As recommended with the pothole repair, clear the crack of moisture, dirt, debris, vegetation and chemical deicers to make the sealing more effective, use a heat lance and/or compressed air. If using a heat lance take care not to burn or scorch the pavement and the place the sealant before the pavement in the crack cools to allow for the best adherence of the crack fill materials.
Seal all cracks from 1⁄4 inch to 1 inch in width the entire length of the crack. Cracks smaller than 1⁄4” will not retain sufficient sealer to flex in the cold. Cracks greater than 1” will sag and possibly prematurely fail without the installation of HMA or backer rod.
When repairing cracks, fill the entire crack and level any affected area to ensure a smooth and level pavement surface.
Apply the sealant or repair material only when the sealant or repair material is within the manufacturer’s recommended application temperature. Special care must be taken to assure that the sealant temperature does not exceed the manufacturer’s recommendations; otherwise the polymers may be destroyed therefore reducing the sealant performance.
Keep in mind that more sealant is not always better. Over applying sealant material can lead to problems when paving over with HMA or bleeding up through the seal or paving application.
New sealants are not designed to be “road glue”. They are very sticky and have tremendous bonding power; however, they were not made to “hold the road together”. Crack sealing has one objective: to prevent water from further damaging roads. Sealing “buys time” and saves money by delaying the expense of major reconstructive pavement work.
