Bill and Cris Ann Mulreed of Blue Ridge Road and their son Shannon founded the Connecticut franchise of Black Dawg Sealcoat for a practical reason: they couldn’t find a business that offered the same service when they needed it. The service was for a seemingly common household repair.
When the Mulreeds needed to have their driveway repaired, they “couldn’t believe what it cost to get it fixed,” said Shannon. They called multiple companies and found that some were completely unresponsive.
Even though it was too late for their driveway to not undergo repairs, they decided there must be a better way of ensuring that a driveway would last once it was fixed, and so they took to the Internet and discovered Black Dawg Sealcoat. But since the company, based in Nashua, N.H., had no franchises nearby, they decided to open their own.
“We wanted a business people could trust and rely on,” Shannon said.
Black Dawg Sealcoat is about asphalt maintenance and “helping to maintain and extend the life of a driveway,” according to Shannon. The oils and binders in a driveway dry out over time, which creates cracks in a driveway. When the cracks develop, water can get into them, which can create more problems with the driveway.
The service that the franchise offers cleans out the cracks, blows out dirt that has gotten into them, then dries and seals them. By using the sealcoat, one can double the life of a driveway, which Shannon said is typically 10 to 20 years, depending on usage, if the driveway isn’t maintained.
And with a name like Black Dawg Sealcoat, one may assume it would have a black dog, and yes, the Mulreeds live up to that assumption. Dibble, a dog that was adopted from the Pet Animal Welfare Society, serves as the official mascot of the franchise.
The Mulreeds previously owned Mulreed Refuse, a trash hauling business, for 25 years. Shannon said one of the major advantages to using a sealcoat on a driveway is that with oil prices climbing, the price of asphalt, which is necessary to repair a driveway, has gone up as well. With the sealcoat, the repairs to a driveway become less frequent.
Cris Ann also said the sealcoat lends an “aesthetic advantage” to those who may be trying to sell their home because “it helps to dress it up.” Beyond the aesthetic appeal, the sealcoat that is used by the company is non-toxic and environmentally friendly, she said.
Depending upon the age and usage of the driveway, the sealcoat would need to be applied every few years, Shannon said. With a new driveway, the sealcoat would probably last between two and three years.
The cost of the service depends upon the size and condition of the driveway and may range from $300 to $1,300. Shannon will be supervising the trucks and the crews that work on the driveways while Bill will be working with the customers.
If you’re thinking about getting your driveway sealed, Shannon said that now is the time to do it because there is only two months until the season ends. Applying a sealcoat can only be done until the temperature gets below freezing at night, meaning that most of the work the business will do will be confined to the spring and summer and early fall months.