ASPHALT SEALCOATING

Pavement maintenance contractors are not the only people who understand the importance of a well-maintained parking lot. Property owners, property managers, visiting customers, and homeowners know it too. The best way to maintain your asphalt investment is with a Pavement Management Program. A Pavement Management Program will usually include sealcoating, crack-sealing, and pothole repair. But why is asphalt maintenance necessary? Why spend the money every 2-3 years on the parking lot when walls need to painted and roofs need to reshingled? Asphalt parking lots are very expensive to install and have an effective life of 7-12 years before expensive repairs must be undertaken. Asphalt pavements have two major weaknesses that lead to this limited lifetime. First, asphalt has poor resistance to UV radiation, simply sunlight. Asphalt pavements are a simple combination of rock, sand, and a glue which is the liquid asphalt that binds everything together. The UV radiation breaks down the asphalt glue and weakens so that it can no longer hold the rocks and sand, thus gradually loosing the top surface. The first and most obvious sign of this degradation is the gradual change in the color of the asphalt from black to gray. Next your parking lot begins to look rough and piles of sand seem to appear in the low areas of the parking lot. This is not from your neighbors yard but from the deterioration of your parking lot. In the later stages of degradation the bigger rocks fall out, raveling takes place, and the parking lot is rough, extremely dirty because now dirt and grass fill the spaces where rocks were. The second major weakness of asphalt pavements is its poor resistance to salts, chemicals, and petroleum products. Petroleum products cause most of the damage as witnessed by oil spots and gas spills. The reason for its poor resistance is that asphalt is a petroleum product. They are separated only by the refining process of crude petroleum. Naturally, gasoline and oils will dissolve directly into the asphalt, soften the structure, and eventually cause major damage to asphalt pavements. Asphalt surfaces can be effectively protected by using a seal coating which acts as a barrier between the external harmful elements and the asphalt pavement. Usually a coal tar emulsion sealer is used which is highly resistant to water, gas and oil, salt, chemicals, and UV radiation. It is the perfect substance to combat the degradation of your asphalt pavement. Before seal coating the asphalt must cleaned to be free of all dirt, vegetation, and other foreign debris using blowers, sweepers, brooms, and sometimes high pressure washers. Once the pavement is cleaned then any existing oil spots should be primed so that the sealer will adhere. Normally, and most effectively, the sealer is applied by brush. Once the seal coating is completed it is very important to give adequate cure time for the coating which is to keep traffic from the freshly sealed surface for 24 hours. Traffic before 24 hours will cause premature wear and increased tire marking. During this 24 cure period the striping can be accomplished so that after the 24 hours, your parking lot is completely ready for traffic. ASPHALT CRACK-SEALING Another great weapon in the arsenal of the pavement maintenance contractor is crack sealing. Crack sealing is done prior to any seal coat applications. If cracks are left unattended, water is able to penetrate to the base soaking and swelling the limestone thus destroying their strength and load bearing capabilities. It is evidenced by "alligator" cracking, sunken areas, and eventually potholes. Cracks at least 1/8" or wider should be treated with a least a cold pour sealant which will seal the cracks for a year or so. For a longer term repair, hot poured cracks sealant should be used. Hot Pour crack sealant remains flexible for a longer period of time and if used the crack repair can remain effective for 3-7 years. Ok so what is the bottom dollar? It costs me money every 2 to 3 years for all of this maintenance. Won’t this add up to overlay every 10-15 years? Simply put NO. If one chooses to protect their asphalt surfaces with a seal coating and crack sealing, the life of the asphalt can at least be doubled and many times tripled at a fraction of the overlay costs. Besides savings in money another great advantage of seal coating is that a well maintained property increases the value of your property and is more pleasing to your patrons. The first impression of possible tenants or customers is the parking lot. Is it maintained? Does it look nice? Is it safe? They think to themselves, "If they maintain their parking then they probably maintain their apartments and condominiums." It is proven by marketing studies and I am sure from your own personal experience, that a well maintained property leads to higher occupancy rates, less turnover, and overall greater satisfaction.

THE PROCESS We apply the sealcoating by brush which has many benefits to the customer. The benefits most customers appreciate with a brush application is cost savings and longevity of the project. When sealcoating is applied by brush, the asphalt absorbs more product which extends the life of the job. This saves the customer money by being able to perform this routine maintenance every 3 to 4 years versus every 1 to 2 years with a spray application.

POT HOLE REPAIR

Potholes are repaired by cleaning all dirt and debris from the affected area. The deteriorated area is then filled with asphalt and compacted with a vibratory multi-ton roller. After the newly applied asphalt is compacted, hot tar is applied around the newly patched area to prevent moisture from reentering.

PAVEMENT MARKING Striping is the "finishing touch" on a freshly paved or sealed parking lot. Since striping is the most noticeable part of the lot, it is vital that the job be neat and efficiently laid out. Striping should direct people safely around the parking lot. Crosswalks, fire lanes, stopbars, loading zones, arrows, handicap parking, etc. will inform users where they should walk, give the right of way to traffic, and clearly convey what areas to avoid. We use only the highest quality Sherwin-Williams traffic paint products. This is extremely important in the life of the striping job. No one wants to have their parking lot restriped and it be worn off in 6 months! We guarantee the life of our products and workmanship.