TL;DR
A tack coat is a thin film of asphalt emulsion sprayed or brushed onto existing pavement so a new asphalt lift, patch, or overlay bonds to it instead of sliding as an independent layer. Emulsions like SS-1h are applied at light coverage rates and must break from brown to black before paving begins.
What it means
A tack coat is a thin film of asphalt emulsion sprayed or brushed onto existing pavement so a new asphalt lift, patch, or overlay bonds to it instead of sliding as an independent layer. Emulsions like SS-1h are applied at light coverage rates and must break from brown to black before paving begins. Skipping it is a leading cause of overlay slippage cracks and patch edges that ravel out within a season or two.
Where it sits in the glossary
Tack coat is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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