Potholes in San Diego (Pittsburg: neighborhood, contractor, live in)

[Sealtite]

Are potholes a major issue for homeowners and business owners in San Diego? I know that the local roads are bad...I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about privately owned pavement....Driveways, private roads, parking lots, etc.

The reason I'm asking is because I'm a sealcoating contractor (hence my screen name), and I was thinking about looking into patch work. I live in both SD and Pittsburgh, PA during the 5-6 month work season there. In PA, I've had a well established business for close to 14 years. Here, it's just me....no employees....just doing small jobs from Nov through March. Basically just something to keep busy.

Thus far however, driveway sealing doesn't seem to be high on the priority list for homeowners around here. It's funny....In PA, all I've got to do is park my rig in a neighborhood and I'm swarmed with work. Here, people look at you like you've got 6 heads if you knock on their door and ask if they want a price on sealing their driveway. I've done a few jobs here and there, but it's been more hassle than what it's worth. I'd like a little bit of consistency, however this market doesn't seem like it's too good for seal work. At least not on the small level that I'm interested in here. I really don't wanna get into anything big, as this is basically my off-season here....I'd just like to stay productive.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

I dont know anyone that has seal work in my neighborhood. Now that I think about it, I dont think its something I would put on a list of priorities either.

For one, I am not saying it wouldnt be useful in some capacity, but we just dont have such extremes in temps and conditions to really warrant it as a 'must have'.

For someone as experienced as yourself, what is the one reason you would see a homeowner needing to have their driveway sealed? What are the real benefits over the course of 10-15 years?

[cruitr]

When I lived in the Midwest, I had my blacktop driveway sealed every year. Snow and ice are hard on blacktop. However, the weather is much different here. Not sure if there's the same need for driveway sealing in San Diego.

On the other hand, San Diego does have a rainy season. The heavy rains do create a lot of potholes on our streets. The city fixes (eventually) the many potholes on the public streets in the spring time. There may be areas of town where private roads and driveways could benefit from sealing before the rainy season.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by cruitr

When I lived in the Midwest, I had my blacktop driveway sealed every year. Snow and ice are hard on blacktop. However, the weather is much different here. Not sure if there's the same need for driveway sealing in San Diego.

You're wrong, but that's okay. I'd never say this out loud to my 700+ repeat residential customers back in PA, but sealer actually isn't as important there as it is here. Direct sunlight is more of a detriment to an asphalt surface than anything else. Snow and freezing and thawing has nothing on close to 300 days of direct sunlight.

An asphalt driveway or parking lot in Pennsylvania will last about 15-20 years without sealcoating it, provided it's got a good base. Asphalt here will bleach out rapidly and the surface will simply crumble because the binder in the mix is essentially oxidized by the sunlight. I've seen driveways around here that are 4 to 5 years old that have never been sealed, and they're shot. So in essence, there's actually more of a need for it here than in the Midwest or northeast.

That being said, it still blows my mind that people are paving small driveways here with blacktop. Especially since climate-wise you couldn't find a better place in the country to pour concrete. Florida's like that....Zero residential asphalt driveways. As for here in SD, it appears that the overall opinion is the same as yours, and that's fine with me. Whether I'm patching them because they're falling apart, or sealing them.....it's money all the same, lol. Frankly after 6 months of 12 hour days, 7 days a week (weather permitting) in PA, I'm more than happy coming to Cali and just fixing holes.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

For someone as experienced as yourself, what is the one reason you would see a homeowner needing to have their driveway sealed? What are the real benefits over the course of 10-15 years?

-Maintaining a fresh, black pavement look.
-Shielding the binder from UV rays, which prevents raveling (stones popping out of the surface of the pavement).

An asphalt driveway that's sealed every 2-3 years will last indefinitely here. If it's unsealed, it'll crumble within a decade.

[oddstray]

What about trying to get contracts with the various HOAs? I know that ours seals the parking lot every couple of years, as does the one up the street. (I wish they'd instead do a proper re-paving though, because the reseal looks good for only about two hours, and after that it looks as worn as before.)

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

-Maintaining a fresh, black pavement look.
-Shielding the binder from UV rays, which prevents raveling (stones popping out of the surface of the pavement).

An asphalt driveway that's sealed every 2-3 years will last indefinitely here. If it's unsealed, it'll crumble within a decade.

Interesting! Thanks for the info.

[NYSD1995]

Most people here have concrete driveways, not asphalt.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Most people here have concrete driveways, not asphalt.

Good call Sass. Could definitely be the reason.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

Here, people look at you like you've got 6 heads if you knock on their door and ask if they want a price on sealing their driveway.

Do you really knock on doors trying to sell your service? I'd probably look at you weird, too.