Infrared Patching: How It Works, Costs, and When to Use It

Infrared patching reheats damaged asphalt in place so your crew can scarify, blend, grade, and compact it without cutting out the whole repair area. 

I've watched contractors build steady parking-lot maintenance revenue on it, and I've watched others lose money running heats over pavement that needed a dig-out. 

The difference comes down to reading the failure correctly. Here's how the process works, what the equipment costs, how to price a heat, and when to walk away. 

What Is Infrared Patching? The Quick Answer

Infrared patching is an in-place surface repair that reheats existing asphalt so your crew can rework it without removing the full repair area. 

The heater covers the damage plus a margin of sound pavement around it, softens the material, and then the crew scarifies, adds compatible hot mix, restores grade, and compacts.

That heated margin is the whole point. It gives you a thermal bond instead of a cold seam, which is where most cut-and-patch repairs start coming apart. 

Infrared sits alongside dig-outs, overlays, and sealcoating in a normal commercial paving service mix, and it earns its spot only when the asphalt layer is the actual problem.

One caveat before you quote it: infrared fixes the surface, never the support underneath. If the base has failed, no amount of heat saves the repair.

How Infrared Patching Reuses Existing Asphalt

Asphalt binder stiffens as it oxidizes, and reheating only makes that old material workable again. It doesn't reset the chemistry. 

This trips people up, because a reheated patch looks brand new the second the roller comes off. What you're actually working with is aged binder, closer in character to asphalt millings than to fresh mix off the truck.

Some infrared-repair procedures use a maltene-based rejuvenator to improve the workability of aged material. The FPPC asphalt rejuvenation specification describes petroleum oils and resins that penetrate asphalt and reduce binder viscosity. 

Product chemistry, concentration, and application rates all vary by brand. Follow the instructions that came with your rejuvenator and your heater. One shop's rate won't transfer cleanly to another shop's product.

The crew then blends compatible hot mix into the scarified material as needed to restore volume and grade.

How Does Infrared Patching Work?

Infrared patching follows six main phases: assess and prepare the area, position the heater, heat the pavement, scarify and condition the material, add compatible mix and restore grade, then compact and cool the repair. 

Crews should follow the operating procedure for the equipment and materials used on the job.

Step 1: Confirm the repair is suitable, then clean and dry it

Start by confirming that the damage is suitable for a surface repair. Widespread alligator cracking, pronounced settlement, pumping, soft spots, or repeated failure can indicate a deeper support problem. 

Caltrans patching guidance identifies severe alligator cracking and failed base conditions as reasons to use a dig-out instead of a surface repair. When the failure depth remains unclear, verify the condition before quoting the repair.

Once the area qualifies, remove loose aggregate, dirt, vegetation, foreign material, and standing water. Use blowers, brooms, and wire brushes. Do not pressure-wash immediately before heating, and do not rely on the infrared unit to dry visibly wet pavement.

Set the required temporary traffic-control measures before heating begins. I don't quote an infrared repair until I know the failure depth. 

Core it, probe it, or pull the history on the lot, then log what you found on the job file the same way you'd track any other paving project. A wrong call here comes back as a callback, and callbacks don't have line items. 

Step 2: Position the heater and confirm its actual footprint

Position the heater over the damaged area and extend the heated footprint beyond the repair boundary according to the equipment procedure. KM International’s published process uses a minimum 3-inch perimeter.

Correct the coverage range: A 2-by-2-foot heater covers 4 square feet, not 2. Current examples range from a 4-square-foot portable unit to 48-square-foot trailer-mounted units.

Verify the exact model footprint before estimating heater placements. Perimeter overlap, irregular repair geometry, curbs, drainage structures, utilities, and other obstructions reduce the usable repair area per placement.

Step 3: Heat the asphalt to the manufacturer’s working condition

Follow the equipment manufacturer’s target temperature, heating cycle, and workability checks. Do not use one universal setting for every heater, asphalt mix, or pavement condition.

KM International runs its infrared process at roughly 350°F, with an eight-to-ten-minute heating cycle to soften about 1.5 to 2.5 inches. 

Those numbers belong to KM's procedure and KM's machines. Yours may sit somewhere else entirely, which is why I read the manual before I read the internet.

Heater output, pavement age, asphalt mix, starting pavement temperature, wind, moisture, and repair geometry can change the heating cycle. Confirm that the intended depth has become workable, and stop before the surface scorches or overheats.

Record the heater make and model, weather conditions, heating time, and temperature or workability check. For broader seasonal planning, see When Does Paving Season Start? A Regional Breakdown.

Step 4: Scarify the softened asphalt and remove unsuitable material

Move the heater clear and scarify the full softened depth. Frame the repair edges first, then work through the interior so the crew can control the repair shape and final grade.

Scarification loosens the heated asphalt. It does not make contamination disappear. Remove oil-soaked, foreign, excess, or otherwise unsuitable material separately when job conditions require it.

Apply a compatible rejuvenator only when the selected repair procedure calls for one. Follow the product-specific application method and rate, including any instructions for the heated perimeter.

Use as few rake and lute passes as necessary to create a uniform blend. Avoid overworking the material, pulling coarse aggregate to the surface, or allowing the asphalt to lose workability.

Step 5: Add compatible asphalt and restore the grade

Add asphalt only as needed to replace missing volume, kill a depression, or restore the intended grade. 

Match the mix to the project specification and the surrounding surface. There's no universal "top mix" that works everywhere, and I'd be suspicious of anybody who tells you there is.

Blend the added material down into the softened asphalt so the repair reads as one lift. A new layer sitting on old material is a seam waiting to open.

Account for compaction when setting the loose grade. KM International’s procedure describes leaving the repair approximately one-quarter inch above the surrounding surface before compaction as a typical practice. 

Adjust that allowance for the mix, depth, and compaction method. Record the mix type and the quantity you actually added, because that number is what makes your next estimate honest. 

If your material takeoff said four shovels and the crew went through nine, you just found the leak in your margin.

Step 6: Compact and finish

Compact the repair promptly with a vibratory plate or roller while the asphalt remains within the working range required by the mix and repair procedure. Hot enough to work is the target. Hottest possible is how you cook the binder. 

If the material loses workability during scarifying or grading, reheat it briefly according to the equipment procedure before compacting. Your equipment procedure sets that duration. Mine won't match yours. 

Open the repair only after the surface can support the expected traffic movement without displacement or scuffing. KM’s procedure allows straight drive-over traffic after the repair is complete but calls for additional cooling where vehicles will stop or turn.

Finish the repair flush with the surrounding pavement. Then close the job out while the crew is still standing on it: photos, quantities, hours, reopening time. 

Repairs this small die in the office, so pushing the ticket into your invoicing workflow the same day keeps a $400 heat from aging into a $0 heat.

Equipment You Need for Infrared Patching

A working infrared setup needs an infrared heater, hot mix held at a workable temperature, scarifying and grading tools, compaction equipment, whatever process-control tools your heater manufacturer specifies, and job-specific safety and traffic-control gear. 

The heater gets all the attention at the trade shows. The hotbox is what decides whether you can run heats all day.

Select equipment based on repair volume, heater footprint, transport capacity, hot-mix access, crew requirements, and the types of defects the contractor plans to repair.

Infrared heater

Compare heaters by heating footprint, number of independently controlled zones, output, mobility, fuel requirements, transport configuration, and manufacturer procedure.

Current product examples include 4-square-foot portable units and 16-, 22.75-, 40-, and 48-square-foot models. 

A heater's rated coverage is a spec-sheet number, not a field guarantee. Curbs, utility structures, and an irregular repair edge routinely eat into that rating. So, two heaters with the same square-foot spec can still produce very different daily output. Verify the model specification before estimating placements or daily production.

Hotbox or reclaimer

A hotbox maintains hot mix at a workable temperature. A reclaimer-type unit can also reheat cooled or stockpiled material, depending on the equipment design.

Current KM product lines include half-ton, 2-ton, and 4-ton units. Choose capacity based on expected daily material demand, truck payload, mounting or towing requirements, fuel source, hot-mix availability, and whether the crew needs temperature maintenance, reclaiming capability, or both.

Verify the model’s stated capacity, loaded weight, operating procedure, and transport requirements before purchasing it.

Hand tools

Typical tools include an asphalt lute, asphalt rake, flat shovel, broom, hand tamper for confined areas, and a rejuvenator sprayer when the selected repair procedure requires one.

Carry the temperature, workability, cleaning, and safety tools listed in the heater manufacturer’s operating procedure.

Compaction equipment

A vibratory plate compactor suits many localized repairs. Larger or multi-placement repairs may require a small roller. Match the compaction equipment to the repair area, asphalt mix, access, and project requirements.

Safety and traffic-control equipment

Complete a job-specific hazard assessment before work begins. Follow the heater and fuel-system manuals, applicable OSHA construction PPE requirements, and the traffic-control requirements for the property or road authority.

Heat-resistant gloves, protective footwear, eye or face protection, high-visibility garments, and other PPE may be required based on the identified hazards. Crews should also control exposure to asphalt fumes through appropriate equipment, work practices, and PPE.

Cones alone do not constitute a complete traffic-control plan. The required setup may include signs, channelizing devices, barricades, flaggers, pedestrian accommodations, or other controls based on the work-zone conditions.

How Much Does Infrared Patching Cost?

Infrared patching raises two separate money questions: what it costs you to get into the service, and what you have to charge per repair to stay in it. Most contractors obsess over the first one and get wrecked by the second.

Equipment investment

Current advertised equipment prices include:

• 4-square-foot portable infrared heater: approximately $3,799
• 16-square-foot infrared heater: approximately $11,705
• 22.75-square-foot infrared heater: approximately $12,335
• 40-square-foot trailer-mounted infrared heater: approximately $24,049
• 48-square-foot trailer-mounted infrared heater: approximately $25,987
• 2-ton hotbox maintainer: approximately $6,699
• Half-ton hotbox reclaimer: approximately $9,899
• 4-ton propane trailer reclaimer: approximately $28,845
• 4-ton diesel trailer reclaimer: approximately $32,570

These are seller-specific advertised prices, not national averages. Freight, taxes, unloading, accessories, propane tanks, financing, configuration, and availability can change the purchase total. Recheck every price immediately before publication.

How to price an infrared repair

Contractors may use a minimum service charge, a flat price per repair, a per-heat charge, or a square-foot rate for larger scopes. The estimate must recover the actual job costs regardless of the pricing format.

KM International’s equipment FAQ gives approximately $300 per heat as a generalized starting point and explicitly says contractors should adjust the number for their regional market. Treat that figure as manufacturer guidance, not a national average. Build the estimate from:

• Mobilization and travel
• Number of heater placements
• Crew hours
• Asphalt added
• Rejuvenator and other specified materials
• Propane, diesel, or other fuel
• Compaction equipment
• Traffic control
• Cleaning and contaminated-material handling
• Equipment ownership, rental, or financing recovery
• Overhead
• Callback or warranty allowance
• Target margin

Use this estimating structure:

Estimated price = mobilization + heater-cycle cost + labor + materials + traffic control + material handling + overhead + margin

Walk the repair and count the actual heater placements before you quote. Dividing total square footage by the unit's rated footprint will understate the job. Obstructions and awkward edges force extra repositioning that a clean math formula won't catch.

Contractors who quote larger scopes by the square foot should build that rate from their own production and cost data. 

National square-foot ranges float around the internet with no market study behind them, and pricing off somebody else's average is how you win work you can't afford to do. 

The same discipline applies on the back end, where sloppy invoice processing quietly erases margin you already earned.

Should you buy the equipment or subcontract the work?

Compare expected annual repair volume with contribution margin, crew availability, truck and trailer capacity, hot-mix access, training requirements, equipment storage, maintenance, insurance, and local subcontractor availability.

Run the numbers off your own production records and margin targets. Every vendor has a best-case revenue chart, and not one of them accounts for your crew, your hot-mix drive time, or your winter. 

If you aren't tracking cost at the repair level yet, start there. The project management habits that win you jobs are the same ones that tell you whether a $25,000 heater pays for itself.

Infrared Patching vs. Traditional Cut-and-Patch: What's the Difference?

Infrared patching reheats and reworks the existing asphalt surface. Cut-and-patch removes the failed material and replaces it. 

Depth and cause of the distress decide which one you're doing, and that call gets made on the walkthrough, long before anybody lights a heater.

Estimate production from heater placements and site conditions. A 78-square-foot repair beats a 48-square-foot heater footprint, so that's two placements minimum before you account for perimeter overlap or an awkward shape. Count the placements on the walkthrough, and you'll bid it right.

Infrared may remove several operations from a suitable surface repair. Cut-and-patch involves more removal and replacement work, but it can correct failed supporting material that infrared cannot reach.

Everyone asks which method is faster. The better question: Does the failure extend below the layer that the infrared unit can rework? Answer that one and the method picks itself.

Where Infrared Patching Adds Value

Infrared patching removes several operations from a suitable surface repair, and the durability claim has research behind it. 

An FHWA-sponsored Ohio study installed more than 60 patches across three methods and found the infrared patches performed significantly better, with a much longer expected life than throw-and-roll or spray injection. 

The same study found infrared had much lower productivity than either one. That's the honest trade: fewer patches per day, fewer of them coming back.

• Fewer removal operations: Crews may avoid some saw-cutting, excavation, loading, hauling, and replacement work.
• Lower new-material demand: Much of the existing asphalt remains in place, although contaminated or excess material may still require removal.
• Flexible cold-weather scheduling: Infrared work may continue in cold, dry conditions when the equipment can bring the pavement to its specified working condition. Cold pavement and wind may lengthen the heating cycle.
• Localized repair capability: Crews can rework small depressions, potholes, seams, and transitions without automatically rebuilding the entire area.

Those advantages apply only when the supporting pavement remains stable. The next section lists the conditions that require another repair method.

How to spot possible base failure during the walkthrough

Before quoting infrared work:

1. Map the cracking pattern and repair boundaries.
2. Check for pronounced settlement, pumping, displaced fines, or soft areas.
3. Ask whether the same location has failed after previous repairs.
4. Review drainage and standing-water patterns.
5. Verify uncertain repair depth before finalizing the scope.
6. Photograph the condition and document why the selected method fits it.

When Should You Use Infrared Patching?

Use infrared patching when the distress stays inside the asphalt layer your heater can rework, and the support underneath is sound. 

Anything deeper needs removal and replacement. That line is easy to state and easy to talk yourself across when the customer wants a cheap number. Infrared patching may suit:

• Localized potholes: When the distress remains within the repairable asphalt layer and the support underneath remains stable
• Paving-seam corrections: When crews can rework the surface without rebuilding failed support
• Utility-cut tie-ins: After the trench backfill and supporting layers have been restored correctly
• Low spots and birdbaths: When the depression sits in the surface profile, and the pavement underneath has stopped moving
• Manhole and catch-basin transitions: Subject to the utility owner’s requirements and protection measures
• Localized raveling or overlay corrections: When a test heat confirms that the asphalt softens and blends uniformly
• Speed-bump installation or correction: Where the owner’s specification permits an in-place reheating method

Infrared patching is generally not the right choice when:

• The pavement shows widespread alligator or fatigue cracking linked to failed support.
• The area has pronounced settlement, pumping, movement, or repeated repair failure.
• The damaged material extends below the heater’s effective working depth.
• The base or subgrade has lost load-carrying capacity.
• Standing water, active rain, snow, or a visibly wet surface prevents controlled heating.
• Contamination, coatings, or severe oxidation prevent the asphalt from softening and blending uniformly during a test heat.
• Heat-sensitive utilities, markings, sealants, or adjacent materials cannot be protected under the manufacturer’s and owner’s requirements.

When the evidence points to failed support, walk the customer out to the spot. Show them the cracking, the settlement, the standing water. 

Then quote the full-depth repair. I've never lost a job by explaining why the cheap fix would fail. I've lost plenty by doing the cheap fix.

How to Get Consistent Infrared Patching Results

I've seen good crews turn out bad infrared repairs, and it's almost never a skill problem. They skipped a step: candidate screening, moisture control, full-depth scarification, material compatibility, timely compaction, or documentation. Six places to lose a job.

1. Start with a clean, dry repair area

Remove dirt, loose aggregate, vegetation, foreign material, and standing water. Delay the repair when the pavement remains visibly wet.

2. Follow the selected rejuvenator procedure

Use a compatible rejuvenator when the selected infrared process calls for one. Follow the product-specific application rate and method.

You'll see one-tenth gallon per square yard quoted around as the industry standard. KM International's infrared process actually calls for about 0.12 gallon per square yard, and that figure applies to KM's procedure only. 

By contrast, the FPPC specification for a separate surface-rejuvenation treatment uses field-tested rates of 0.04 to 0.10 gallon per square yard. Those instructions apply to different processes and should not be treated as interchangeable.

3. Avoid unnecessary raking 

Use the fewest rake and lute passes needed to create a uniform blend and restore grade. Stop before the material segregates, coarse aggregate accumulates at the surface, or the asphalt loses workability. 

4. Compact within the required working range

Compact promptly. If the material loses workability, reheat it briefly according to the equipment procedure. Do not insert a universal 60-to-90-second or 1-to-2-minute instruction.

5. Protect utilities and heat-sensitive assets

Follow the equipment manual, owner specifications, utility requirements, and applicable safety rules around grates, utility covers, pavement markings, joint materials, coatings, and other heat-sensitive assets.

Use the heat shields, exclusion zones, or other protection approved for the equipment and site. A sheet of aluminum deflects heat. It does not satisfy a utility owner's requirements on its own. 

6. Document quality and actual job costs

Record:

• Why infrared patching was selected
• Heater make and model
• Number of placements
• Weather and pavement conditions
• Heating time and workability check
• Asphalt and rejuvenator used
• Labor hours
• Compaction equipment
• Cooling and reopening conditions
• Before-and-after photos
• Callback or warranty history

Margin on infrared lives in material use and crew hours, and neither one shows up anywhere until somebody writes it down. Record labor, fuel, mix, rejuvenator, heater cycles, traffic-control time, and callbacks on every repair. 

Yes, that's paperwork for a 20-minute job. It's also the only way you'll ever know which crew is actually making you money, which is the entire case for project management built for paving contractors.

Manage Your Infrared Patching Jobs from Estimate to Invoice

Infrared patching takes the excavation and hauling out of a repair. It doesn't take out the heater-placement math, the crew and equipment scheduling, the field production records, the job costing, or the billing. 

All of that still has to happen, usually on a 20-minute job nobody wants to do paperwork for. OneCrew connects those steps for project-based paving contractors:

• Build the estimate: Use OneCrew estimating to calculate labor, materials, equipment, and margin from project measurements.
• Schedule crews and equipment: Move accepted work into OneCrew scheduling, assign crews and equipment, and identify resource conflicts.
• Send complete work orders to the field: Use field management to share scope, quantities, maps, vendors, and project details while collecting time, photos, and actual job data.
• Create customer-ready proposals: Use OneCrew proposals to turn estimate information into branded proposals with e-signature capability.
• Keep customer and site history together: Use the OneCrew CRM to retain contacts, properties, conversations, follow-ups, and project history.
• Invoice from the project record: Use OneCrew invoicing to create invoices from project information and sync invoice and payment data with QuickBooks Online.

Book a demo to see how OneCrew supports infrared-patching work from estimate through billing.

FAQs

1. What is infrared patching?

Infrared patching is an in-place asphalt repair method that uses radiant heat to soften existing pavement so a crew can scarify, blend, grade, and compact it. The heated overlap helps create a thermal bond and minimize cold interfaces at the perimeter. 

2. How long does an infrared patching repair take?

There is no universal total repair time. KM International’s published process uses approximately eight to ten minutes for the heating step, but total duration depends on heater footprint, number of placements, pavement condition, weather, material added, traffic control, compaction, and cooling.

Estimate total production from the contractor’s own completed-job records rather than promising that every repair will fall within one time range.

3. Can infrared patching fix potholes?

Yes, infrared patching can repair a pothole when the distress remains within the asphalt layer the heater can effectively rework, and the support underneath remains stable.

A pothole associated with failed base, settlement, pumping, or widespread fatigue cracking requires a deeper removal-and-replacement repair.

4. How long does an infrared asphalt patch last?

An infrared asphalt patch has no universal lifespan. Service life depends on candidate selection, base condition, drainage, compaction, traffic, and climate. Base your warranty terms on site conditions and your own documented repair history.