PAVEMENT PROBLEMS
Cracks Widening Every Year: What Growing Cracks Mean
Cracks that were hairline a few years ago are now wide enough to drop a pencil into, and they get bigger every spring.
Why cracks grow
Cracks widen because the pavement on both sides keeps moving and keeps deteriorating. Thermal contraction in cold weather pulls the faces apart. Water enters, freezes, and pries them further. Traffic works the edges of the crack and breaks small pieces off both faces. Each of those does a little damage, and the damage does not reverse.
There is a compounding effect too. A wider crack collects more water. More water means more freeze damage and more base softening. The rate of widening usually accelerates once a crack passes a certain point, which is why an owner who ignored it for four years suddenly notices it got much worse in one.
Watch the faces, not only the width. A crack with clean vertical faces is still healthy enough to seal. A crack with crumbled, rounded edges and loose material in the bottom has been open too long.
What the crack pattern tells you
Long cracks running the length of the pavement, often near the center or in a wheel path, are usually thermal or reflective. Cracks running across the width at fairly regular spacing are typically thermal contraction. Both are normal aging in a climate like ours and both are good candidates for sealing.
Cracks that branch, intersect, and start forming closed shapes are a different story. That is the beginning of alligator cracking and it means the base under that area is not holding. A crack alongside a settled or spongy area is also a base signal, not a surface signal.
Location adds information. Cracks that follow the line of a utility trench are telling you about the trench. Cracks along a paving joint are telling you about the joint. Neither is structural on its own.
Hot rubberized crack sealing, and its limits
Hot rubberized sealant is the right product for working cracks. It goes in hot, bonds to both faces, and stays flexible enough to stretch and compress as the pavement moves through the seasons. Cold pourable fillers get brittle and pull loose after a winter or two up here. Rubberized material is what holds.
There is a practical width range. Very narrow cracks will not take material properly. Very wide cracks, or cracks with broken and crumbling faces, cannot be sealed effectively because there is no sound surface to bond to. Somewhere in between is where sealing does the most good, and catching cracks in that range is the whole game.
What to do this season
Do not wait for the crack to look bad enough to justify the call. The cheapest time to seal a crack is the first year you can see it. Every season you postpone, more water goes into the base and the eventual repair moves from maintenance to paving.
If you have a mix of sealable cracks and areas that have already gone to a web pattern, the honest plan is to sequence it. Have the failed areas rebuilt by a paving contractor, then seal and maintain the rest. Call (530) 587-4161 and we will look at it and sort the two categories for you.
Timing within the season matters too. Cracks are widest in cold weather and narrowest in the heat of summer, which changes how much material a given crack will take.
Quick answers
Do I need to seal every crack or just the big ones?
Seal the ones that are open enough to take material and let water in. Hairline surface checking is generally handled by sealcoating. The judgment call is exactly what a walk-through is for.
How long does crack sealing last up here?
It depends on movement, drainage, and how much the pavement flexes in that spot. Hot rubberized material holds up far better than cold fillers through freeze-thaw. Cracks over a moving base will always come back sooner.
Can I seal cracks myself with a caulk tube?
You can, and on a small residential driveway it is better than nothing. Understand that the material is not the same and will not survive the same number of freeze cycles. Prep matters as much as product. Cracks must be clean and dry.
More in the pavement guides and the FAQ, or see every pavement problem we get asked about.
Not sure what you are looking at?
Send a photo or call (530) 587-4161. We reply within one business day and we will tell you straight whether it is something we can maintain or something that needs a paving contractor.