Fixing the Cracks

So our driveway has some pretty good sized cracks in a few places. You may recall that my wonderful family sealed the whole thing a couple of summers ago, and it's a good thing! I imagine we'd be falling apart if it hadn't been done! I googled around and saw suggestions to use polymeric sand to fill in cracks. We had a couple of warm days forecast so I got right on the job!!

I used my handy power washer to clean out the dirt and weeds growing in the 3 big cracks I wanted to fix.

 And while I was at it I washed the green stuff off the North side of the house too!

 That power washer does a nice job and fast!

Then I used my handy cart to wheel out the supplies.

Including the proper tool for the job and empty corn can!LOL!

 I got the sand at Menards-it has cement-like properties, so it get hard when it gets wet. It's commonly used to fill the spaces between paver bricks, so they don't shift.
SO I followed the directions and filled the cracks.

 And used the broom to work the sand in good a tight.

 You can see how deep those cracks are! I think the ice this winter would totally wreck the asphalt!

 So I worked along and got them all filled in.

 Then I watered the sand lightly, then waited 10 mins and then sprayed it again.

 Then wait ten minutes and spray it a 3rd time.

 Ok, that's all there is to that!

 SO I let it sit up good over night and then I got some driveway sealer to go over the whole thing.

I started out to try this powdered epoxy sealant.

 It says you can make it any consistency you need.  So I thought I'd start small and try a little bit.

 It mixes with water....

 I stirred it like the directions say....

 But I wasn't very impressed with the resulting goo. I mixed like crazy, but the powder doesn't stay suspended, so by the time I started to pour it, it had all settled to the bottom. 

 Well, dang, that's not going to do it. SO I gave that up and got a 5 gallon  bucket of regular driveway sealer.

 There! I smeared that over the filled cracks and left it to dry over night. Looks like this is the last warm day I'm going to get for this project, so I hope it works out OK!

 I guess it's as ready as it's going to get for winter!