Potholes happen, and that is a fact of life. They can develop anywhere, whether on a road surface or on your parking lot. They form in asphalt because of several factors such as; exposure to rain, sun, certain leaking automobile oil chemicals, and even the load from vehicles. If you don’t observe precautions, even the high-quality road or paved surfaces can form potholes. The most important thing is that you should repair potholes as soon as they form. If left unattended, a lot of problems will result. For example, small and large potholes will be worked loose and finally get pulled out by vehicle tires. Also, water will continuously accumulate on them, encouraging more damage and at the same time forming a bleeding environment for some insects.
Fortunately, there are real ways of repairing an asphalt pothole. You can use cold asphalt. Cold asphalt is formulated with modern polymers that hold the asphalt onto the pothole, thus patching it successfully. The following asphalt potholes repair tips can end your worries as far as pothole damage is concerned:
1. Prepare the pothole for repair
This is the initial step. Remove all the loose pieces of asphalt that are inside the pothole. You can shovel out the large pieces using a trowel. For the remaining small pieces, brush them out using a stiff bristle brush. In case of oil, remove the affected areas to full depth before replacing. This ensures that all the oil spots have been gone forever. A floor scraper and a propane torch will help get rid of oil spots. You can also slightly heat up the asphalt in order to soften the oil and at the same time leave the asphalt undamaged.
Next, you should fill the deep holes with some gravel. Gravels that are up to 4 inches from their top are desirable. Use a tamper to tamp down the gravel.
2. Start the actual pothole repair
At this point, brush on the inside of the pothole with an asphalt primer. You can use a paint brush for this matter. Asphalt primer is very important because it makes the cold asphalt to easily grip the pothole sides in a better way in order to produce a more permanent patch. With the help of a stirring brush, stir up some cold patch asphalt. Lay about two inches of cold asphalt, tamp it down and then measure the remaining pothole depth. Continue adding more cold asphalt with each layer going a depth of approximately two inches, until the pothole is about one-inch below the surface. Tamp it down and then finally add more cold asphalt, and again tamp it down until it is level with the surface. This chapter was written with guidance of pothole repairs Mackay staff .
3. Apply a slurry seal and allow the repaired part to cure
An appropriate slurry seal should be applied on the already repaired pothole. It will improve the surface waterproofing characteristics and restore the surface texture by offering it a skid-resistant wearing surface. However, a slurry seal should not be used to correct surface profiles, fill the potholes or alleviate cracking.
For best results, allow the pothole to cure for some hours. Cover it so that it does not get rained on or damaged by vehicles while still curing.