Tried cold patch goop on my cracked apron last fall, then finally did hot pour this spring
My apron in Raleigh had spider cracks all over from the 2022 freeze and I figured the $18 bucket of cold patch would be good enough, so I troweled it in and let it set over a weekend. Six weeks later half of it was mush again after one rain, and a chunk flew out when my wife backed out. Last month I rented a propane torch from the tool rental on Capital Blvd for $42 and did a proper hot pour with the melt-in stuff, and that seam hasn't moved once through two storms. The cold patch never bonded because the crack sides were still damp, but the torch dried everything out and the hot stuff actually fused to the old asphalt. Is it worth buying my own torch for next time, or am I better off just renting every spring?