Services > Infrared Repairs

Infrared Repairs

Because it is made from oil, asphalt has skyrocketed in cost. Infrared Repairs provides the best solution to lower the cost of pavement repair. Infrared offers a faster "open to traffic" timeline, lower materials cost and seamless repair—no cutting means no seams in a patch for water to penetrate and cause future problems.

The INFRARED process heats the asphalt surface to a temperature that allows for a smooth and level repair to road surface defects (such as potholes or temporary filled repairs). McFarlane Driveway Restoration’s INFRARED heaters have the capability of evenly raising the temperature of the repair area without burning and destroying the pavement.

In about 7 to 10 minutes of heating the affected area under the infrared rays, the asphalt softens without burning, allowing it to be raked.

A highly specialized formula rejuvenator is sprayed on the old asphalt & raked in to restore lost fine oils that are present in new asphalt. Virgin asphalt is added, if necessary, to restore proper level, grade and/or slope.

The patch is then compacted and fused into the still-solid area just outside the affected area that results in a seamless patch. Besides yielding a cosmetically pleasing and smooth driveway surface, the following benefits are obtained:

Creates a truly seamless patch that will not allow water to infiltrate to the sub-base as seams "open" with age.
Can be performed 24 hours/day, 7 days a week, we can have hot asphalt available even when the plants aren't open.
Can be opened to traffic in 1-2 hours or less in most cases (as soon as the asphalt cools to below 150 degrees)
Environmentally responsible, we are recycling your old asphalt into the new repair saving oil/materials and pollution from producing them.

Infrared repair is not new. In fact, it is a proven technology that has been around for over 20 years. So why isn't everyone using it? It requires a substantial investment in the specialized equipment and training of personnel. For years when oil was cheaper (and thus so was asphalt) contractors wouldn't invest in the process when they could just waste the old asphalt & use new. The process was mainly limited to northern states where the "warm" weather was short and this process allowed repairs when it was too cold for conventional repairs or asphalt plants closed for the winter. Contractors in southern and warm locales saw no need. There was also less concern about the effects on the environment from mining new stone and the fumes & gases that are a by-product of asphalt production were not highly regulated like today.