Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Fri, Aug 14, 2009 @ 07:24 AM
1. A well-surfaced and striped asphalt parking area demonstrates your care for overall safety and aesthetics of your property. Maintaining a healthy parking area attracts and retains tenants and customers.
2. Sound maintenance of asphalt extends the life of a parking facility, decreasing your overall repair costs and improving the return on the investment of your property. Just as the exterior of a building or any painted surface needs preventative maintenance to prolong its life and reduce the cost of ownership the same is true with asphalt.
3. The constant weight of a parked or slow moving vehicle is greater than a faster moving vehicle. Stresses placed on asphalt in parking lots often exceed the loads experienced on highways and streets. Stay educated about distress signals and take appropriate remedial action.
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Thu, Mar 05, 2009 @ 06:35 PM
A lot of people, I know not you...but many just wait till the asphalt is so damaged that it must be repaired with severe measures. Research and studies prove that you can save approximately half the cost of maintenance on your pavement if you sealcoat consistently from the outset.
The weather is going to be getting warmer soon and it will be time to look at pavement that needs attention. Asphalt repairs can be prevented by a simple pavement maintenance plan and sealcoating the asphalt every few years. Let's talk about sealcoating...but first the problem, then I'll provide the solution.
Asphalt is a combination of many materials composed in a structure that allows for weather elements (such as rain), salts, and other substances to attack and break it down. As the asphalt molecules break down, much of the original benefits - including weatherproofing - are lost. This is first observed visually by the color change in the asphalt surface:from black to brownish gray.
The rate of pavement deterioration depends upon many variables including weather or climate conditions, traffic volumes and frequency of maintenance. After the visual change in color of the asphalt surface, weather, oils and other harmful materials can significantly deteriorate the pavement surface. Oils from vehicle engines, often parked stationary for long periods of time, can cause considerable damage to an unmaintained pavement surface.
Also, further deterioration of unmaintained pavement leads to minor cracks which become wider and deeper without remedy. If these cracks are not remedied, water and other harmful substances will seep into the base and damage the pavement's load bearing capacity, ultimately causing pavement failure. The effects of this are shown in serious alligatoring, rutting, and overall pavement failure. Before long, your parking lot is riddled with cracks, potholes and drainage issues that are seemingly beyond repair.
Unmaintained asphalt shows its deterioration and damage
quickly, in as little as two years, and cracks and potholes quickly develop. Once the cracking forms, lack of proper maintenance will lead to serious liability issues caused by severe potholes and your pavement investment will be in risk of complete failure. The deterioration of unmaintained asphalt happens exponentially faster than maintained asphalt and, consequently, costs much more money over time.
The Remedy/Solution every smart property owner/manager, facility manager, and business owner is doing to keep asphalt repair expenses down to free up revenue.
Sealcoat, specifically refined coal tar, is a mixture of chemicals with a structure that does not allow destructive elements to affect its properties. This material, as a protective coat for asphalt, forms a barrier to protect against weather, salts, oils, and destructive substances that lead to pavement failure. This sealant also restores the asphalt's rich black color, dramatically improving property appearance.
Potential customers' and guests' first impression is your parking lot; a fresh, new appearance will be the best
presentation no matter your industry. By consistently protecting the asphalt pavement from deterioration and from failure, you are prolonging the life of your original asphalt by as much as eight years, or almost double the expected life of an unmaintained pavement surface, without considerable investment in an overlay or other significant remedy.
Parking lot maintenance with sealcoat usually means a three to five year cycle of sealcoating, including crackfill for developing cracks later in the pavement's life cycle, which prolongs the original pavement's life as well as ensuring the appearance of your property.
By evaluating your properties' parking lots on a
necessity basis(or better yet have an pavement expert come check it out free), all parking lot concerns could be easily amortized over three to five years - effectively eliminating your parking lot concerns.
Why go through the need for asphalt repairs every few years when you can sealcoat every few years and save up to half the cost?
What do you think?
Posted by Jesse Willoughby on Wed, Dec 17, 2008 @ 12:10 PM
Ninety four percent of all pavement in the United States is asphalt. Why?
Based on use, it could be assumed that asphalt is the better product when compared to concrete. However, that is only true in limited instances.
Concrete is more expensive mostly because it is labor intensive to prep, form and pour. It has to be placed to minimum depth of 4" (Asphalt 2" minimum). However, a very general rule of thumb states concrete lasts about twice as long as asphalt.
Asphalt's popularity comes from its lower cost (again, a very general rule of thumb states asphalt is about 35-40% less than concrete when applied to minimum depth). The biggest cost components of asphalt are the material and equipment used to place the asphalt.
Concrete is placed where areas might be smaller, such as a sidewalk rather than a street, or where heavy weight is likely to damage pavement. Asphalt is a lower cost alternative where large areas need to be paved.