I Need Help - May have my first sealing job.

[Need_Advice]

Please don't rip me apart here but i'm a total noob.

My neighbour has me do a bunch of yard work for him on weekends for some extra cash, i'm on summer break from school and need as much money as i can get.

He wants me to seal his driveway this weekend - said he would pay me $1,000 - Got quoted $1,500 - $1,700 (its huge). The driveway is pretty beat up but he says he just wants it to look black.

this sounds like a decent way to make a few hundred bucks (i have to buy the sealer and gas... i dont think i need to worry about the cracks) but also have a lot of questions. I've been googling for the last few days and i'm totally confused as to if i'm actually capable of doing this. He used to be in landscaping and has a pesticide sprayer that he said i could use... his son did it a couple years ago with it apparently but he knows nothing about how its done.

1. Just from browsing this forum ... will this actually work? - looks like people hate them.

2. Is there anywhere that sells/delivers bulk driveway sealer in the Newmarket Ontario area?

3. If not, can i buy a bunch of buckets from canadian tire and put them in the sprayer?

4. If yes, which one do i use - they sell asphalt, pro-gel, coaltar, acrylic - and they go from like $15 - $50 for under 20 litres - almost 5gallons.
- here is what they have:
http://www.canadiantire.ca/storelocator/store_locator.jsp
- The $50 pails probably aren't worth it from my point of view.

5. Do i have to add anything to it

6. How long can i do this driveway before it's supposed to rain - i have ready everything from 4 hours to 48 hours.

7. I guess the final question is - as much as i would like to do this and make some money ... he's a good guy and probably won't care if i make a mess (the driveway only goes to his barn and its just grass on the side), but i dont want to do a terrible job since hes close with me and my family - should i attempt this or just tell him to hire somebody to do it?

Thanks
Sorry its so long

[Black Magic]

Use the cheapest stuff you can,it will be black and thats what he wants.
How BIG is it?

[shepoutside]

If he used that type of sprayer, it was probably acrylic. You can use whatever they have there, one is really no better than the other and they're all exceptionally good unless they are diluted in any way. Check your budget, and figure out how much you need to cover, to see if your really making anything. Good Luck !!

[Mdirrigation]

dont work for neighbors or friends . Run as fast as you can , odds are you will lose money

[Need_Advice]

Thanks Guys.

I went by Canadian tire and noticed that the cheapest stuff (armor coat asphalt emulsion - $14.99 - 17L) says it covers 450square feet, whereas the expensive $45 sealer (black-kote dural acrylic) says it covers 1,500 square feet. Nobody that works in that store knows anything lol.

If i'm spraying it will i notice that type of difference in coverage?

The acrylic sealer also says it dries in 30 minutes which might be a benefit ... i can spray one bucket of it and see how it turns out and decide whether or not i want to finish up.

One last thing... I've read that you can add water to your sealer so it covers more area, but i would have to assume this would make the driveway look "less black?"


Thanks again guys.

[seal4cash]

If everything else fails you can just get a driveway sealing broom at canadian tire for $6.99 and buy bunch of the cheapest stuff in those yellow buckets for 14.99....... (actually they have it on sale every once in a while for something like 11.99)....if i were you i would either ask them when is the next time it's going on sale or make a deal with a manager, that you will pick-up the whole skid for better price....hope this helps.

[EWS]

word of advice dont do it. first off you need to know if ct or ae or acrylic was used because you cannot use acrylic unless it has always been sealed with acrylic and so forth for ct and ae. from what you are saying 1500 to 1700 hundred was the quote you looking at 15 20 k sq feet by hand you will be there forever with all the cracks and there is gonna be streaks and marks and it will look like **** doing that by hand. and hes your neighbor. so dont do it. if he wants you to help him and he will pay you do it but if your gonna do it by yourself dont.