If you are a homeowner whose asphalt driveway is showing its age or a business owner who wants to make sure that his or her driveway looks great and is safe for people to walk and drive on, you are going to need to make sure that you repair any issues. One way to increase the efficacy of your repairs is to melt the area around the crack so that the entire area is strengthened by the repair. Traditional repairs have you just fill the crack in, which might not strengthen the overall driveway. But instead, you can use infrared technology to melt the driveway area that has the crack and perform a more complete repair. Here are some tips for making sure that the process of using the infrared technology goes as smoothly as possible for asphalt repair.

1. Take Your Time Heating the Area

If you try to heat the area where you need to make the repair too quickly, you are going to run into some issues, namely the fact that you risk accidentally burning the top layer of concrete while you try to melt the lower levels that are a few inches down. Rather than using a high heat to try to melt all of the layers quickly, use a lower level of heat to heat up the first level. Allow the heat of the melted first level combined with the infrared heat that you are applying to gradually heat up the lower levels. Turn the heat up slowly if you are having trouble melting levels a few inches down, and monitor the top levels to make sure that you aren't accidentally burning them.

2. Don't Rake Too Close to the Edges of the Melted Area

Leave at least six inches between the edge of the heated area and where you are stopping your rake when you are raking the top layer of asphalt into place when you have finished your repair. This will allow you to avoid raveling or accidentally heating up and slightly melting other parts of asphalt that you might not have intended. This will allow you to maintain the structural integrity of your asphalt paving. When you are working in cold weather, increase the distance between the edge of where you are raking and the edge of the heated material, because the nonheated area is so much colder than the melted area that structural damage is even more dangerous.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in asphalt paving.