Asphalt can vary from plant to plant within Florida.

A critical aspect of producing a long lasting job is the achievement of the proper compaction of your surface. 90% compaction is ideal. Sometimes the rollers leave ‘streaks’ or marks on the drive. These are temporary and will become less noticeable over several months.

This is generally a function of the amount of direct sunlight and traffic that an area gets. As a rule of thumb, a surface should not need sealcoating more than every three or four years. Once a driveway has been sealcoated too many times, it becomes very smooth and slick when it rains.

Essentially all asphalt is black. When the aggregates (stone) are mixed together with hot asphalt cement, the mass of material becomes black. Over time, as the asphalt oxidizes, the coating on the aggregates breaks down and the color of the aggregate starts to show through. This can lead to a ‘grayish’ color if the asphalt plant uses a light color aggregate.

Softness of the Asphalt: Just like with roads, newly laid asphalt on driveways takes time to harden and reach its optimal level of hardness. During this initial curing period, the surface can be relatively soft and prone to scuffing when subjected to excessive friction caused by vehicle tires. In the summer scuffing tends to be worse because the asphalt is hotter causing it to be softer. This is a normal part of the life cycle of your driveway and while it can look worrisome there is nothing to be concerned about from a structural perspective. These marks are especially seen in parking lots and on driveways where cars stop and turn their front wheels to start moving in a different direction. The things that make the marks worse are high temperatures, the weight of the vehicle and how fresh the asphalt is.