When was the last time you sealed your driveway? If you’ve not done it over the previous two years, your driveway requires sealcoating. This is one of the best ways to ensure that your driveway remains in good condition for the longest time possible.
Sealcoating your driveway is an amazing way of preventing maintenance, which provides your surface with extra protection. Sealcoating will ensure that water doesn’t penetrate into the foundation of your driveway and cause damage, and will ensure that your driveway is protected from oil and gas spills, as well as UV rays. The sealant will seal your driveway, protecting it from the elements, including water and ice, which can cause your driveway to crack, leading to costly damage.
Now, since you know the benefits of sealcoating your driveway, you might be wondering whether DIY sealcoating is the best idea. This post will discuss the pros and cons of DIY sealcoating, as well as when you should consider hiring a professional to seal your driveway. Read on for more information.
Pros
It’s cheaper to do it yourself
If you’re a homeowner who keeps costs low, then sealcoating your driveway yourself is a good idea. Professional sealcoating comes in at around $3 to $5 per square foot, which can add up quickly when considering the size of your driveway. On the other hand, DIY sealcoating only costs about half as much – around $1 to $2 per square foot. You can still make sure that your driveway is properly sealed and protected from damage without shelling out too much money.
Save time from going back and forth with a pro
Another great benefit of DIY sealing is convenience; you don’t have to worry about going back and forth with a pro whenever you need any driveway service done. For example, many pro sealcoating services make you sign a contract to sign off on sealing your driveway every few years. If you need your driveway cleaned or repaired in between sealcoating, then you’ll have to go back and sign another contract with the company.
This is a time-consuming process that could be time better invested elsewhere. That’s not to say that there aren’t any professional companies that don’t require contracts, but this isn’t the case for all of them. DIY sealing means that you can do whatever work needs to be done whenever it suits you – which is always nice!
It doesn’t void your warranty
One of the best benefits of DIY sealing is that it won’t void your warranty. If you’re leasing your house or getting ready to sell, this is very important. Most professional companies will require that you get the sealcoating done by them before they service your driveway – which means forking out more money. However, DIY sealing does not void any warranty. That means that if anything happens to the seal on your driveway (such as damage due to wear and tear) you can still be covered under warranty—provided that the problem isn’t caused by poor maintenance of the surface itself.
Cons
Dangers of DIY sealing
Since there are many benefits to sealing yourself, it might seem like a no-brainer that DIY sealing is the best choice. However, there are also many dangers to DIY sealcoating. Since you have a limited amount of experience in doing it yourself, there’s a good chance that your driveway could be damaged by water and other elements due to poor application. Water penetration will lead to flaking and peeling, which you don’t want on your driveway. What’s more, damage caused by improper sealing can typically only be fixed through complete replacement – which is pricey!
You might end up paying double
The sealcoating experts from CSG Sealcoating, Orlando say that Another potential con of do-it-yourself sealcoating is that it could cost you more money in the long term. This happens when homeowners try to do the job themselves to save money but spend more on products and labor when the work is poorly done. There are many horror stories online of DIY sealcoating ending in disaster, so it is best to leave this work to the experts.
Another problem is that some homeowners come across sealant problems without knowing how or what they need to do. Some start with just trying weed killer for driveways with poor results, while others have been attempting metal sulfate-type products for this purpose which faded instead of acid-washed their driveway sealing off together after a couple of years!
Damage may not be covered
If you have a contractor seal your driveway, they issue a warranty, so if something happens to it or requires repair, you can call the company and get a free estimate. If you were to do this on your own wouldn’t that void any warranty? Not really; but there is no need for this because most companies that specialize in sealcoating know exactly what their product does and how to apply it properly! If you do it yourself, they will come up with some reason why they won’t help without paying for another resealing job.
Bottom Line
There you go. These are the pros and cons of DIY sealcoating. If you are good with DIY jobs and have the right tools, you can consider DIY sealcoating. However, such projects are better when left for professionals, as they can ensure that they are executed correctly, with minimal chances of failure.
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