Tar and Chip Paving. We see tar and chip seal used in a variety of applications, but when does it work best?
While tar and chip seal paving is an exciting and affordable alternative to blacktop, every circumstance is unique. While tar and chip seal might be a great option for one customer, asphalt might be the better option for another.
Today, we’re going to look at five different scenarios in which tar and chip seal paving is an excellent choice for your parking lot, roadway, or ranch driveway.
1. When you’re working with a tight budget
Regardless of whether you’re developing a new parking lot, resurfacing a roadway, or giving your driveway a new look, tar and chip seal paving tends to be more affordable than asphalt paving across the board.
Generally speaking, customers can anticipate spending $2 – $5 per square foot for tar and chip seal, whereas they can expect to pay roughly $4 – $6 per square foot for traditional asphalt.
2. When you want to keep maintenance to a minimum
One of the biggest problems with an asphalt surface is its need for maintenance and repairs throughout its lifetime. Any cracks tend to expand as they are exposed to poor weather, as do any potholes.
A tar and chip seal surface, on the other hand, is largely self-repairing. Within reason, cracks can heal over time and don’t tend to worsen as easily as cracks in asphalt do.
3. When you want your surface to have some color
“Blacktop” is just that — black. What you see is what you get; and although many love the look of a clean, smooth asphalt surface, others would prefer to add a little color to their parking lots and driveways.
The tar and chip seal paving method allows customers to not only choose the type of aggregate used on their surfaces but also the color of the “chips”.
4.Tar and Chip is good when you need a little extra traction.
If you live in an area that sees plenty of wet weather or icy conditions, all it takes is flooding or an unusually cold evening to turn your asphalt surface into an unsafe area.
With the tar and chip seal method, the top layer of chips provides additional traction, which allows tires and shoes to maintain a better grip on the surface.
5. When you’re building a low-volume, low-speed Tar and Chip Paving roadway
Over long distances, such as large roadways, the savings on tar and chip seal can be enormous.
Keep in mind, however, that tar and chip seal is not a great match for every road. Tar and chip roads are significantly louder and bumpier than asphalt roads, particularly at high speeds. Loose chips can also be kicked up, potentially damaging vehicles and causing accidents. Finally, it’s worth noting that tar and chip seal does have a shorter lifespan than asphalt.
For this reason, tar and chip seal is a much better fit for a back road — one that sees less traffic and has a lower posted speed limit — as opposed to a high-volume or high-speed highway.
If you have any questions or want to discuss your next project, give us a call today!
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Elite Asphalt is formed of a team of pavement experts. With over 30 years’ experience, we have worked on all types of asphalt pavement and concrete projects. With an up-to-date, cutting-edge fleet of equipment, we offer services for all types of paving jobs, from complete installations to ongoing maintenance.
We carry out projects for property managers, developers, contractors and homeowners. If you need an Estimate for your next commercial, industrial or residential project, please call (817) 587-8158 today to speak with one of our trusted advisers.
