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

Sealcoating in Cottage Grove

Sealcoating in Cottage Grove, Minnesota.

Parking lot sealcoating for commercial properties in Cottage Grove. Cracks filled hot first, edges cut in by hand, two coats where the traffic needs two, and the cure time in writing.

Get a Free Estimate Call (715) 450-9897

4.7 from 21 Google reviews

About an hour and a half west of Eau Claire on I-94 and south on Highway 61. The estimate is free.

A large institutional parking lot freshly sealcoated in uniform black, still wet-looking, running up to the building and out to the grass edge.
4.7 Google ratingFrom 21 reviews
2-3 yrs Reseal cycleNorthwestern Wisconsin
400°F Crack fillerDirect-fire rubber
0 Coal tarAsphalt emulsion only

Working in Cottage Grove

Minnesota's ban covers the sale as well as the use, so since 2014 nothing sold in the state for asphalt pavement is a coal tar sealer. We run an asphalt emulsion, Pitch Black. Sealcoating here is mostly the retail and clinic lots along East Point Douglas Road and the office side of the business park, because a truck court is a different question from a customer lot. Sealer protects the top of the asphalt, so anything failing underneath gets handled first.

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 that day. It shows in the second spring.

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.

What Decides the Price in Cottage Grove

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.

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.

How the Work Goes in Cottage Grove

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'll give you the real number that day.

Booking the last of the sealcoating season now · Call (715) 450-9897

Questions We Get in Cottage Grove

What Cottage Grove calls us about, answered straight.

More questions answered
How far out is this for you?
Cottage Grove is about 84 miles from Eau Claire and roughly an hour and a half: I-94 west, then south on Highway 61. For commercial lots we come out. Send the address and what the lot needs and we'll set up a time to walk it. The estimate is free.
How late in the year can you seal?
Roughly May through early October in Cottage Grove 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.
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.

The Lots and Surfaces in Cottage Grove

Cottage Grove is in Washington County, about 43,000 people, served by US 61, US 10 and I-494. From Eau Claire it's about 84 miles and roughly an hour and a half, west on I-94 and then south on 61. The city puts its business park 11 miles off I-94 and a bit over six miles from I-494.

This is the industrial end of the corridor. The Cottage Grove Business Park is off Highway 61 at the Jamaica exit, four-lane frontage, lots divisible down to an acre and rail-served sites on the CP line, and the city's own list of firms out there runs from Airgas and United Rentals to Renewal by Andersen, Tradehome Shoes, the USPS and Up North Plastics. Werner Electric's headquarters and regional distribution center is on 95th Street South, a 122,000 square foot building on 20 acres that has since been expanded. 3M has run chemical operations here since 1947.

The newest ground is bigger still. Cottage Grove Logistics Park is a 253-acre site with nine industrial buildings planned, about 3.4 million square feet, with direct access to Highway 61, I-494 and I-94. Innovation Village is another 223 acres along 61, opened up by the 100th Street extension and a bridge over the CPKC railroad and aimed at logistics and distribution. The retail corridor is East Point Douglas Road South, with Cottage Grove Plaza and Gateway Center on it and a Walmart built on part of the old drive-in site; the rest of that ground is 73 developable commercial acres at Innovation Road. Three clinics serve the city, and the public campus is City Hall and public safety on Ravine Parkway with the HERO Center training campus and range next to it.

Where we work in Cottage Grove

  • Cottage Grove Business Park
  • Cottage Grove Logistics Park
  • Innovation Village
  • East Point Douglas Road South
  • Ravine Parkway South

Around Cottage Grove: Ravine Regional Park, The HERO Center on 85th Street South, Park Grove Library on Hemingway Avenue, River Oaks municipal golf course, Cottage Grove Plaza on East Point Douglas Road.

42,760 people, 2024 Census estimate.

The Mississippi valley outwash runs through here, sand and gravel that filled the valley and was later cut into flat terraces between 800 and 820 feet, and the valley widens near Cottage Grove. State building rules put the frost footing depth at 42 inches in Washington County.

Get a Free Estimate in Cottage Grove

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 commercial lots and properties in Cottage Grove
  • 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

Get an estimate

Send the form and we'll call you back. The estimate is free.

What can we help with?

By submitting, you agree to be contacted about your sealcoating job. Text messages only go out if you checked the box above. We don't sell your info, ever.

Other Work We Do in Cottage Grove

Sealcoating in Nearby Towns

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