If you’re getting ready to sell your home, you need to give serious thought to what it looks like from the outside, as well as its functionality—curb appeal is a real thing. We often get questions regarding whether pavement and hardscaping can help a home sell.

Will a paved driveway add value to your home in Santa Rosa, CA? For the most part, yes. Here’s how to know when to invest and when to skip it:

• Look at your neighborhood: A big indicator of whether you need to spring for a paved driveway or whether you can get away without one is how the other homes in your neighborhood are set up. If they all have paved driveways and you’re the lone holdout, it’s probably time that you joined the crowd. It’s more than giving the buyer what they want—if you’re the only place without a paved driveway, they’ll instantly wonder what else is “wrong” with or outdated about your home. On the other hand, if everyone else has an unpaved driveway—which is common in rural parts of town—you can set yourself up for success and a higher ROI with a paved driveway, although the need may not be as urgent.
• Evaluate your existing driveway: What does your existing driveway look like? If it’s crumbling and cracking with abandon, yes, you might need to replace it. However, if you have an asphalt driveway with minor cosmetic damage, a simple resurfacing job might be all you need to get your driveway in sellable shape.
• Think about replacing gravel: If your driveway is gravel, put “paved driveway” on the top of your to-do list. Although gravel is perfectly suitable in many areas of the country, places where the weather can be strange and unpredictable make them a lot less valuable. Flash floods, heavy rains and other weather issues plague Santa Rosa. Having a paved driveway will help protect your home against any other problems.
• Which material to use: In our opinion, the best driveway paving material is asphalt. It’s about half as expensive as concrete and lasts twice as long, making it a great way to get the maximum return on your investment. If you install and properly maintain an asphalt driveway, it can last over two decades.

The bottom line: when you install an asphalt driveway, you can expect to recoup 100 percent or even more than you invested in the first place. It’s a smart way to make your home look and feel more polished and functional. It gives a great first impression to potential buyers, especially because you’ve just taken one more thing off their move-in to-do list—and if you’re doing it for your own benefit, we can guarantee you’ll love driving over a brand-new driveway much more than you did your old one.

Ready to install a paved driveway? Sikes Asphalt Group Inc. can help you increase your resale value in Santa Rosa, CA—call us today to get started on the process!

The wintertime brings colder weather and more elements to consider, including rain, snow and/or ice, depending on the area in which you live. With this in mind, you should make plans to patch your driveway before winter arrives. Once the weather gets colder and worse, it becomes more difficult for you to deal with any damage that occurs.

Here are just a few of the most important reasons to repair asphalt cracks before winter in Santa Rosa, CA.

Faster melting snow and ice

One of the side effects of patching and repaving is that the area you treat will have a darker color. Darker colors absorb more sunlight and heat, which you will know well if you’ve ever worn a black shirt or touched a blacktop on a hot summer day. The darker pavement will absorb more of the sun’s energy, which means any snow or ice that builds up on top of it will melt away faster. This can make it easier for you to keep your driveway clear!

While this isn’t as big of an issue here in Santa Rosa, where snow is a rarity, it is something to consider if you have a vacation home in the mountains or if you live in other areas.

Moisture can cause or enlarge potholes

By late winter or early spring, it’s common to see many more cracks and potholes forming in roads and driveways. This is due to the freezing and thawing cycles that occur over the winter months. You’re more likely to see precipitation in the fall and winter, and water from rain or melting ice will seep through cracks in the pavement and get down to the stone subbase. Over time, this can cause erosion underneath the surface of the pavement.

If that water freezes and then thaws, the resulting expansion and contraction of the area underneath the pavement will damage the structural integrity of the pavement itself, causing or worsening cracks or potholes.

This is why it’s so important to repair asphalt cracks before winter—you don’t want to leave any openings for moisture to get underneath the pavement and cause damage when the cold weather arrives.

Lack of availability in winter

Another practical reason to get your asphalt repairs and patches done before winter arrives is that you might find it difficult to get asphalt for DIY projects or find companies that take on this kind of work during the winter months. New asphalt is applied hot and must be compacted before it cools. The cooler the temperatures get, the more difficult it is to accomplish this process.

So, while you might be able to find some assistance during the winter months, it will be a little tougher to do so, and you may end up having to pay more for the work as a result. Now’s the time to get the job done.

For more information about how to patch your driveway before winter in Santa Rosa, CA, contact the team at Sikes Asphalt Group Inc. today.

If your driveway or parking lot is looking a bit worse for wear recently, you might be considering investing in some repairs. Luckily, you’ve come to the right place. Sikes Asphalt Group Inc. has been in the business for almost 20 years, so we’ve got you covered for all sorts of asphalt, concrete and sealcoating repair.

Knowing the difference between normal wear and tear and issues that require major repairs is something we can determine for you, but there are some warning signs you can watch for. Timing can also be a part of your repair plans, so knowing the ideal driveway repair season in Santa Rosa, CA can be an important piece of information.

How to look for signs of disrepair

Wear and tear on a driveway can come in many forms, but there are a few major signs that are actually quite easy to spot. Potholes, first and foremost, are noticeable because you can often feel their effects when you drive right over them and your car takes a little (or a large) bounce. These are usually due to the effects of freezing water, but they can still occur in California when asphalt is compromised. Another way to know you’ve likely entered driveway repair season in Santa Rosa, CA is if you see large cracks appearing—these can allow debris to enter that will further erode the driveway’s integrity, so they can’t be ignored.

How we can repair damage

If your driveway is still in a condition where it can be repaired rather than replaced, we can take advantage of driveway repair season in Santa Rosa, CA to perform the right fixes. This could involve anything from patching potholes to sealing cracks, both large and small. Sealing small cracks might seem unnecessary at times, but it’s actually a great proactive step to take because if they’re not promptly addressed, they’ll turn into larger cracks, which cause even bigger problems.

What impacts the timing of repairs?

Like any other building material, concrete and asphalt have particular times of year and ideal conditions in which working with them is easiest and most likely to result in long-term stability and performance. The best seasons for driveway maintenance in Santa Rosa, CA are typically late spring and throughout the summer, particularly when the job involves major repairs. That’s due to the fact that asphalt is poured hot, and it needs to stay hot to be properly worked into position. This becomes a lot trickier during the colder months, so it’s best to have asphalt driveway repair jobs completed when it’s warmer outside.

If your driveway is starting to look a little rough around the edges, or is showing signs of not draining properly anymore, don’t delay—it’s time to call in the pros. Sikes Asphalt Group Inc. has been serving area property owners since 2003—get in touch with our team today for your free estimate and get started on returning your driveway to its former glory. We look forward to working with you!