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m 9) The most common driveway material, asphalt, loses a lot of its appeal when it fades from black to grey, and is covered with oil spots and loose gravel. When the driveway begins to lose its 200d looks you can also bet it is losing its Protecting your asphalt driveway good looks you can also bet it is losing its strength and its life span is threatened. The application of a sealer coat has great eye appeal and fortunately has thera- peutic value for the driveway. A yearly application is not advised, however, because it is basically a top dressing and could start to flake off when it builds up. Asphalt is crushed stone that is bonded with a sticky oil which the UV rays of the sun attack, causing it to lose its strength and its ability to shed water. The result is that the small stones start to break away from the mass and water penetrates, causing serious damage during freeze and thaw spells in fall and winter. Sealers are either water based or coal based and serve to restore some of the resiliency and adhesion of the surface. Before applying sealer, sweep the sur- face clean and hose it free of all loose material. Fill any small cracks less than one-quarter inch wide with a special caulk- mg. "Wider cracks and holes should be filled with dry patch. Some portions may have to be removed because they am breaking up. "Ili?]!)),',!':!,!!!?: firfE GLEN ABBEY EOUNTRY CHARM HAU. REALTY CW If thank r58 million ales in 1993 Holes so formed should be brushed out clean and coated with sealer to ensure a strong bond between dry patch and the driveway. Take you pick of applicators for the sealer - stiff broom, roller or squeegee - and follow the manufacturer 's instructions. It is wise to cordon off the entire area to keep pets and children off the surface for at least 24 hours. Next to weather, heavy traffic is the major enemy of asphalt. Make it a point to discourage trucks from entering your drive during the mushy months of spring and fall. Ban heavy trucks permanently. o CHRISTOPHER INVIDIATA Around KiIrhstqxsttfitm.ily Life expectancy of a well constructed driveway is only 20 years, but if the base has not been allowed to deteriorate you should be able to resurface successfully and get another 20 years of use. If you have arrived at the point where you don't want the bother of maintenance or you want something more permanent, you could get prices on concrete or paving blocks. The latter are decorative. especially when laid in attractive patterns, but are the most expensive route to take. You have to pay handsomely to remove the old asphalt, put in a new bed of gravel, and lay down the paving stones by hand and then tamp them into place for a solid surface. A few weeks ago I wrote about NAD- DUM, the National Association of Dumpster Divers and Urban Miners, a small bi-monthly newsletter which is a journal for the practical environmentalist. My life, Linda, to save face when friends_catch sight of me head first into one of my favorite dumpsters, calls me an urban archaeologist. The existence of NADDUM naturally delighted me and I wrote to Edmund Fitzgerald in Big Fork, Montana, for a sub- scription. He gave me good news and bad news: publication was suspended after nine issues, but I could have all the back issues for I received them a week ago and they are wonderful. They deal with people and organizations who are practising the three "Rs" - reduce. recycle and reuse. These contented folk spend a few hours each week scavenging in dumpsters to sal- vage anything that can be reused; failing that they pull out material that can be recy- clad. This pastime gives them an intimate knowledge of the mindless waste our soci- ety produces and they become fanatical about avoiding wasteful modem packaging or buying things they can really do with- out. Here is a quote which explains why Edmund stopped publishing. "The time and expense required for the newsletter meant that I was working day and night and going into debt. The planning and pro- motion necessary to reach enough people to buy subscriptions so that I could meet expenses and eat wasn't getting done." In short, he found his former life of scrounging lots of stuff he could use so he could work halftime, play music, take wilderness hikes and still pay the bills, was Here is a quote to describe some of his finds. "I've found electric drills needing only new cords, washing machines fixed with a $6 gasket, tape recorders needing only cleaning, frames and paintings (Maxfield Parrish prints!), building materi- als (useable doors, windows, lumber, hard- ware), and more." So Edmund is back to the good life and still true to his principles. But he has left us a gold mine of pertinent articles from obscure magazines, reports of real saving and salvage efforts on the part of individu- als and organizations. zone hours