Crack Filling Your Asphalt

At AMP Paving, LLC, you will hear the phrase “your pavement is an investment” a lot. This may lead
customers to wonder whether it's necessary to fill the cracks in their asphalt. A good asphalt
maintenance program is essential in preserving the life of your asphalt pavement.

What causes cracks in asphalt?
Asphalt cracking can occur in many different ways, but we will only touch on the more prevalent ones.

Why fill cracks?
It's crucial to maintain your asphalt correctly, especially with crack filling. Water can leak into cracks, causing your entire asphalt base to weaken and eventually fail. When you fix cracks in your asphalt, you're lengthening its lifespan.

How are cracks filled?
Asphalt crack filling can be accomplished in a few different ways, all dependent upon what kind of crack you're dealing with. Size and depth of cracks factors into what method your pavement repair company may choose.

1. ​Hot asphalt: For large cracks—with a width of 1" or more—your pavement specialist will likely choose a hot asphalt mix for repair. After cleaning the crack thoroughly, your repair specialist will fill it with a fine asphalt mix and compact it with a vibratory plate.
2. Hot rubber fill: Used to seal smaller cracks. It is a liquid, rubberized material that is essentially squeegeed into the crack and creating a seal.
3. Cold pour fill: Cold pour fill tends to have better adherence to asphalt and is sometimes a preferred method to hot rubberized fill for smaller cracks. This method may also be used when there is a lower volume of cracks.

Keep in mind that crack filling is an important part of the pavement maintenance process, but it is not a
permanent solution. Although it will improve the look, durability, and longevity of your asphalt, crack filling
is a continual process as your asphalt expands and breaks down naturally. If you're in need of asphalt
maintenance of any kind, feel free to contact us today.