Summer is the best season for paving in New Jersey, and the warm months are also when your existing driveway is at its softest. On a sunny 90-degree day the surface of a black driveway can get hot enough that you would not want to stand on it barefoot. At those temperatures, the binder that holds the asphalt together relaxes, and the driveway is easier to mark, dent and scuff. A few habits will keep it looking good through August.
Why asphalt softens in the heat
Asphalt is aggregate held together with a petroleum-based binder. That binder is what lets the driveway flex through winter instead of cracking apart, but it also softens as temperatures rise. A well-built, fully cured driveway handles normal summer heat without trouble. Problems come from concentrated weight, twisting tires and chemicals at the hottest times of the day. Newly paved driveways are softer than older ones, so they need the most care during their first summer.
Habits that prevent heat damage
Don’t turn the steering wheel while the car is stopped
Turning your wheels while the car is not rolling twists the tires against the surface and can grind scuffs into it. Get rolling first, then turn. This matters most at the spot where you usually back out and swing around.
Spread out heavy and pointed loads
Trailer jacks, camper stabilizers, motorcycle and bicycle kickstands, ladder feet and even the legs of a portable basketball hoop can sink into soft asphalt. Put a piece of plywood or a flat board underneath to spread the weight. The same goes for a dumpster during a home renovation; ask for boards under its wheels or rails.
Vary where you park
Parking in the exact same spot every day of a heat wave concentrates the load. Shifting a foot or two now and then helps, especially on a newer driveway.
Keep heavy trucks off on the hottest days
Moving trucks, oil delivery trucks and landscape trailers are heavy. If you can, schedule deliveries for the morning when the surface is cooler, and ask drivers to stay on the driveway rather than run a wheel off the edge.
Clean up fuel and oil quickly
Gas, oil and other petroleum products soften asphalt, and heat speeds that up. Blot spills right away, cover them with cat litter or an absorbent, then sweep it up. Refill the lawn mower on the grass, not the driveway.
Protect the edges
Edges without soil or turf beside them have nothing to hold them in place. Keep the lawn or soil built up along the sides so tires that run off the edge do not break it down, which is easier to do when the asphalt is soft.
Cool it down if you need to
On a newer driveway during an extreme heat wave, lightly hosing the surface in the late afternoon can bring the temperature down before you park a heavy vehicle. It is not necessary for an older, cured driveway.
When to call for a repair
Small scuffs often fade as the surface weathers. Deeper dents that hold water, or ruts where vehicles always travel, are worth fixing before winter, because standing water turns into ice and freeze-thaw damage. A worn top layer can be milled and repaved; a driveway with widespread rutting may have a thin or weak base that needs rebuilding.
The way a driveway is built makes a big difference in how it handles heat. Proper base thickness and good compaction keep the surface from moving under load. Learn more about how we build driveways on our asphalt driveway paving page. If you manage a commercial property, see how extreme heat affects an asphalt parking lot. Thinking about a new driveway? Here is why summer is the best time to get paving done.
Need this done right?
Dan The Paver handles asphalt driveway paving across Monmouth, Ocean (Toms River and north) and southern Middlesex counties. Free on-site estimates.