DIY vs. Professional Sealcoating at Tahoe Elevation

What the store product actually is

Consumer driveway sealer comes in buckets and goes on with a squeegee. It is a real product and on a small, sound, flat driveway in a mild climate it can do a reasonable job for a season or two.

The limits show up in coverage rate, film thickness, and how it handles movement. It is formulated to be forgiving for a first-time user, which means it is not formulated to be the most durable thing available.

What mountain conditions add

A short cure window with cold nights on either end. Plow abrasion all winter. Traction sand grinding under tires. Freeze-thaw cycling that works on any water the surface lets through. High-altitude UV that ages the binder faster than it does down the hill.

Those conditions punish thin, uneven, or poorly timed applications quickly. A coating that would last two seasons in the valley can be largely gone after one winter here.

The part people skip

Preparation is most of the job and it is the part that gets rushed. Cleaning to sound pavement, treating oil spots so the coating will bond, and sealing the cracks before anything goes over them. Crack sealing in particular is not a squeegee job, it needs hot material and a kettle.

Sealing over open cracks is the most common homeowner mistake up here. It looks finished in September and the water is still getting in underneath all winter.

An honest recommendation

Small, flat, sound, and you enjoy the work: go ahead, and seal the cracks properly first. Steep, large, cracked, shaded, or plowed hard: hire it out, and not necessarily to us.

If you are not sure which yours is, call (530) 587-4161. We will tell you honestly, including when the honest answer is that you can handle it yourself.

If you do it yourself, do these things

Seal the cracks first with a proper crack product, not the surface sealer. Clean to sound pavement and let it dry completely. Watch the forecast for cool nights, not just rain. Apply thin and even rather than thick and fast.

And stay off it longer than the label says. Cure times on consumer products assume valley conditions, and a shaded mountain driveway in early June is not that.

More in the pavement guides, the FAQ, and the problem pages. For your community specifically, see the service areas.