Eau Claire, WI · Northwestern Wisconsin Closed now (715) 450-9897
(715) 450-9897

Sealcoating in Eau Claire

Sealcoating in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

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

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4.7 from 18 Google reviews

Home base. Free estimates, and a straight read on whether it needs doing yet.

Driveways only, with prices? Driveway sealcoating in Eau Claire.

A large institutional parking lot freshly sealcoated in uniform black, still wet-looking, running up to the building and out to the grass edge.
72,331 People in Eau Claire
4.7 Google ratingFrom 18 reviews
2-3 yrs Reseal cycleIn Eau Claire
400°F Crack fillerDirect-fire rubber

What a Sealcoating Job Looks Like in Eau Claire

The valley soils along both rivers are sandy outwash, in places tens of feet deep. Sand drains well, which is good, and it also migrates when water is moving through it, which is why so many failures here start at a catch basin or a downspout outlet rather than in the middle of a lot.

The other thing worth knowing about Eau Claire is the grade. A driveway on the Eastside Hill or up toward Putnam Heights sheds water quickly and wears at the bottom; a flat lot down near the confluence holds it. Those two need different answers, and quoting them the same way is how a contractor ends up sealing over a drainage problem.

Sealcoating specifically in Eau Claire

Most of Eau Claire's residential sealcoating is on 1960s and 1970s driveways, which are now at the age where the surface has oxidized well past its wear layer but the base is usually still sound. That's the ideal case: sealing buys another decade for a fraction of what replacing costs. The pre-war drives in the Third Ward and around Randall Park are narrower and often steeper, so they take more hand cutting and less spray.

The Driveways and Lots in Eau Claire

Eau Claire sits where the Eau Claire River meets the Chippewa, on the northern edge of the Driftless Area. That matters for pavement more than it sounds: the city runs from river flats up steep slopes toward the east and south sides, so grade and drainage vary sharply from one neighborhood to the next. Clairemont Avenue, Hastings Way and the North Crossing carry most of the commercial traffic.

The most mixed stock in the valley. About a third of Eau Claire's houses were built before 1960 and nearly a fifth before 1940, while the single largest cohort is the 1970s at roughly 16 percent of all housing. In practice that means we work on everything here: narrow pre-war drives in the Third Ward and Randall Park, wide 1970s suburban aprons, and new construction on the edges.

It's also a heavy rental market. Close to a fifth of the housing sits in buildings of five units or more, which is why so much of our residential work here is actually small commercial: apartment lots and converted properties around the university.

Where we work in Eau Claire

  • Third Ward
  • Randall Park
  • Eastside Hill
  • North River Fronts
  • North Side Hill
  • Shawtown
  • Putnam Heights
  • Sherman Creek
  • Upper Westside

Around Eau Claire: Carson Park, Phoenix Park, Pablo Center at the Confluence, Banbury Place, Half Moon Lake.

Eau Claire averages 55.4 inches of snow a year against about 33 inches of total precipitation, so snow outweighs rain. Wisconsin's building code sets footings at a minimum of 48 inches below grade for frost, which is a fair proxy for how hard the freeze works on anything above it.

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 Eau Claire

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 Eau Claire

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 Eau Claire

What Eau Claire calls us about, answered straight.

More questions answered
Do you work on the hills, or only flat driveways?
Both, and they're genuinely different jobs. A steep drive on the Eastside Hill sheds water fast and wears hardest at the bottom where everything collects. On the steepest ones cure time matters more, because sealer needs to sit still while it sets, so plan for the drive to be off limits a little longer.
We manage an apartment building near campus. Is that residential or commercial?
Commercial, and we quote it that way. Around a fifth of Eau Claire's housing is in buildings of five units or more. On apartment lots the bid puts in writing which areas get worked, so the manager can tell residents what to expect.
Why does our 1970s driveway look worn out when the neighbor's 1990s one doesn't?
Because it is worn out on top and probably fine underneath. The 1970s is the single biggest decade in Eau Claire's housing, so there are a lot of drives at exactly the age where the surface has oxidized past its wear layer while the base is still sound. That's the best case sealing has. A 1990s drive simply hasn't got there yet.
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 Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire

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

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Other Work We Do in Eau Claire

Sealcoating in Nearby Towns

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