Everything Cracks in Colorado
Picture this: you’re walking across a lot and your entire boot fits into a crack. Sound familiar? Traditionally, wide cracks were and still are repaired by cutting out a two-foot strip and filling it with hot mix asphalt. Unfortunately, these repairs rarely last—sinking, heaving, and splitting into
multiple cracks. Several years ago, I discovered Mastic, a rubberized, aggregate-filled material originally designed for bridge joints. Applied at 385 degrees, it bonds with surrounding asphalt, creating a flexible, waterproof, weight-bearing repair. Unlike traditional methods, Mastic lasts longer, levels depressions, and even works for pothole repair. We’ve seen pothole repairs hold up for over five
years.
Picture this: you’re walking across a lot and your entire boot fits into a crack. Sound familiar? Traditionally, wide cracks were and still are repaired by cutting out a two-foot strip and filling it with hot mix asphalt. Unfortunately, these repairs rarely last—sinking, heaving, and splitting into
multiple cracks. Several years ago, I discovered Mastic, a rubberized, aggregate-filled material originally designed for bridge joints. Applied at 385 degrees, it bonds with surrounding asphalt, creating a flexible, waterproof, weight-bearing repair. Unlike traditional methods, Mastic lasts longer, levels depressions, and even works for pothole repair. We’ve seen pothole repairs hold up for over five
years.
Bad Solutions for Colorado Problems
Many companies try to “fix” these cracks with methods that don’t last:
Remove & Replace: Two saw cuts are made along either side of the crack, the asphalt is removed, and the section is patched with fresh hot-mix asphalt. It looks good at first—but by the next year, those saw-cut lines often split wide open, leaving you with two cracks instead of one.
Infrared: A hot box melts the asphalt until it’s pliable, mixes in fresh asphalt, and compacts it back down. Again, the repair looks solid right away, but asphalt is too rigid to flex with ground movement. Within months, the crack reappears because asphalt reflects whatever is beneath it—if the ground is cracked, the surface will be too.
Crack Seal: Crack seal is fine for 1/4” to 1” wide cracks, but it’s not weight-bearing. When applied to large cracks, it usually fails within a year.
Remove & Replace: Two saw cuts are made along either side of the crack, the asphalt is removed, and the section is patched with fresh hot-mix asphalt. It looks good at first—but by the next year, those saw-cut lines often split wide open, leaving you with two cracks instead of one.
Infrared: A hot box melts the asphalt until it’s pliable, mixes in fresh asphalt, and compacts it back down. Again, the repair looks solid right away, but asphalt is too rigid to flex with ground movement. Within months, the crack reappears because asphalt reflects whatever is beneath it—if the ground is cracked, the surface will be too.
Crack Seal: Crack seal is fine for 1/4” to 1” wide cracks, but it’s not weight-bearing. When applied to large cracks, it usually fails within a year.
Long-Term Solutions
That’s why we use mastic patch—a proven, long-term fix for Colorado conditions.
Mastic is a heated blend of elastic rubber and aggregate, applied at 385 degrees. It bonds directly to the asphalt, sealing the edges and blocking water infiltration. The mix of rock and rubber allows the patch to flex with shifting ground while remaining strong enough to handle heavy traffic.
This isn’t theory—it’s practice. Mastic is already trusted for Colorado’s most demanding applications, from bridge joints to interstate highways like I-25. On parking lots and roads, it delivers the same durability and flexibility, giving property owners a real solution instead of a temporary cover-up.
Mastic is a heated blend of elastic rubber and aggregate, applied at 385 degrees. It bonds directly to the asphalt, sealing the edges and blocking water infiltration. The mix of rock and rubber allows the patch to flex with shifting ground while remaining strong enough to handle heavy traffic.
This isn’t theory—it’s practice. Mastic is already trusted for Colorado’s most demanding applications, from bridge joints to interstate highways like I-25. On parking lots and roads, it delivers the same durability and flexibility, giving property owners a real solution instead of a temporary cover-up.