Chain marks on pavement

Hello all. This is our first year with asphalt on our driveway. It's also my first year for my tractor mounted blower .

The wife is upset because the chains are marking up the driveway quite a bit. I haven't put any of that blacktop sealer on and wonder if that will get rid of it. I also wonder if people who have this problem re-seal their driveway every year, or just live with the chain marks.

Thanks!

The blacktop sealer will cover the chain marks, but next year the chains will mark the asphalt again.

If left unsealed, the entire driveway will fade as the surface tar is worn away by the car tires, weather, etc. After a few years, there will be no chain marks because there will be no surface tar left to wear away. The chains on your tractor are doing the exact same thing as the tires of your car, they both simply wear away the surface tar. The chains do it a bit more aggressively. Go drive your tractor on a street that was paved a couple years (or more) ago. You will very likely see no chain marks because there is no tar left on the surface of the gravel that makes up the top of the asphalt road.

My chain marks faded away over the summer. I think Bob pretty much summed it up. I need to do some blacktop sealer this year (yuck - big driveway).

If your wife doesn't like the chain marks then I suggest she pick up a shovel and get to work the next time the snow hits the ground.

Good advice, PB! I actually did pull the shovel out for the snow we got the other day and just did the minimum amount of clearing. I think she appreciates the snow removal more than the pristine blacktop! I was just wondering if this is something that people do each year to keep their asphalt in order. Sounds like it is.

What Bob has said is correct. As for the driveway sealers, be cautious about what you apply. Many, if not most are more cosmetic than they are beneficial. The type that come in the 5 gallon pails are usually water based and don't work well in the long run. There are also business people that do driveway sealing. There lies the problem, because there are the Gypsies that go door to door selling a spray that is not much more than some tar diluted with kerosene which will look good for a few weeks, but do nothing good for the pavement. There are also professionals that charge more that use an emulsion with sand in it that will seal the pores of the driveway to keep water from freezing between the stones. I didn't seal my original base coat driveway for 10 years and it looked perfect. I put the top coat on this past summer after we repaired the places that failed. The pavement didn't fail, but large boulders had heaved up causing high spots. These had to be dug out and the area repaired. I will have the top coat sealed in about 3 years at the suggestion of the paver. Then it will be done once every 4 or 5 years. This will preserve the driveway for my lifetime. I have a friend that seals his parking lot every 4 years and it is not 40 years old and still looks like it was done yesterday....
As for your original tires, don't worry about the scratches..... they add character and create memories.
Junk

beds said:

Hello all. This is our first year with asphalt on our driveway. It's also my first year for my tractor mounted blower .

The wife is upset because the chains are marking up the driveway quite a bit. I haven't put any of that blacktop sealer on and wonder if that will get rid of it. I also wonder if people who have this problem re-seal their driveway every year, or just live with the chain marks.

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Sorry to bring up this old thread, but why are chains marking your blacktop?

When using a snowblower, there shouldn't be any wheel spin to mark the blacktop. The only time I even need chains is when I'm pushing snow using a blade.

AG tires with very low pressure and weights should give plenty of traction with a snowblower.

For those who really want to protect their blacktop, I highly recommend a rotary broom. Used brooms can be found relatively cheap. I use my broom with turf tires.