Not all sealers are created equal. Here's what separates the commercial-grade product we apply from hardware store alternatives — and why the difference is even more critical at 9,000 feet.
Walk into any hardware store and you'll find a shelf full of asphalt sealers. They're cheap, they're convenient, and at lower elevations with mild winters, some of them are... fine.
Summit County is not a mild environment.
We apply a professional-grade asphalt-based emulsion pavement sealer — the same class of product used on commercial parking lots, airports, shopping malls, and municipal roadways across the country. It is not available at hardware stores. It's not watered down. And it's specifically formulated to create a durable, long-lasting barrier against the forces that destroy asphalt at high altitude.
The product we use is an asphalt and coal tar emulsion blend, fortified with special surfactants to promote superior adhesion. It's job-mixed with water, a polymer additive (TopTuff), and sand — which creates a slip-resistant, uniform coating that bonds deeply to the pavement surface rather than simply sitting on top of it. The sand aggregate is critical: it gives the finished surface texture, improving traction especially during the freeze-thaw transitions common in Summit County.
At 9,000+ feet, there's significantly less atmosphere between your driveway and the sun. That means more UV radiation reaching your pavement surface every single day — and UV is one of the primary drivers of asphalt oxidation.
Oxidation is what turns your black asphalt grey. It strips the binder from the aggregate, making the surface brittle and prone to raveling and cracking. Once that process starts, water intrusion accelerates it rapidly.
The sealer we apply dries to a deep, rich black finish and forms a dense film over the asphalt surface. It doesn't just restore the color — it physically shields the pavement from UV penetration, slowing oxidation and preserving the binder beneath it.
This is where most consumer sealers fail entirely.
Summit County experiences more than 100 freeze-thaw cycles per year. Every time moisture enters a crack or penetrates a porous sealer, it freezes, expands with enormous force, and pushes the surrounding pavement apart. Repeat that process over a full season and you can go from a hairline crack to a pothole in a single winter.
The sealer we apply is formulated to resist water re-emulsification — meaning once it cures, it stays bonded and waterproof even when wet. It fills the micro-pores in the asphalt surface, creating a barrier that actively blocks moisture intrusion rather than just coating the top layer.
The polymer additive we mix in further improves flexibility and durability, allowing the coating to move with the pavement through temperature swings rather than cracking away from it.
One underappreciated benefit of the product we use is its resistance to petroleum products — gasoline, oil, and other fluids that regularly drip onto driveways and parking lots. These substances soften standard asphalt binders over time, creating soft spots that erode quickly. Our sealer's coal tar fortification gives it superior resistance to these compounds, which is especially relevant for high-traffic areas, garages, and commercial lots.
Even the best sealer fails if it's applied incorrectly. We use a combination of spray and brush application — spray to distribute the sealer efficiently across the surface, and brush to work it into the pavement and ensure proper penetration and edge coverage. Before any sealer goes down, we treat oil spots with a primer, blow off all loose material, and fill cracks with hot rubber. The sealer is only as good as the surface it bonds to — and we prep every job accordingly.
The sealer we use costs more per gallon than what's on the shelf at a home improvement store. Our equipment costs more. Our application process takes longer.
But at 9,000 feet, in a climate that puts asphalt through more stress per season than most surfaces see in a decade, 'good enough' isn't a standard we're willing to accept. The product we apply is the product we'd want on our own driveways — and that's the only benchmark that matters.
If you're ready to protect your asphalt the right way before the 2026 season fills up, get in touch for a free quote.
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