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Sealcoating in Altoona

Sealcoating in Altoona, Wisconsin.

Driveway and parking lot sealcoating in Altoona. The same prep on every job, and a straight read on whether yours needs doing this year at all.

Get a Free Estimate Call (715) 450-9897

4.7 from 18 Google reviews

About 8 minutes from central Eau Claire. Free estimates, and a straight read on whether it needs doing yet.

A large institutional parking lot freshly sealcoated in uniform black, still wet-looking, running up to the building and out to the grass edge.
9,302 People in Altoona
4.7 Google ratingFrom 18 reviews
2-3 yrs Reseal cycleIn Altoona
400°F Crack fillerDirect-fire rubber

What a Sealcoating Job Looks Like in Altoona

The interesting thing about Altoona for pavement is the age gap. The 1970s subdivisions are at the point where their original surfaces are long gone and the question is whether the base is still worth building on. The River Prairie construction is the opposite problem: those drives and lots are new enough that leaving them alone for another year or two is usually the right call.

We get asked to seal brand new asphalt here more than anywhere else, and the answer is usually no, not yet. New asphalt wants six to twelve months to cure first.

Sealcoating specifically in Altoona

Altoona splits cleanly. The 1970s and 1990s subdivisions on the east side and up on Hillcrest are prime sealcoating territory, at the age where the surface is spent and the base is usually fine. River Prairie is the opposite: newer than it needs to be, and most of it should wait. Nearly a third of the housing in this city has gone up since 2000, and the 2010s alone account for close to a fifth of it, so a good number of Altoona calls are about a drive that isn't ready yet.

The Driveways and Lots in Altoona

Altoona sits immediately east of Eau Claire, close enough that Fairfax Street is most of what separates them. Lake Altoona and the Eau Claire River form the northern edge and Otter Creek the southern one. The US 53 bypass opened in 2006 with an interchange at River Prairie Drive, and essentially everything new in town has been built around that interchange since.

Altoona is the youngest town we serve after Lake Hallie, and it's split in two. Only about 12 percent of the housing predates 1960. The 1970s and 1990s each contributed close to a fifth of the stock, and then nearly a quarter has gone up since 2010, almost all of it in and around River Prairie.

It also has the highest share of manufactured housing of the five, close to 10 percent. That's a different kind of drive: often shared, often gravel or thin asphalt, and usually maintained by a community owner rather than a resident.

Where we work in Altoona

  • Downtown Altoona
  • River Prairie
  • East Hill
  • Hillcrest

Around Altoona: Lake Altoona County Park, River Prairie Park, Cinder City Park, The Yard, Otter Creek.

Identical freeze regime to Eau Claire next door, with the 48-inch footing minimum. Lake Altoona and Otter Creek mean the north and south edges of town both sit close to water, and the drives nearest them hold moisture longer in spring.

From our jobs

Job Photos

Freshly sealed and striped school parking lot
A school lot, sealed and striped
A freshly sealcoated driveway winding up to a house in evening light
A sealed driveway, winding up to the house
A freshly sealcoated driveway running through the woods, caution tape across the entrance
A long wooded driveway, sealed and taped off
A crew member spraying sealcoat from the black tank rig
Sealer going down from the tank rig

All job photos

What makes a seal job last

Sealer doesn't stick to dirt. It doesn't stick to oil, it doesn't bridge an open crack, and it doesn't cure in the cold. Almost every failed driveway in this valley failed for one of those four reasons, and all four happen before the sealer ever comes off the truck. Which is why the part of this job that matters is the part that happens before anything looks different.

The cheap job

What a low bid usually buys

  • Blown off, maybe, and sealed straight over whatever is left
  • Cracks sprayed across rather than filled, so water still gets under
  • Sealer thinned with water to stretch the drum further
  • One thin coat, sprayed to the edges, apron included
  • Looks excellent for about six weeks

What we do

And why each step is there

  • Blown clean and edged, and oil spots primed so sealer can bond
  • Cracks over a quarter inch filled with hot rubber first
  • Sealer mixed to the manufacturer's spec, with the sand it calls for
  • Edges and aprons cut in by hand, two coats where traffic warrants
  • Left to cure properly, with the drive-on time in writing

The difference doesn't show on the day. It shows in the second spring.

What Decides the Price in Altoona

Residential sealcoating runs about $0.15 to $0.25 per square foot, the rate Black Widow has published for years. Everything else is measured rather than guessed at, and your number is fixed before work starts.

Two-car driveway

Roughly 600 to 900 sq ft

Measured on site

  • Clean, crack fill, one to two coats
  • Most in-town driveways

Larger or rural driveway

Roughly 900 to 2,000 sq ft

Measured on site

  • The common case out in the townships
  • Long drives are measured, not estimated by eye

Small commercial lot

Roughly 8,000 to 20,000 sq ft

Measured on site

  • Church, clinic, small retail
  • Crack sealing usually included

Larger lot

20,000 sq ft and up

Measured on site

  • Quoted after a walk
  • Striping and patching priced separately

What moves it: how much crack filling it needs, whether there are areas that have to be cut out and patched first, how much hand cutting the edges take, and access. Anything we find that changes the number gets said before we start, not after.

Does yours actually need sealing?

How we read a surface before quoting it

Some surfaces that look bad are fine, and some that look fine are not.

  • It has gone gray and chalky but it's smoothTextbook case. That's the wear layer gone and exactly what sealer replaces.
  • Thin cracks running with the drive, under a quarter inchSeal them now and they stay cheap. Left open, water gets under and freezes.
  • It was paved last year and still looks blackNew asphalt needs to cure before its first seal, usually 6 to 12 months. Too early is a real thing and we would rather book you for next season.
  • Cracked into squares, like dried mud, and it flexes underfootThat's the base failing, not the surface. Sealing it hides the problem for one season and wastes your money. Those areas get cut out and patched.
  • Potholes, or a low spot that holds water after rainRepair first, seal after. Standing water is usually a grade or a drainage problem and it'll take the new sealer with it.
  • Loose stone comes up when you scuff it with your shoeRaveling. Early on, sealer locks it back down. Advanced, it needs an overlay. This is the one worth having us look at rather than guessing.

Not sure which one you have? Send a photo of the worst area.

How the Work Goes in Altoona

The same six steps on a driveway and on a 40,000 square foot lot.

We look at it and price it

Free, and on site for anything commercial. If the surface has gone past what sealer can help, we say so then rather than taking the job.

Clean and prep

Blown down, edges trimmed back where grass has crept in, oil and fuel spots primed. Sealer won't bond to any of those, and skipping this is the single most common reason a job fails early.

Crack filling, hot

Anything over about a quarter inch gets direct-fire rubber at 400 degrees, which flows into the crack and bonds to its walls. Cold pourable filler sits on top and pulls away by the second winter.

Cut in by hand

Edges, garage aprons, around drains and islands. Hand work, because a spray wand at the edge either misses it or covers your concrete.

Sealcoat, twice on high-wear areas

Turnarounds, entrances and drive lanes wear faster than the rest and get two. The rest of the lot gets one, because a second coat there adds no life.

Cure time, in writing

Usually 24 hours before a car and 48 before anything heavy or before turning the wheels while stopped. It depends on the temperature and humidity that afternoon, so we give you the real number on the day.

Booking sealcoating and striping through October · Call (715) 450-9897

Questions We Get in Altoona

What Altoona calls us about, answered straight.

More questions answered
Our house in River Prairie is only a few years old. Should we seal the driveway?
Not until it has cured, which takes six to twelve months from paving, and often not for a couple of years after that. Sealing new asphalt too early traps the lighter oils and does more harm than waiting. We would rather book you for a later season than take the job now.
We manage a manufactured home community. Do you do shared drives?
Yes, and it's common work in Altoona given how much of the housing here is manufactured. Shared drives and internal roads are quoted like a small commercial lot rather than like a driveway.
How do we know whether our drive is an East Hill one or a River Prairie one?
By its age rather than its address, though in Altoona the two usually agree. The 1970s and 1990s stock on the east side is at the point where the surface is spent and the base underneath is normally still sound, which is the best case sealing has. River Prairie has been going up since 2015, and most of what's there is too young to want anything yet. If you're not sure which one you have, that's what the estimate is for.
The bypass changed the traffic past our lot. Does that show up in the pavement?
It can, and the tell is where rather than how much. The US 53 bypass opened in 2006 and pulled through traffic off the old routes onto the River Prairie Drive interchange, so the newer commercial ground carries the turning and stopping now while the Business 53 side carries the age. Those two wear differently: one ruts and scuffs at the entrances, the other simply gets old.
How much does it cost to sealcoat a driveway?
Residential sealcoating runs about $0.15 to $0.25 per square foot, which is the rate Black Widow has published for years. What moves it inside that range is how much crack filling the drive needs first and whether the high-wear areas want a second coat. Long rural drives are measured rather than guessed at, and the number is fixed before we start.
How often should a driveway be sealed?
Every two to three years in Altoona and the surrounding area. Freeze and thaw here does more damage than sun does, and the cycle matters more than it would further south. Sealing every year is a waste of money.
How late in the year can you seal?
Roughly May through early October in Altoona and the surrounding area, and it depends more on overnight lows than on the daytime high. Sealer needs warm pavement and a dry cure, so late-season jobs depend on the weather holding.
How long before I can drive on a freshly sealed driveway?
Usually 24 hours for a car and 48 before anything heavy, or before turning your wheels while stopped, which is what scuffs fresh sealer. We give you the actual number on the day, because it moves with the weather.
Do you use coal tar?
No. Coal tar sealer is perfectly legal in Eau Claire and a good deal of this region still uses it, which is exactly why it's worth asking. We run an asphalt emulsion instead, Pitch Black, by choice. The reason is the science rather than the rulebook. The US Geological Survey sampled streams around Milwaukee and traced somewhere between 42 and 94 percent of the PAHs in the sediment back to coal tar sealant dust. Minnesota banned the stuff statewide in 2014. We would rather not put it on a driveway that drains toward the Chippewa.
Can you seal a lot without closing it?
Sealed asphalt needs 24 to 48 hours before traffic goes back on it. On a lot that can't close, where that time comes from is part of what the estimate works out, so tell us which hours and which areas you can't lose.
My driveway is cracked everywhere. Is sealing still worth it?
Sometimes yes and sometimes no, and it depends on whether the base under it has failed. Tight surface cracks seal fine. Alligatored areas that flex under your foot have to be cut out and patched first, and no amount of sealer fixes them. A photo of the worst area is usually enough to tell the two apart.

Get a Free Estimate in Altoona

Tell us what it looks like and we'll come measure it. You get a written price before anything starts.

(715) 450-9897
  • Free on driveways and lots anywhere in the service area
  • A photo of the problem helps, and it can go in the message
  • Surfaces that are not ready yet get told so at the estimate

Get an estimate

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Other Work We Do in Altoona

Sealcoating in Nearby Towns

Everything about sealcoating, including how the work goes and what changes the price