Sealing Driveway: DIY or Professional Service?

Newer home owner here. ( new house Oct. 2008 ).
Was looking to hear what people have to say about sealing an asphalt driveway.

I remember growing up going to Menards with my parents and buying the sealer and spending a Sat. afternoon sealing it ourselves. But I’ve heard from a lot of people that you get much better protection and quality if you have s ervice come out and do it for you.

What are your experiances?
Thanks brothers.

I too would like some answers on this. But for the Garage.

I wouldn’t spend a nickel on my driveway re-sealing it…let that bitch get to the point were you have to re-place it…save your money for booze and food!

I remember helping my grandfather do it…

It was fun, and looking back, great quality time.

Wait until the asphalt wears out, then replace it with concrete.

I spent part of last summer working for a company that did driveway sealing. They would have you convinced that their product is better than what you can buy in stores, but I’m not so sure that’s true.

As long as you buy the airport grade sealer, or whatever it’s called, I think you are getting the same product for about $50 as opposed to $200 or $300 to have someone do it for you.

Make sure you clean your driveway well before you do it and the driveway also has to be dry. Also if you have cracks in your driveway you will need to buy a good quality crack filler and apply that before the sealer.

I’ve seen driveways that were sealed the previous year by ‘better quality companies’ and they look to be in the same shape as any driveway that someone did themselves.

If money isn’t an issue, the only advantage I can see to having someone come and do it for you is that they would probably spray it on where you would probably use some form of a paint roller to apply the sealer. That could lead to maintaining the driveway better. It will also be done faster by a company.

As for garages (I’m assuming indoor and also asphalt), it would probably be better to follow the same guidelines and do it yourself, because I imagine if you have someone come in and spray the sealer on, you will end up with the walls of you garage being covered in tar.

[quote]MNguns wrote:
Newer home owner here. ( new house Oct. 2008 ).
Was looking to hear what people have to say about sealing an asphalt driveway.

I remember growing up going to Menards with my parents and buying the sealer and spending a Sat. afternoon sealing it ourselves. But I’ve heard from a lot of people that you get much better protection and quality if you have s ervice come out and do it for you.

What are your experiances?
Thanks brothers.[/quote]

Not sure where you are at but asphalt would get an oil based slurry seal coat,and would be worth it if the asphalt is not checked or crack into a million pieces if so spend the money to replace it with concrete.
The garge floor could be a two part epoxy paint which would require that it be acid washed prior, or a densifier which would require it to be scrubed thourghly first. Eihter way it should be completely dry before continuing. As far as DYI or subed out, that depends on your abilities but slurry would be best done by a contractor then you get a warrenty for the work.

[quote]Chiron01 wrote:
I spent part of last summer working for a company that did driveway sealing. They would have you convinced that their product is better than what you can buy in stores, but I’m not so sure that’s true.

As long as you buy the airport grade sealer, or whatever it’s called, I think you are getting the same product for about $50 as opposed to $200 or $300 to have someone do it for you.

Make sure you clean your driveway well before you do it and the driveway also has to be dry. Also if you have cracks in your driveway you will need to buy a good quality crack filler and apply that before the sealer.

I’ve seen driveways that were sealed the previous year by ‘better quality companies’ and they look to be in the same shape as any driveway that someone did themselves.

If money isn’t an issue, the only advantage I can see to having someone come and do it for you is that they would probably spray it on where you would probably use some form of a paint roller to apply the sealer. That could lead to maintaining the driveway better. It will also be done faster by a company.

As for garages (I’m assuming indoor), it would probably be better to follow the same guidelines and do it yourself, because I imagine if you have someone come in and spray the sealer on, you will end up with the walls of you garage being covered in tar. [/quote]

Were you the guy who did my driveway and sprayed over my garage door? You tried to clean it and then made an even bigger mess?

On a serious note OP, apart from airport grade, I was told that you should look for a tar based sealant as opposed to an acrylic based one (this one is the most common. The acrylic will end up doing more damage to your driveway when it gets hot and it will make it slippery in the winter. Acrylic will also give your driveway a bluer tint rather then a black/grey look.

It’s easy to do man. And kind of fun actually. Take your time, prepare everything right, and you’ll be fine.

Just make sure you clean the hell out of the driveway before you start to seal it. Rent a pressure washer to clean it right.

I paid to have it done last year. It cost me $175 and took the contractor and his laborer about 30 minutes, using a spray gun, some sort of compressor and small heater. It looked great. Long driveway in rural PA.

I’ve done it myself. It took me and my son about 3 hours. You never get the shit off your boots and it didn’t look as good as the work the contractor did. Not bad but not as smooth.

I do it about every three years. I’d go with the contractor in the future.

My two cents.

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_index.asp?page_id=35720692

http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infdrivewaysealer/infdrivewaysealer.html

My dad and I did this ourselves last year. It’s actually really straight forward and probably some of the easier home-owner repairs you can do.

I used to love watching my grandpa do it when I was a boy. He had a long C-shaped driveway that went around the entire house, so it took him all weekend. He had a particular pair of boots he wore just for sealing. They were tar-splattered for sure.
I watched carefully because I was certain that one day I’d be doing my own driveway in the same manner. Fortunately the homes I’ve owned had concrete driveways.