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Driveway Care Guide

TLC’s Guide to a Long Lasting Driveway

As soon as the Taylor Davis Landscape & Construction Company completes paving your asphalt driveway, its life begins. You can help assure yourself of a long life for your new driveway by following the care and maintenance tips below.

Week 1 & 2

The first 14 days of your new driveway is the most critical period. This is when the driveway is most vulnerable. Do not park on your new driveway for the first 3-5 days. Days 5-14 you may pull in and park with your tires straight.

Do not turn your tires in your driveway as it will leave indentations!

The Curing Period

The first 100 days are crucial to keeping your driveway pristine!

Asphalt is oil based and takes a while to cure (especially with the summer heat). Special precautions must be taken during this period and during the entire first season with your new driveway.

- Do not park on asphalt during the hottest part of the day.
- Do not turn your steering wheel when the car is stopped.
- Keep motorcycle and bicycle stands, boat jacks and other sharp objects off the surface.
- Place plywood under front tires of cars and trucks, and for campers, boats, and trailers, under the hitch. This helps dispense the weight of the tires. Even better, try not to park heavy vehicles on the driveway for long periods of time during this first season.
- Do not allow heavy trucks, such as garbage trucks, on the driveway.
- If your driveway is installed in the fall, curing will stop when the weather turns cold, then will resume in the spring.

Continuing Care & Maintenance

You can help to insure its long life and durability:

Prevent Oil & Gasoline Spills– Asphalt is an oil-based material. Gasoline and oil spills can dissolve the surface of your driveway and cause deterioration. Avoid spilling or leaking these materials and clean up any spills using absorbent materials to minimize damage.
Fill Cracks– Cracks may appear due to movement in the base and/or subsoil during a freeze or thaw cycle. Movement can also result from water seeping under the driveway. Water seepage can be due to landscape design, too much rain or over-watering. In the northeast, eventual cracking is unavoidable. Keeping the cracks filled will help keep your driveway in good condition. You can fill cracks yourself, using a variety of products designed for that purpose, or we can help with this process as well.
Protect Driveway Edges– Avoid driving on the edges since they will crack and crumble over time. We suggest building up the soil near the sides of your driveway with topsoil to approximately one inch from the top of the driveway. This allows room for sod growth and water drainage, and will support the edges and enhance the appearance after the grass is grown.
Stop Weeds & Grass Growing Through Cracks– Vegetation, such as weeds and grass are able to push through asphalt. In most cases you can use a spot killer to remedy the situation. Sometimes, large plants or trees located near the edge of the driveway will push through. You will probably want to remove the plant for a long-term solution. If a tree root pushes through, and you want to keep the tree, the only remedy is to fill the cracks every year.

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