Crack Sealing in Lafayette
Call (574) 230-5996 for a free estimate.
Here is the whole economics of pavement in one sentence: water that stays out of the base costs you nothing, water that gets in costs you the driveway. Cracks are the way in. Lafayette runs 40-plus freeze-thaw cycles in a typical winter, and each one wedges every unsealed crack a little wider.
We seal cracks with hot rubberized sealant, melted in a kettle to around 380 degrees and applied into the crack, where it bonds to both walls and stays flexible from July heat to January deep-freeze. The hardware-store alternative, cold pour from a jug, shrinks, loses its bond, and is usually gone in a year.
Crack sealing is quick and cheap relative to everything it prevents. A typical driveway takes under an hour and you can drive on it the same day.
Get Your Free Estimate
Crack Sealing vs Crack Filling: The Distinction That Matters
The trade uses two terms and they are not the same thing. Crack filling is dumping a cold pourable product into a crack, it hardens rigid, loses bond as the pavement moves, and typically lasts a season. Crack sealing uses hot-applied rubberized sealant, a blend of asphalt cement and polymers, installed into a crack that has been cleaned and dried, where it bonds to both walls and stretches with the pavement's thermal movement, summer expansion, winter contraction, year after year. Sealing costs more per foot and is several times cheaper per year of service. When we quote, we are quoting sealing.
Reading Your Cracks
Transverse cracks run across the pavement, born from temperature swings, and are the most common and most sealable. Longitudinal cracks run with the pavement, often along the paving seam. Edge cracks curl along unsupported driveway borders where the lawn side gives way. Block cracking divides old pavement into rough squares as the binder ages. All four are good sealing candidates. The exception is alligator cracking, the chicken-wire pattern, which signals base failure underneath, sealant poured into that is money into a void, the fix is cut-out and patch.
Process and Price
- Cracks routed or wire-brushed clean and blown dry with compressed air. Sealant will not bond to dust or damp.
- Sealant melted in a jacketed kettle to roughly 380 degrees.
- Applied via wand into the crack and banded slightly over the top, that black overband is the wear surface.
- Traffic-ready in an hour or two, same day always.
Cost runs $1 to $3 per linear foot around Lafayette with a modest job minimum, most driveways land between $150 and $400. On commercial lots we price by measured footage after a walk-through. Paired with sealcoating, cracks first, coating second, it is the highest-return maintenance combination asphalt has.
Why Sealed Highways Have Those Black Squiggles
Drive I-65 and you will see the snaking black lines everywhere. INDOT crews seal cracks for the same reason we do: pavement studies consistently show crack sealing delays major rehabilitation by years for pennies per square foot. The state does not spend money on cosmetics. Neither should your driveway budget, and crack sealing is the least cosmetic, highest-value line on it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the sealed cracks show?
Yes, as black bands on the gray surface. If the look bothers you, sealcoating afterward evens the whole surface back to black.
Which cracks need sealing?
Anything wide enough to slip a coin into. Hairline surface checking usually does not need it yet, and heavily alligatored areas are past it, those need patching instead.
What does crack sealing cost?
One to three dollars per linear foot locally, with a small job minimum. Most driveways run $150 to $400. Commercial lots are priced from measured footage after a free walk-through.
How long does the sealant last?
Three to eight years per crack depending on movement and traffic, and re-doing a failed foot of sealant costs a couple dollars. Compare that to what the water gets up to unsupervised.
Need Crack Sealing in Lafayette? Contact us today for honest, affordable prices.
Call (574) 230-5996