Your pavement is definitely a long term investment that should last you several years before it needs to be replaced, but without proper care and maintenance it won’t last as long as it should. The first step to proper care and maintenance of your driveway, is knowing the early signs of a problem.
One moment you’re driving on your driveway headed out to work without a care in the world, the next you’re on the phone telling your boss that you’re going to be late because you need to dig your car’s wheel out of a pothole. You might be wondering how you got into that situation in the first place.
There can be many reasons why a pavement can fail on you, or in this case your wheel. Your unfortunate wheel accident could have been easily prevented if you had noticed the signs before anything ever went wrong. So today we’ll be sharing a few pavement problems that you need to look out for.
The Early Signs of a Failing Pavement
Looking out for these early signs can help you make sure that your pavement stays in good condition for a very long time. Keep an eye out for these, and you should be able to catch major problems before they slip through the cracks.
Cracks
This is the most obvious sign that a pavement is starting to age. Depending on the material of your pavement, cracks can either be an easy fix or require your entire pavement to be replaced. There are several types of cracks that you should be aware of. All of them however need to be addressed when they first appear as they can easily grow in size and further ruin your pavement.
Potholes
The classic pothole, a bane on the existence of every business or homeowner. These pavement defects happen when water gets into your driveway. The water will contract and expand during cold weather and eventually loosen pieces of your driveway. This will punch a hole straight through it and create the classic pothole that every owner loves to hate.
Depressions and Rutts
Depressions and rutts might seem to be a mild nuisance rather than a full blown problem, but eventually they’ll pave the way for other problems to appear. Water pools in areas where there are depressions or rutts and they can be the cause of that area turning into a pothole in the future. They’re caused by heavy objects being on top of your driveway for a prolonged time, or a heavy object, like a car or truck, frequently drive over one spot repeatedly.
Raveling
Raveling is what you get when your driveway starts to crumble. This is mostly an issue for asphalt driveways, and this happens when the material keeping your driveway in one piece starts to either deteriorate or becomes contaminated with oil based products. Looking out for oil spots on an asphalt driveway is important to make sure that raveling is caught early and fixed before the problem spreads.
Every business or homeowner needs to be aware of the early signs that their pavement might not last much longer in its current state. Making sure that you’re aware of these will make sure that you avoid any accidents and unnecessary costs. Some of these may seem insignificant and harmless, but taking note of them and having a professional take a look is better than crossing your fingers and hoping for the best.