To explain the difference between asphalt paving and asphalt sealcoating, it might be helpful to use the example of your car. Your car is basically a metal structure that is covered by paint. Without the paint, the metal parts of your car would begin to rust. The elements, such as sun, rain, and snow, to which your car is subjected will take a toll on the integrity of the structure beneath the paint, and the useful life of your car will be shortened significantly.

Now substitute the words “sealcoating” for “paint” and “asphalt paving” for “metal structure.” This should give you a good idea of the differences between asphalt paving and sealcoating.

Sealcoating:

• Protects your asphalt pavement from damage. It acts as a sunscreen to filter out harmful UV rays, helps shield the pavement from automotive-fluid leaks and acts as a back-up defense against water penetration that can erode the pavement’s base.
• Makes your pavement look more attractive. A new coat of paint makes a car more attractive, and a wax job can help improve the appearance of aging paint. Similarly, sealcoating can make asphalt appear more even and darker.
• Is normally considered a routine maintenance or preventive maintenance expense.
• Is typically the least expensive maintenance service you can request for paved surface.
• Can significantly extend the asphalt pavement’s life expectancy and can sometimes double its life.
• Can often be adjusted through the use of additives to provide specific qualities, such as a shorter drying time.

Asphalt Paving:

• This essentially is the process of installing asphalt pavement.
• May refer to new construction, the removal and replacement of existing asphalt or the process of overlaying an additional course of asphalt on top of existingconcrete or asphalt pavement.
• May refer to a complete area, such as an entire parking lot, or a section, such as a stretch of roadway that has been severely damaged by an eroded foundation.
• Is not considered routine maintenance. It is typically classified as either a repair cost or capital expense.
• Will normally disrupt traffic for a longer time than commercial sealcoating.
• Should have a long-life expectancy. Life depends on proper maintenance, the use to which the pavement is subjected and climate. However, 20 years is not uncommon, and there are stretches of asphalt pavement on heavily traveled roads that are still going strong after more than 60 years.

As you can see, there are many differences between asphalt paving and sealcoating. The two services work together to provide a durable, attractive pavement that is ideal for residential and commercial properties as well as the network of highways, streets and roads that connect the nation.

B&E Coating Services offers residential sealcoating, asphalt paving, pavement markings, and many more asphalt-related services to customers in Big Rapids, Greenville and Mt. Pleasant. We offer superior results at competitive prices, whether you need your parking lot sealcoated or your driveway repaired. You can use our online quote request form to contact us, or you can call our Cadillac asphalt paving contractors at (989) 352-7305.