How to start a crack filling business

A crack manual from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) draws the line this way:

• Crack sealing places specialized material into or over working cracks, to keep out water and grit.
• Crack filling places ordinary material into non-working cracks, to cut down the water getting in.

A working crack opens and closes as temperatures change through the year. FHWA's manual makes yearly horizontal movement the main test, with a little under 1/8 inch (3 mm) as the dividing line. Transverse cracks from temperature swings are typical sealing candidates. Diagonal cracks, most longitudinal cracks and some block cracks usually don't move much, so they get filled. FHWA's criteria also look at width: roughly 3/16 to 3/4 inch for sealing, and up to about 1 inch for filling.

Know when to walk away. FHWA's manual calls crack sealing or filling uneconomical and technically unsound when a lot has a large number of cracks or badly broken-down ones. Its guidelines send badly broken cracks to repair, like patching, and widespread broken cracking to rehabilitation. Recommend the repair or refer it out (B100.3).

Example. Keisha (example) walks a church lot. Long cracks with tight edges run straight across it: sealing candidates. In one corner, the pavement has cracked into small blocks with broken edges. She quotes sealing for the long cracks and refers the corner to a paving contractor for patching.

FHWA's manual sorts crack materials into three groups:

Cold-applied material goes on without a melter. Hot-applied material needs a melter that matches it. FHWA's manual says direct-heat kettles aren't suitable for rubber- or fiber-modified materials. Those need an indirect-heat kettle with an agitator, where heated oil surrounds the melting vat, a method FHWA calls safer and more controlled. Buy the material and the machine together, and read the material's data sheet for its heating range, compatible equipment and weather limits.

The equipment, by job:

• Cleaning: an air compressor with a wand, a hot-air lance, or wire brushes.
• Cutting: a router or crack saw, if you'll seal working cracks.
• Applying: an applicator for cold-pour, or for hot-pour a melter-applicator or a trailer kettle with a wand; a squeegee to strike off or shape the band.
• Safety: the gear listed below, a fire extinguisher, cones and signs.

Rent what you'll use only a few days a season (B100.4).

FHWA's manual says a high share of crack treatment failures are adhesion failures caused by dirty or damp cracks. So:

• Routing cuts a neat reservoir centered over the crack with a router or saw. FHWA says it's often done for sealing and rarely for filling.
• High-pressure air blows out dust and debris, but it doesn't dry the crack well.
• A hot-air lance cleans, dries and warms the crack, which helps hot material bond. Keep it moving: FHWA warns it can burn the pavement, and says direct-flame torches should never be used.
• Wire brushing is only for cracks that are already dry and nearly clean.

Then place the material flush with the surface, in a band over the crack (an overband), or inside a routed reservoir, as the product and the job call for.

Routing and sawing throw dust and chips, so wear eye protection. If you'll cut or grind, ask the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) consultation program whether its silica rule for construction applies.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Local Technical Assistance Program safety sheet on hot liquid asphalt covers crack sealing crews:

• Gear: head protection with a face shield, safety glasses, a long-sleeved shirt and leather gloves, plus an apron for wand, loading and kettle operators.
• Fire: a fully charged extinguisher rated for burning oil, close at hand. Never heat in an enclosed area, and park the machine outside before lighting it. If material overflows or spills, shut off the burners.
• Material: keep water out of the machine, and never add kerosene or diesel to the sealant.
• Burns: cool the burn with cold water, not ice. Don't pull the asphalt off the skin. Get medical help right away.

OSHA's construction rules call for an extinguisher rated at least 10B within 50 feet of wherever more than 5 pounds of flammable gas, such as propane, or more than 5 gallons of flammable or combustible liquid is in use. OSHA lists headache, skin rash, eye and throat irritation, cough and skin cancer among the effects of asphalt fumes, so work upwind when you can. When other controls fall short, employers must provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and train each worker to use it.

FHWA's manual puts crack sealing in spring or fall, when it's moderately cool and the cracks are partly open, and says filling often happens in cool weather. That fits around a summer sealcoating season.

Your customers are the same people who buy sealcoating (B100.3). Crack work sells on its own and as the step before sealcoating (see the sealcoating guide).

Learn on someone else's crew. Ask your supplier what training comes with the machine, and have an experienced operator watch your first jobs. Then finish three paid jobs before you buy a bigger kettle (B100.3).

Licensing depends on your state, county and city, says the U.S. Small Business Administration. Get insurance before the first paid job, and tell the agent you'll run open flame and hot material (B100.7). You can start with weekend jobs while you keep your paycheck (B100.1). Report every dollar, cash included, as the IRS requires.

• FHWA: Materials and procedures for sealing and filling cracks in asphalt-surfaced pavements
• PennDOT LTAP: Safety with hot liquid asphalt
• OSHA On-Site Consultation: no-cost, confidential safety help for smaller businesses
• Small Business Development Centers: no-cost business consulting
• SCORE: free, confidential mentoring