Asphalt crack-repair decision tree by width — fill, patch, or repave

Crack repair is triaged by width: fill up to 1/2″, heavy-fill or backer-rod to 1″, patch over 1″, and repave alligator cracking. Sealcoat only protects sound pavement.

A decision flow that triages asphalt cracks before sealcoating. Start by measuring the widest crack and checking for scaling; new asphalt should wait 6 to 12 months. Cracks up to 1/2 inch wide take pourable crack filler (cold or hot pour), then sealcoat. Cracks 1/2 to 1 inch wide need a heavy or trowel fill, with dry sand or foam backer rod first when deeper than 1/2 inch. Cracks over 1 inch need cold or hot patch material, cured before sealing. Alligator or scaly, interconnected cracking is base or fatigue failure that must be repaved, not sealed, because sealing traps moisture and only masks the problem. — Source: Asphalt Kingdom / SealMaster crack-repair guidance; Wolf Paving (alligatoring = base failure)

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A decision flow that triages asphalt cracks before sealcoating. Start by measuring the widest crack and checking for scaling; new asphalt should wait 6 to 12 months. Cracks up to 1/2 inch wide take pourable crack filler (cold or hot pour), then sealcoat. Cracks 1/2 to 1 inch wide need a heavy or trowel fill, with dry sand or foam backer rod first when deeper than 1/2 inch. Cracks over 1 inch need cold or hot patch material, cured before sealing. Alligator or scaly, interconnected cracking is base or fatigue failure that must be repaved, not sealed, because sealing traps moisture and only masks the problem.

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    <img src="https://remodelcalculators.com/api/figure-embed/crack-repair-decision-tree" alt="A decision flow that triages asphalt cracks before sealcoating. Start by measuring the widest crack and checking for scaling; new asphalt should wait 6 to 12 months. Cracks up to 1/2 inch wide take pourable crack filler (cold or hot pour), then sealcoat. Cracks 1/2 to 1 inch wide need a heavy or trowel fill, with dry sand or foam backer rod first when deeper than 1/2 inch. Cracks over 1 inch need cold or hot patch material, cured before sealing. Alligator or scaly, interconnected cracking is base or fatigue failure that must be repaved, not sealed, because sealing traps moisture and only masks the problem." width="800" height="540" style="width:100%;height:auto;border:0" loading="lazy">
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    Diagram: <a href="https://remodelcalculators.com/construction-diagrams/crack-repair-decision-tree" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Asphalt crack-repair decision tree by width — fill, patch, or repave</a> — courtesy of <a href="https://remodelcalculators.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RemodelCalculators.com</a>
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