots to each job.

All employees at Pro-Seal & Paving have been professionally trained

No. You do not need to be present for any of our services. Since your driveway is easily accessible to Pro-Seal we can estimate, prepare, and seal your driveway while you are at work or on vacation.

Please make sure your cars are out of the garage and off the driveway by 7:30 am on the day the job is done. Please keep all pets off the driveway until dry. Lastly, make sure any sprinklers are not scheduled to come on for at least 48 hours.

Crackfill: 2-6hours.
SealCoat: 24hours
Paving: 72 hours

Payment is due upon completion of the job. An invoice will be left at the house the day the work is completed, and you have several options for payment. An owner can accept a cash payment. You may mail a personal check. We also accept VISA, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. You can pay online or call the office with the credit card number, and a receipt will be mailed to you when the payment is processed. If payment is not received within 30 days, a 10% late charge will be applied to your invoice.

We utilize the latest spray system technology and brush squeegee applications. Depending on the asphalt conditions, dimensions and square footage.

Several types of sealers are available depending on the condition of your driveway surface. A Pro-Seal associate will recommend the best mixture for your project.

Any crack filling or oil spot priming will be done prior to seal coating. These services are typically done the day of the seal coating, all though bigger jobs the day before. The crew will trim back the grass from the edges of your driveway and blow the driveway clean before application. Any dirt sticking to the driveway will be scrubbed with a heavy-duty broom.

Neglecting asphalt maintenance can prematurely destroy your driveway. Rain, sun, gasoline, Deicer’s and oxygen all accelerate aging of unprotected asphalt. As an unprotected driveway ages, it becomes brittle & cracked. This allows water intrusion which causes potholes and accelerates the need for costly repaving. A regular preventative maintenance program of seal coating and crack filling will keep your asphalt driveway looking like new and resistant to all of these factors. Asphalt maintenance will keep money in your pocket, improve “curb appeal”, and attract the compliments of your neighbors.

A regular preventive maintenance program is a cost effective way to help extend your driveway from 10-12 years to 25.

Time will vary. 48 hours is recommended. 72 hours under humid conditions. Certain situations may require additional drying time. This will ensure no accidental tracking or damage to the newly seal coated driveway.

No, the sealer will either be applied neatly by brush or sprayed using blocker boards to avoid overspray and splashing. We cut the perimeter of the driveway as an extra precaution.

We suggest that asphalt should be sealed every 2-3 years to maximize the protection and ensure the look and appearance of the asphalt.

Due to the viscosity and the application techniques, one coat is sufficient for residential surfaces and two coats for commercial.

Usually one to two hours depending on repairs, area and difficulty.

In just a couple of hours, the sealer should dry enough to prevent it from being washed away. If it does wash away, we will re-apply the sealer at no cost to you.

No, sealcoat is only a surface coating, this type of damage is usually due to a faulty sub base below the pavement surface.

Sealcoat is best applied, weather permitting, from March through October and is only recommended to be applied with temperatures of 40 degrees (F) and above.

This is a complicated answer – Typically applied too thick, store brand sealer tends to spider crack usually after the first season, mainly due to the substandard ingredients. In addition, the cured sealer does not allow the asphalt to flex with the seasonal changes. Due to the severity of the damages that are caused, they can not be reversed, and in the end, this will shorten the life of the asphalt. Our company only uses the highest quality sealer. It offers the highest degree of protection and quality. It is diluted to the manufacturer's specifications to ensure its longevity and wear. We use additives that serve a few purposes – to help suspend sand, giving the sealer a deep, rich black color, and provide greater resistance to harmful substances such as salt and oils.

No, a driveway should cure for approximately 90 days to one year.

The customer must remove caution tape and any barricading.

• Customer must cut off water hoses and sprinklers to prevent any mishaps to the newly applied seal coat or crack fill.
• Customer must remove and park vehicles away from the area to be serviced.
• Customer should remove soil from the surface of the asphalt to save time and money. Removal of an abundance of soil will add to the proposal/quote.
• Customer will be expected to adhere to and respect the responsibilities mentioned to prevent our return to correct damages caused due to the customer’s negligence.

Paving, Grading, Milling, Excavating, Crack Joint Sealing, Asphalt Seal Coating, Striping and Trucking, etc,. See our Services Page as well for more detail.

Also known as blacktop – known in our industry as asphalt pavement or hot mix pavement. Asphalt is an engineered mixture of aggregates. There are two basic ingredients in hot mix asphalt. The first is the aggregates (crushed stone, gravel, and sand), and the second is asphalt cement (AC) – the black liquid that holds the pavement together. Mix the two ingredients, and you get Hot Mix Asphalt.

Binder (also known as basecoat) and Topcoat are types of asphalt paving material made from hot asphalt cement and aggregate. Depending on the specified use, the percentages and sizes of aggregate vary. Typically a “Binder” Course, also known as the load-bearing coarse, contains mostly 3/4” aggregate (The stone in the asphalt is larger) and is applied first at a thickness, depending on the application. “Finish” or “Top” coat contains mainly 3/8” aggregate (the smooth topcoat that you see on most asphalt surfaces) for a smoother finish and is applied over the binder; its thickness is engineered, dependent on job specs.

We generally recommend that you wait 72 hours before driving on a new driveway.

Most driveways are paved by a paving machine. However, due to the size of the paving machine, certain areas such as in front of garages, walkways, or along walls are spread and raked by hand. These areas may have a slightly different texture as a result of hand tools. This is normal, and as the driveway ages, these areas will become less noticeable.

A few examples are: A milling machine is typically used to remove the surface material of existing pavement, and the area is cleaned of loose debris on an overlay project. Distributor tanks are used to apply prime coats or tack coats. Dump trucks are used to transport hot mix asphalt material from the plant to the paving site, and a heavy-duty machine paver is used to pave a smooth pre-compacted mat. Then asphalt compactors/rollers with vibration are used to densify the material.

A prime coat is an application of low viscosity asphalt to a stone base course in preparation for asphalt pavement.

The prime coat is used to harden the base course and provide adhesion between the base course and the asphalt pavement.

A tack coat is used on an overlay/resurface project, it is used to form a bond between an existing surface and the overlying course.

An overlay is the resurfacing of an existing pavement. Existing asphalt or concrete pavements can be overlaid with hot mix asphalt with excellent results. Before paving, existing pavement should be checked for any repairs needed, cleaned of all loose debris, and tacked for successful adhesion.

Asphalt thickness is engineered. Asphalt is generally 2-3″ thick. However, it can be as thick as 4″+ depending on what kind of stress you will put on the pavement. Pavement that is 3+” or thicker should be installed in multiple lifts/layers. (If your job is a “Spec Job,” we must follow plans/specs.)

There have been numerous studies that have shown that asphalt pavements have a lower life cycle cost. The initial cost of asphalt pavement construction is usually less than concrete. But, in addition to construction cost, an increasingly important factor is construction time. More areas can be covered with asphalt pavement than with concrete in a period of time. Also, asphalt repairs are less expensive.

Asphalt is more cost-effective than concrete, also less expensive to repair. It usually does not need to be removed. It can easily be resurfaced. Asphalt is designed to flex with small settlements. See our asphalt paving advantages page.

All pavements require maintenance. Preventive maintenance is the less expensive, early detection and repair of minor defects before major corrective action is necessary. A parking lot is an investment, as is a building. Just as a building must be maintained, so must a parking lot/area.

Asphalt is a porous material, susceptible to oxidation from the sun and damage from water penetrating beneath the surface of the asphalt—chemicals such as gasoline, diesel fuel, oil, antifreeze, and even salt. Asphalt pavement will also ravel away after time. Seal coating not only makes your pavement look new but also protects it from oxidation as well as petroleum spills. Seal coating extends the life and protects your investment in your new pavement.

Our crew members are experts in Infrared Repair and have probably handled the same type of problem you have multiple times just this week. In addition to the experience, our crews take great pride in their work and are true craftsmen who have developed many of their own techniques over the years.

Yes – it’s impossible to match old asphalt using new asphalt, even with infrared repairs. How well a repair blends with the surrounding asphalt depends on one main factor, how many times the surrounding asphalt has been sealed. Each time you seal coat your asphalt, the voids between the aggregate get filled in a little more. So the more times a driveway has been sealed, the less texture it has, leaving little chance it will match up with new asphalt that has more texture. Just imagine your old driveway next to a new driveway. That’s the difference you will see.

It will blend better with a seal coat (same color), but the textures will still be different, and the repairs will be visible. Asphalt surfaces that have only been sealed a few times can eventually blend in pretty well with a few seal coats over a few years. If a new driveway is what you’re looking for, you’ll need a paving company that can give you a new driveway. Infrared repairs are an excellent option if a large portion of your asphalt is in good shape, and you can accept that the repairs will not be invisible.

If you have a few bad areas that can’t be crack-filled, they may be candidates for Infrared Repair. It’s usually not cost-effective to repair single cracks, but alligatored cracks, settling, and potholes are often repaired with Infrared. As a rule of thumb, if less than 20% of the drive has issues, it may be worthwhile to use the Infrared process. If most of the drive is in poor shape – you might want to consider paving. If you have a few problem areas – Infrared may be a good option and if the drive only needs minor crack filling and a coat of sealer – call us for seal coating.

Every repair process has seams. What matters is whether the seam is a cold joint or a hot joint (thermally bonded). Even new driveways have seams – everywhere a joint is matched, there’s a seam. Every saw cut repair has a cold joint – this joint is a point of weakness that will always open up. The repair perimeter is saw cut, asphalt is removed, and hot asphalt is installed against the cold edge of the surrounding asphalt. The two surfaces never bond and eventually separate. Infrared repairs are thermally bonded – the asphalt is heated just beyond the repair area, allowing the repair area to become part of the surrounding asphalt. Without cold joints, there is no point of weakness.

Whole driveways are usually better off being handled by a paver that can uniformly lay the entire surface. All of the asphalt is rolling out of the paver in the same direction (smoother surface).

Please don’t park directly on repair areas for 2 days. You can drive over repairs when we are completed, but please don’t turn your tires over the repair areas while in place.

For best results, wait at least 1 week before applying a coat of sealer (the repair area will blend better with the surrounding asphalt). The sealer is water-based, and asphalt is petroleum-based, so the sealer will not adhere well until the surface has cured a little.

Pavement resurfacing (also known as an overlay, asphalt overlay, or pavement overlay) is the process of installing a new layer of asphalt over the existing pavement. This new layer is generally 1.5 – 2 inches in depth. Pavement reconstruction is the process of installing both the subgrade asphalt layer and the top pavement overlay layer.

When the surface has become heavily oxidized, the base (also known as subgrade) remains stable. The subgrade condition can be tested through core-testing when there is any concern or question of what shape it is in.

When there is extensive damage or alligator cracks, it is more effective and cost-efficient to completely reconstruct than to do an overlay.

That depends on many factors, as no two paving projects are identical. Factors that determine pavement lifespan include weather patterns, the harshness of winter (freeze-thaw cycles), how many heavy trucks use the pavement in question, the thickness of the new asphalt layer, the exact condition of the subgrade before resurfacing, and how well the new surface is taken care of through routine maintenance. An average pavement overlay lifespan can be from 8-15 years, depending on the above factors.

This again is dependent on many factors as outlines above for resurfacing. On average, however, with proper routine maintenance a newly reconstructed parking lot or road can last from 15-25 years.

At least a day. Rubber tire traffic will not damage new asphalt but care should be taken to avoid sharp turns, such as turning the wheels on an unmoving vehicle.

Proper drainage conditions are critical to consider when resurfacing your pavement. For example, how well does your parking lot drain now? How will this be affected by a new layer of asphalt? As a general rule, an asphalt parking lot should have a minimum slope of 1″ for water to drain properly. This translates to roughly 1 fall for every 10 feet of pavement. This is why edge milling is essential: by milling the edges of existing asphalt below the level of adjacent concrete, the new asphalt can be installed at the same level as the concrete, preventing water from becoming trapped between the asphalt and concrete. Without edge milling, the new layer of asphalt will sit one and a half to two inches higher than the adjacent concrete, increasing water damage to your pavement while also causing a trip or fall hazard for people.

Resurfacing in cold weather leads to cold “seams” which can contribute to premature deterioration and failure. The general rule of thumb is to pave when temperatures are 50° F and rising.

Implementing a pavement maintenance plan and budgeting for maintenance is important as soon as the new pavement is completed. Due to New Jersey’s freeze and thaw cycles, some cracks may appear after each winter. Yearly crack filling and routine seal coating beginning after the 2nd year will keep your pavement in the best possible condition.

Yes, sometimes. Linear cracks (cracks that form nearly straight lines) can be filled with a hot rubberized sealant. We can also use paving fabric over cracks before resurfacing. Alligator cracks require much more extensive work to fix; if a small area has alligator cracking, it can be fixed prior to resurfacing. However, complete pavement reconstruction (not just resurfacing) is probably needed if the entire lot has alligator cracking.

We install 2” cast iron risers to make sure utility valves are even with new overlay.

Many engineers specify between 1.5 – 2 inches thick. We recommend installing pavement 2 – 2.5 inches thick, compacted to 2 inches, for the best results.

When you or your community is ready for pavement work, it is crucial to have specifications drawn up from either an engineering firm or a reputable paving contractor. Have all contractors bid apples to apples: quotes can vary significantly if your contractors are not bidding on the same work specifications. This is why it is important to educate yourself about the process to make the most informed decision possible about your needs.

A resurface will only be as good as the underlying asphalt core surface. If 25-35% or more of the total parking lot area is in need of substantial removal due to subgrade or other problems, it is generally more economical, and more effective, to completely reconstruct the parking lot.

Have your catch basins, retention basins, and drains inspected and cleaned yearly. In addition, have cracks filled once a year. These two simple yearly maintenance procedures can significantly extend the life of your pavement.

Pro-Seal & Paving creates a detailed color mapping system for each project that explains work being completed daily and where cars need to park. It is important for the manager to have a notice distributed to the community 1 month prior to the start of work explaining tentative work dates. When parking is extremely limited, paving can be done over multiple days to have adequate parking available for everyone.

Since September 11, 2001 petroleum prices have increased substantially. Petroleum is in asphalt and diesel fuel is used in all of our trucks. Have your engineer keep an eye on yearly costs and revise your reserve study as needed; this is an important part of your overall pavement management plan.

This depends on your individual project’s needs including size and scope of work. Contact us directly for a customized quote.

Crack filling should be done throughout the life of your pavement and at least once per year to keep your pavement in its best possible condition.

Crack filling season begins in April and ends in November. Crack filling can be completed in the winter months as long as it is dry. It is best to crack fill going into the winter months when the cracks in asphalt are as wide as possible. In the colder months cracks expand and in the summer months, cracks contract.

Since this is part of routine maintenance, it can be done as often as needed but should ideally be done at least once per year.

No. Only straight line cracks should be filled. Alligator cracks cannot be filled.

When alligator crack areas appear in a parking lot it means that water has penetrated the subgrade layer and that pavement can no longer support the weight of the traffic. It’s a sign of extreme pavement deterioration that requires complete pavement reconstruction to fix.

The crack filling material is applied at 300° F but cools to the touch in minutes. Black silica sand is broadcasted over fresh crack filler to prevent tracking.

It can if it is walked on prior to drying. We use black silica sand over the fresh crack filler to help prevent tracking, but any pavement area being repaired should be made off-limits before any repair work is started. During hot months crack filler softens. The black silica sand will also help at this stage to prevent tracking.

Yes, it will. The two materials will bond, but since the crack sealing material is designed to expand and contract through a wide temperature range, the seal coat can chip away from the crack sealant. There is a color difference between the two materials, so you can tell if a crack-filled area needs to have another layer of seal coat applied.

This happens due to the freeze-thaw cycles in winter when greater expansion and contraction of pavement is occurring. As a result, cracks may re-open due to excessive expansion and contraction. The filler is designed to adjust to moderate temperature fluctuations, but it will not always work during extreme weather conditions. This is why crack filling is a yearly maintenance procedure.

Crack filler is applied hot (about 300° F) and is squeegeed tightly into the crack. When crack filler cools off, it expands. It’s designed to be flexible and moves with changes in temperature as pavement expands and contracts.

Linear cracks in the pavement are fine for resurfacing and do not require complete subgrade reconstruction. We use a paving fabric and sealant under the new asphalt overlay, which keeps cracks from causing any problems. If pavement has alligator cracks, it will need to be completely reconstructed.

No, it does not. You will see crack filler through the seal coat, as the crack filler is designed to expand and contract with temperature changes. Pavement takes on a dark, vibrant color after seal coating, but you will still see repaired crack areas through the seal coat.

Two things: commit to yearly pavement inspection and maintenance to fix minor cracks and problems before they turn into bigger problems. Crack filling and seal coating is the best way to prevent more cracks from forming in pavement. Second, be diligent about inspecting your pavement, so you find small cracks before they turn into bigger ones.